EDUCATION M a r k s of the Professional M a n CLIFFORD F. RASSWEILER,
Jahns-Manville
Some chemists a n d chemical engineers a r e merely " p r o s ' ; most w a n t to answer to another name JTOR MANY YEARS I have followed with
interest the efforts which chemists and chemical engineers have been making to gain recognition for their contribu tions t o the welfare of this c o u n t r y accomplishments which the public at tributes to an abstraction it calls chem istry, rather than to professionally trained people. Achieving professional status is one way of gaining greater individual recognition and one which is partieulaily popular in chemical circles. There are two definite extremes of professional status. At one end we have t h e practitioners of one or the other of the "learned professions"—the professions of theology, law, a n d med icine. At the other end we have the men w h o have developed, by practice and training, certain specific skills which they use to earn a living. The first a r e "professional m e n , " and the second are "professionals" or "pros." From one point of view, it might be said that almost all of the various grades of professional status from the professional athlete at one end to the
eminent jurist on the other can and do exist within t h e large groups of people who call themselves chemists and chemical engineers. Probably most chemists and chemical engineers, even those who have a keen interest in professional status, have never analyzed the differences between various types of professional status. Neither have they clearly defined the kind of professional status they would like to have, the kind it is practical for them to achieve, and the price they are willing to pay in time and effort to achieve this status. A M a t t e r of Special Skill In the first place, let us not pass over too quickly the advantages of being a "pro." It is true that a "pro" does not ordinarily command the social standing and respect usually accorded to a doc tor or a lawyer, but he often achieves a highly satisfactory economic status with a minimum of effort. A "pro" is one who, by practice and training and repeated performance, has gained a high degree of skill at some
specialized activity. This skill sets him apart from men who cannot match his accomplishment and, if it serves a uselui purpose either in entertainment or in industry, he is lively to be well paid by people who require it. And one can become a "pro" with a relatively minor investment in formal education. The "pro" may lose his skill if h e does not practice it continuously, but the work for which h e is paid usually supplies most or all of the practice re quired to maintain and improve skill. He needs to d o little or no studying. The advantage of requiring minimum education and training, however, rep resents a major disadvantage, for the "pro's" skills are usually narrow and applicable only t o specific purposes. His earning power is likely to advance rapidly at the start, reach a plateau from which it rises slowly as h e grows older, and finally fall off sharply. In spite of his limitations, however, the "pro" can be a valuable person and can take a great deal of pride in his status and his accomplishments. The term " p r o " in o u r language is fre-
• follows throughout his life α p r o g r a m of self-education a n d improve ment . . .
• feels responsible for advancing his profession and the training o f t h e y o u n g m e n who e n t e r it . . .
A Real Professional Man . . .
• has obtained a specialized edu cation materially greater t h a n that required f o r other occupations . . . 34
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EDUCATION
The first difference between t h e "pro" and the professional man lies in the very term learned profession. The more desirable types of professional status gain stature because they demand an education which is materially greater than that required by other occupations. As the professions of law and medicine have become more intricate and more complicated, the educational re-
quirements for tfcie prospective doctor or lawyer have become correspondingly higher and m o r e rigid. Today, four years of college only qualify one to begin professional training in medicine and law. And we are rapidly a p proaching, if w e have not already reached, the stage w h e r e a four-year college educations is a mass production item, and one «can no longer stand apart i n our civilization as an especially learned individual simply by holding a bachelor's degree in chemistry or in chemical engineering. Should we try t o achieve professional status comparable to that of the lawyer and the doctor l>y placing greater and more obvious emphasis on the professional status of men with advanced graduate training, as opposed t o men with simply a four-year degree? In the case of the lawyer and doctor, this additional preparation confers a title and a distinction which is retained throughout life. But there a r e very serious objections to making too great and too distinct a. lifetime separation in the field of chemistry between those men with doctorates and those who have only bachelor's degrees. The field of chemistry is extremely broad and in this broad range of activity initial traiming often becomes less important after a period of years than natural ability and self-education. So it is (Questionable whether an attempt to definitely stratify professional status in chemistry on the basis of initial education would b e either desirable or practical. On the other hand, the status of chemists and chemical engineers could be improved b o t h in terms of prestige and remuneration if initial educational training and standards were gradually
• works at developing his o w n ini t i a t i v e , judgment/ a n d sense of responsibility . . .
