saving money

[Karen Wheless]

> You got it, time is money, and IMHO students and postdocs should
> be doing science first.  Not ordering reagents you need for
> an experiment, or needed equipment, is false economy.  On the
> other hand, spending ten minutes going through a catalog to find the
> cheapest source of plastic whatevers can save a quite a bit. 
> Like so many other things, there's a  medium.

That was the big difference I've noticed since working in industry.
Your time is actually valuable.  I just ordered a reagent that cost
$500.  I would never have done that in grad school, even if it took me a
couple of weeks to make it.  (Since I was a TA, my time was essentially
"free" to my advisor)  When I expressed surprise at spending this much
money, my boss said, think about it, how much do we pay you in a week?
It's so enjoyable to look up reagents and just order them when you need
them.

-- 
Karen Wheless
kwheless at rockland.net