My Complicated Relationship with Chemistry

09 Mar, 2026

I've always hated chemistry classes, and I'm almost done with my last one. My dad is a professional chemist, and my brother studied chemistry in undergrad, but I never had much interest in the subject. I enjoyed learning about chemistry when it helped me understand cooking or mineralogy, but I only ever tolerated the subject itself.

The labs are the worst part. Mine have always been early in the morning, and that's not when I want to play with sulfuric acid. And they've always felt like pointless busy work. For the past four weeks, I've spent my Monday mornings doing variations of the same deeply boring experiment. If it goes on much longer, I'll start empathizing with Sisyphus.

But, recently, a grad student friend said "I need an undergrad to work in yonder geochem lab. They will be paid and possibly become a co - author of my thesis." And I went "Oh! I'd like to get paid and possibly become a co - author of your thesis!" So, since then, chem lab work has been my job, and I kinda like it. It's every bit as repetitive as what I'm doing for my class, but it doesn't feel like busywork. I'm getting paid, and I'm there of my own free will. And I'm not half - asleep. All of those things do a lot to improve the experience.

This made me realize that some of my hobbies are pretty similar to lab work. I love brewing--I make wines, ciders, and sodas for my friends. And this feels a lot like working in a chemistry lab. There are even pipettes and graduated cylinders and Odd Measuring Devices. The main difference is that you're making potable chemicals, and they either taste good or make you inebriated.¹ Soaping is also quite lab-work-y, and I often think about doing that as a side - hustle.

So, I don't think that I really hate chemistry, I only hate busywork. If you made a chemistry curriculum that lacked busywork, I would probably love it.