• realizes t h a t his prestige depends upon the use of his specialized knowledge f o r the benefit of others
quently used as a high compliment, foi when w e say a man is a real "pro" we mean that h e has used his natural abilities in a highly skilled way. The Chemical "Pro" We must face the fact that many chemists and chemical engineers are "pros" and nothing more. By repeated practice and experience, they have become highly skilled in some particular chemical operation; but whatever breadth of knowledge and interest which their original education once provided has disappeared. Their limitations may be inadequate initial education, lack of personal ability, or an unwillingness t o make t h e effort necessary to grow into any fuller professional status. The large majority of chemists and chemical engineers, however, want to be more than just chemical "pros"; they strive for something comparable to the status of a practitioner of one of the learned professions. What are the characteristics of the status they desire? And what can they, the scientific societies, or the universities do to help them reach this objective? O n e Difference Lies in Learning
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raised. The initial educational requirements in law and medicine have gradually risen from four to as many as eight years. In comparison, there is considerable question whether men taking a bachelor's degree in chemistry from m a n y accredited schools know more t h a n die men who took a similar degree from the same schools 20 years ago. T h e engineers, for example, are pushing the requirements in many schools to five years.
A Fifth Year? It might b e well worth while to consider adding a fifth year of training to the chemist's qualifications. One year of extra training could be tremendously valuable to the chemist or chemical engineer who is going into industry or teaching without a Ph.D. In recent years, the master's degree has fallen into considerable disrepute, and the extra training it represents is not adequate to develop either professional skills or professional attitudes. The master's degree first became an uncomfortable interruption on the way to a P h . D . , and now it is likely to represent either a painless way to terminate the graduate study of a man who, after a year, is not judged of Ph.D. caliber, or to elaborate on the same facts which constitute most undergraduate education. A S p e c i a l i z e d , Terminal D e g r e e The master's degree, or perhaps a professional degree under another name, would be more useful if it were a terminal degree involving a specialized curriculum. For the chemists or chemical engineer going into industry, this extra year might involve die study of industrial organizations; the organization of experimental programs; the correlation, analysis, and presentation of data; the preparation and writing of reports; and a real grounding in the responsibilities and ediics which a man must assume to become a professional man instead of merely a "pro." This extra year might even follow a period of actual employment. Many business schools are beginning to feel that their graduate programs are most effective at this stage. For the man going into secondary school teaching, the year might include the training necessary for securing a teaching certificate. This might result in more high school science courses
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EDUCATION Clifford F. Rassweiler, President-Elect of t h e AMERICAN C H E M I C A L SOCIETY, has b e e n in full
charge of Johns-Manville research a n d develop ment activities since 1 9 4 1 . As R&D vice presi dent, he directed the reorganization a n d ex pansion of t h e company's research center, a n d in 1951 he also became vice c h a i r m a n of t h e board. H e is presently ACS Director-at-Large ( 1 9 5 5 - 5 8 ) , a member of t h e E x e c u t i v e Com mittee a n d t h e Committee o n Investments a n d Finance, a n d chairman of the C o m m i t t e e on Member a n d Public Relations (1955—57).
