This forum is targeted towards "amateur experimentalism", but it is easily arguable that many topics/threads discussed here are far from being
"amateur level".
I don't really consider the following cases to be strictly amateur:
* Somebody without any degree in Chemistry doing Chemistry - there are plenty of highly skilled and knowledgeable people without degrees or much
formal lab training.
* Somebody doing chemistry with no intent for profit/business - Amateur almost implies that they don't completely know what they're doing, and knowing
what you are doing or not has little to do with profiting, aka "professional"/business.
So what do you consider "amateur experimentalism"? When does an individual cross the line out of amateur experimentalism? Do you consider yourself to
be an "amateur"?
DraconicAcid - 11-9-2014 at 11:30
If you're doing it as a hobby, you're an amateur. If you're getting paid for it, you're a professional.Praxichys - 11-9-2014 at 11:41
What Draconic said. If chemistry is your profession, you are a professional.Amos - 11-9-2014 at 11:57
The definition of amateur is literally someone who pursues an interest with no intention of pay. If you thought it meant "inexperienced", sorry to
have disappointed you.Leben - 11-9-2014 at 12:00
That does seem to be the definition most people around here consider, even though it comes in direct contrast with the modern usage, of an amateur
being someone with little or no skill in a field. Though wikipedia says the word amateur has to do more with an individual having an attachment to
some hobby.
Is there such a thing as a "highly skilled and knowledgeable amateur"? Such a statement would seem to contradict the common use of the word. Which is
why I posted this thread, to see peoples different opinions. What if someone has worked professionally as a chemist for a few years, and then the only
chemistry they ever did after that was home-experimentation - would they be a "revert back down" to amateur chemist status? Usually when you hear
people discuss amateurs, they say things like "We don't hire amateurs" (people with little/no experience).
If someone has a Ph.D and teaches chemistry on a daily basis to students, but has their own private chem lab at their house for personal
experimentation, I certainly would not call them an amateur. That could be viewed as an insult in most cases. "Hobbyist" is a more accurate
descriptor, as it does not indicatively carry any skill-level qualifier.
Just a curious conversation...unionised - 11-9-2014 at 12:03
I'm both an amateur and a professional chemist.
I get paid to do chemistry, but it's also one of my hobbies (and so is talking about it here).
I doubt I'm the only one here who is in both camps.WGTR - 11-9-2014 at 12:30
I fit in the first category: little formal chemistry training, but it is part of my job.
It is also my hobby. I do extra lab work on my own time for no other reason than my own amusement and learning. Sometimes I post the results here,
as long as it is unrelated to my work.
For my "hobby chemistry", I deliberately forgo the Fisher reagents in the cabinet, in favor of commonly available stuff from Home Depot or eBay.
I've managed to get bogged down making imidazolium-based ionic liquids, because I insist on synthesizing them with simple glassware and cheap
chemicals. Artemus Gordon - 11-9-2014 at 14:09
I can't speak for anyone else, but i don't think it's possible for me to ever become a "normal" chemist. Artemus Gordon - 11-9-2014 at 14:14
Amateur almost implies that they don't completely know what they're doing, and knowing what you are doing or not has little to do with profiting, aka
"professional"/business.
It is sad that 'amateur' has acquired this connotation. The original definition of 'amateur' is someone who does something because they love it,
rather than to make money from it. I think that definition of amateur is the one that best fits the people here.Texium - 11-9-2014 at 14:23
Currently, I believe I fit in both definitions... as I quite often don't know what I'm doing and definitely haven't made a penny doing it.DJF90 - 11-9-2014 at 23:01
I prefer the term "independent researcher" to "amatuer scientist/chemist". I'm also an API PR&D chemist by profession.Brain&Force - 12-9-2014 at 10:54
If you have the amateur spirit, you're an amateur. Simple as that. I will ALWAYS be an amateur chemist, regardless of Ph.Ds and professional research.aga - 12-9-2014 at 14:21
Ignoring the bullshit spewed out by 'Proper Professionals', it comes down to Money.
If you always get Paid to do what you normally do, you are a Professional.
If you do not expect to get paid, you are an Amateur.
In my personal experience, an Enthusiastic long-term Amateur is a much better source of Real Information than any so-called Professional.
Such an 'Amateur' will have investigated, researched, experimented and read so much more Widely, as their Interest was never limited to 'what makes
the money today'.
Edit :
I'm a professional Chemist now.
Just decided to be.
Prof Emeritus aga, Phd at Harvard, BSc (hons) OBE, Master of the Scrolls, Opener (hons) Bean Tins, B- in spelling
$2,400 an hour, Saturday afternoons preferred.
