What was the most important lesson you learned from the industry?

“You need to enjoy the company of the people you are working with.”

When Dr. Beltran uttered these words, I was a bit surprised. Probably because I
tend to associate my major (Chemical Engineering) as something that requires so much
effort and time that the thought of having fun is just not really in the photo. I have always
thought that when you are working already, you should be serious and professional at all
times. I mean, intrinsically, I know for a fact that I would love working in the
pharmaceutical industry given that that is where my passion lies, but enjoying work with
my colleagues seemed like a stretch already. My idea before was that everyone is just civil
with each other; no one would really communicate unless necessary. However, I am glad
to hear those words because it made me realize that the industry is not as scary as what
most people make it seem to be.

Currently the Vice Chair of the Chemical Engineering Department, we asked him
why he never went back to the industry. Clear as a day, I remember him say that it is
because he enjoys his current job; he gets to meet and teach different students every term
which keeps the excitement and mystery, he also jokingly said that he likes that he could
travel around the world courtesy of the school.

The thing is we should not think about money alone when deciding. Knowing
where your passion lies is more important because you can never feel content or satisfied
if you do things just because of the monetary incentives. Satisfaction is hard to come by,
but when you enjoy and love the things you do – money just follows. No matter how
young we are or old we get, it is important to remember to have fun.