taught b y scientists w h o are trained to teach, rather than by professional educators. K e e p i n g U p with the Literature Continual self-education is another characteristic of the so-called learned professions. Initial education may give a man t h e title of doctor or lawyer, but if h e is t o b e a respected a n d valuable practitioner of his profession, he is committed to the life-long task of "Tceeping u p with the literature." The doctor w h o does not spend a good share of his evenings reading t h e lat est medical journals can quickly be come more of a harm than a benefit to his patients. T h e lawyer who does not continually take h o m e a briefcase full of recent decisions rapidly drops to t h e point where he loses lawsuits. This is one price of scientific pro fessional status. After a period of years, the things the chemist a n d chemical engineer learned in college become less and less distinct and more and more obsolete. If they do not continually expand their scientific knowledge by self-education, their knowledge and skills become largely those concerned with their current jobs. Eventually, they retain little edge in knowledge over men w h o have been learning the same things in similar jobs but have no university training. One of the quickest ways to identify a chemist as a professional man or a "pro" is to look for well-read scientific journals on his living room table, or to note if such journals are missing or filed unread in the family bookcase. Willingness to Boost the Science T r u e professional status is also char acterized b y the willingness of profes sional m e n to work to advance their own profession or science. Professional men belong to professional a n d scien 38
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tific societies, attend local a n d national meetings, a n d take p a r t in committee activities. Also, scientists h a v e always accepted responsibility for disseminat ing n e w information w h i c h advances the status of their profession. This in volves not only financial contributions, b u t also a willingness to write, edit, and abstract technical papers. Another way in which the profes sional man supports h i s calling is in helping schools to train n e w members. It is traditional in medicine that topranking doctors will take time from busy practices t o lecture a n d conduct courses in medical schools, and the same policy is widely accepted b y lawyers. Much of t h e professional a t titude of graduates of t h e medical and l a w schools is p r o b a b l y the result of the personal efforts of m e n high in their professions who give their time to teach. T h e chemical profession could undoubtedly i m p r o v e its status if chemists themselves w o u l d contribute more time to improving chemical train ing in local technical schools. N o C o g in α M a c h i n e Other characteristics which distin guish the professional m a n from t h e "pro" are individual initiative, judg ment, and responsibility. A very high portion of the specialized work done b y chemists a n d chemical engineers r e quires personal responsibility and per sonal decision. Intelligent management makes full use of the scientist's judgment a n d his willingness to assume responsibility. However, this is not apparent to t h e public. T o the outsider chemists a n d chemical engineers a p p e a r as so many cogs in the industrial machine. Un fortunately, sometimes thoughtless i n dustrial managements fail to use tech nical men in ways which will use and develop their abilities. This is one reason why w e are finding it so hard
to recruit an adequate number of en gineers a n d scientists. We have already discussed that phase of professional status involving the acquisition of special knowledge which sets t h e professional m a n apart from the man with an ordinary educa tion. However, the professional man must not only h a v e special knowledge, but he must use it to instruct and to serve others. T h e use of specialized knowledge as service gives t h e profes sional man such as a doctor, lawyer, or minister much of the special prestige which he holds in our communities. The service given by men in these professions is obvious and public, for it goes to individuals themselves. W e feel very strongly that the chemist and the chemical engineer deserve such professional status, since they use their special k n o w l e d g e for the benefit of others, b u t unfortunately, not as pub licly as the doctor or the lawyer. T h e contributions most of us make to our communities reach them as products marketed by our employers. As a result, people do not imme diately think of improvements in their living standards as services of chemists, but as those of the chemical industry or the "science of chemistry." The n a t u r e of the chemical profes sion, the type of things chemists and chemical engineers are supposed to do, and the ways in which they must do them present difficulties in achieving the kind of professional status and the public recognition enjoyed b y doctors and lawyers. However, many chemists and engineers have not stopped to analyze w h a t is involved in earning the right to the professional status they desire. Many are unwilling to strive for such status. And the education considered necessary for a chemist or engineer has in some ways failed to in crease in scope a n d in nature as rapidly as t h e complexity of the science has increased. Finally, our young chemists have not been instilled with t h e desire for a professional status and an under standing of how to achieve it. T h e real rock bottom test of whether the chemist or chemical engineer is a professional m a n or simply a " p r o " is the extent t o which he recognizes his personal responsibility for the advance ment of chemistry and of t h e profes sional a n d social standing of himself and others in h i s profession. Presented before New York chapter, American Institute of Chemists, on re ceiving honor scroll.
