Bio:
Dr. John Buynak is currently an organic chemistry professor at Southern Methodist University (SMU), Dallas, Texas. He earned his bachelor’s from Case Western Reserve University and completed his Ph.D. at Rice University. After completing his doctorate, he was an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University for one year before joining SMU. Dr. Buynak has published his work in numerous acclaimed journals and given lectures around the world.
What did you want to become when you were a kid or a high school student?
I just wanted to go to college; I had pretty good grades, so I was able to get into Case Western. Aside from that, not many factors played a role in my decision.
How did you become interested in your field? Did someone (maybe parent or teacher) influence or guide you in choosing your major?
I faced very little pressure from my parents to do one thing or another. Because of this, I just went with the flow and took everything a little at a time. When I was five or six, I used to play with chemicals, like the little play kits, in the basement. I guess that interest stayed with me.
When did you first lean toward teaching / academia as opposed to industry? What made you choose ‘Chemistry’ and then how did you narrow down the scope to Organic and Medicinal chemistry?
I was always leaning towards teaching/academia instead of industry because I believed that all the ‘smart people’ went to teach at universities as opposed to working in the corporate world. This view changed, and I later realized that there were smart people in the industry as well. I chose chemistry over physics because physics was too math-y, and I chose chemistry over biology because biology was very memorize-y. My inclination for teaching began when I was in Catholic grade school; the nuns would frequently call on me to explain concepts to other people.
Chemistry was a “fallback” for me. When I went to Case Western, it was called the Case Institute of Engineering. I did okay in my engineering classes, but I ultimately started to fall behind for one main reason. No one in my classes asked any questions, so I was ashamed and scared of having to ask questions and did not resolve any of my doubts with my professors. That is one thing I would do differently if I could go back. No student should ever feel scared to ask questions.
Like many of us, I am sure you were a bit skeptical about the future and your career. So, how did everything fall into place?
Everything does not fall into place; I had doubts around every corner. At one point, I became the sole source of income for my family which put a lot of pressure on me and my decisions. I was never sure about any of the decisions I made, but that is just how it is, and you move on with life one day at a time to make progress.
What does a typical day or week look like for you?
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I teach two classes, Organic Chemistry (more hands-on) and Medicinal Chemistry (theoretical, PowerPoint-oriented). I also do research every day, so I teach and research from 8 AM – 6 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Other days are lighter in terms of work hours.
What skills should someone in your field have?
Organization/forward-looking-ness. A professor/doctoral student should start planning their thesis, research proposals, and lesson plans before they arrive at their new job, not after they’ve arrived.
What do you like most about your work?
I prefer researching to teaching because teaching gets repetitive. I also like the freedom associated with research.
I view myself as a person who can get to the right answer but not always quickly. I can often reach the right answer more frequently than most bright/intelligent people can, but it takes me time to think through my answers. After spending so many years, I also know many tips and tricks in research to produce high yield, etc. that can only be developed through experience.
What do you like least about your work?
I write research proposals and reports all the time, and I find this kind of writing to be dry. I wish I were able to write novels. I’ve become pretty good at writing; part of the reason is that I took a course in high school in which we would start and finish novels in one week and submit weekly essays. However, it takes me some time to transition from a research phase to a writing phase.
Can you please explain the ‘research’ part of your job?
I synthesize compounds, mainly antibiotics, and partner with other labs nationwide to test the effectiveness of these antibiotics on pathogens.
Another factor is compensation… in medicine, for example, people invest 11-15 years during which they are either not paid or are paid very low stipends, until they become doctors; then they are compensated relatively well compared to other professions. So, in general, how does a professor’s compensation compare to other professions?
When I joined as an assistant professor at SMU, I was paid less than when I was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale. I was pretty broke the first few years. However, my salary steadily increased every year, and I was able to pay off all my loans relatively quickly; now I receive pretty good compensation and never have to worry about money.
In comparison to other professions, the compensation is not near that of a physician, but my job is also very stress-free compared to that of a physician. I don’t have to go from patient to patient. I have more flexibility in my schedule and freedom to explore what I want to explore in my research.
How important do you think passion is for a career?
Passion is something that is usually developed, but it is not absolutely necessary when choosing some career. Any career is viable, and passion can be developed for anything.
A side tangent: smart people are never bored with anything. If someone finds something to be boring, they probably don’t understand it, so don’t hang around with people that feel bored with their classes or lives because they’re probably not the brightest people.
How important do you think passion is for a career?
I had four pieces of advice for my children when they were deciding what to do in college:
- Do what you like.
- Do what you’re good at.
- Make sure there are no huge barriers preventing you from doing #1 or #2 (compensation, for example)
- Do something legal.
Take everything a little at a time. College and the professional world are pretty weird compared to high school, and you can’t always prepare for all of it, but it is important to do as much planning as possible. As a high schooler you should be thinking about what major you want to do. Changing your major in college is too late.
I was also surprised by how much drinking and partying went on in college; students should definitely enjoy college life before entering into the job market, but don’t lose focus and make sure your grades are great. Many think that college grades are not important, but they are extremely important for grad school and also to land your first meaningful job.