The Chemical Coach

05/26/2026

Here is some help on navigating today's job market for entry level college students.
https://www.wsj.com/video/series/on-the-news/suzy-welch-answers-your-questions-about-the-job-market/5DD3BD5B-5967-4839-B908-BAEFCEAC512A

05/05/2026

https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/cities-college-graduate-new-hires-c3771d3d?st=qjEQc6&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆" 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲? 🛑

For years, we’ve told business students that New York City is the only place to start a "serious" career. But the data tells a different story.

While NYC still attracts 10% of all grads, entry-level roles there have tightened significantly. Meanwhile, cities like Birmingham, AL and Buffalo, NY are topping the charts for hiring rates and affordability.

For my students and mentoring clients, I recommend two strategic pivots:

The Disposable Income Offensive 💰: Starting in a city with a 96th-percentile affordability rating (like Birmingham) isn't just about "saving money." It’s about having the capital to invest in your own business or the market five years earlier than your peers in Brooklyn.

The Big Fish Strategy 🎣: In high-growth hubs, you aren't just "Junior Associate #400." You have more face-time with leadership and a faster track to real responsibility.

The takeaway: Your first job location is a business decision. Don't just follow the crowd; follow the growth.

04/27/2026

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 "𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀"? 🧠

Did you know that we are speaking significantly fewer words per day than we did a decade ago? Recent data shows we are in a "social recession" where digital pings have replaced the spoken word. https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/speaking-study-words-per-day-decline-6f549d5a?st=wTCBhd&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

For business students, this is a professional risk. Communication is a muscle—if you don't use it, you lose the "verbal agility" needed for high-stakes interviews and client meetings.

To stay sharp, try this Verbal Fitness Checklist:

𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆: Engage in at least one 15-minute spoken conversation with a friend or family member. 🗣️

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵: 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭-𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆: Call one relative or mentor you haven't spoken to recently. 📞

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵: 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴.

𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗹𝘆: Schedule one in-person coffee or a phone call with a professional contact. 🤝

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵: 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 "𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺" 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.

Don't let your communication skills atrophy in an inbox. Get talking!

04/23/2026

College students have their worries. Many of the worries are connected to their financial situation and socialization. Maybe knowing that there are others feeling the same way can help. Schools and Teachers can help, too. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/us/college-students-perspectives-politics-tuition-jobs.html?unlocked_article_code=1.c1A.djKv.QqlB_ImrUFFQ&smid=url-share

04/21/2026

How do you succeed a founder? See how Tim Cook did...https://www.businessinsider.com/tim-cook-steve-jobs-apple-ceo-succession-lessons-values-china-2026-4

Tim Cook, Steve Jobs' successor as Apple CEO, upended expectations by combining his strengths and judgment with Jobs' values.

04/10/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 "𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿" 𝗘𝗱𝗴𝗲 🧱
𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 "𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵" 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱. 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 "𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬." 🧩

The labor market is shifting. As entry-level office roles become more competitive, a new generation is finding a strategic path forward: New Collar jobs.

This recent New York Times piece, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/realestate/young-new-yorkers-construction-jobs.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ZlA._rYo.P2o6gizAlfAa&smid=url-share, highlights young New Yorkers trading desks for hard hats. But for business students and aspiring entrepreneurs, this isn't just about a paycheck—it’s about Skill Stacking.

Why does a business student benefit from a stint in construction or a trade?

Project Management in Real-Time: You see how a 2-hour delay in materials ripples through an entire month’s timeline. ⏱️

Operational Efficiency: You learn to optimize resources when physical waste impacts the bottom line immediately. 📉

Grit & Communication: You learn to communicate across diverse teams and solve high-pressure problems that can’t be fixed with a "reset" button. 🛠️

A degree gives you the theory. Manual labor gives you the mechanics. When you stack them, you become a "Hybrid Professional" who understands both the boardroom and the job site.

Don’t just build a resume. Build a capability set. 🏗️

04/06/2026

The Strategic Shift 🧠
In a world of rapid change, the most valuable skill isn't just a specific degree—it's .

A recent report by https://www.peoplematters.in/article/workforce-planning/curiosity-and-adaptability-become-core-predictors-of-workforce-success-in-2026-or-armstrong-47605 highlights that in 2026, "learning velocity" and adaptability have become core predictors of success. While others are paralyzed by the static, the most resilient professionals are building "portfolios of reinvention."

Curiosity is a strategy to identify new opportunities. While the media focuses on what is being lost, curiosity helps you see the gaps—the new needs in AI ethics, human-centered leadership, and resilient systems.

The Actionable Step: "Out-Curiosity" the Room 💬
The best way to start is in your next conversation. Stop asking "What do you do?" and start using curiosity-based questions during small talk:

"What is the most interesting problem you’re trying to solve right now?" 💡

"How has your perspective on [Industry Trend] changed in the last six months?" 🔄

"What is a skill you're finding surprisingly useful lately?" 🛠️

These questions do more than break the ice; they gather market intelligence that headlines miss.

Let’s practice: What’s one thing you’re curious about right now that has nothing to do with your "day job"? 👇

As AI reshapes work, organisations shift from headcount to capability, with curiosity, agility and learning velocity becoming core drivers of workforce performance.

03/25/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 "𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁" 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁: 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝘇𝘇𝗹𝗲 🛠️✨

Innovation isn’t just about being "green"—it’s about being better. The key to a successful launch is designing a superior product where sustainability is a high-performing component, not the entire identity.

The Fast Company article https://www.fastcompany.com/91486868/why-sustainable-products-fail-and-what-actually-gets-people-to-use-them-sustainable-product-design on sustainable design highlights a critical reality: products fail when they rely on a customer's willpower. They succeed when they focus on removing friction. 🛑

For my business students and mentoring clients, here is how to apply a "Product-First" lens:

Friction vs. Intent: 🕳️ Customers often want to be sustainable, but they need convenience. If a green solution adds steps, costs extra time, or reduces quality, friction wins every time.

The "Plus" Factor: ➕ Don't market the "sacrifice." Market the upgrade. The most successful innovations solve a core problem first and use sustainability as the silent competitive advantage.

The Bottom Line: We shouldn't just build "eco-friendly versions" of things. We need to build superior versions that happen to be eco-friendly. When you design for excellence, sustainability becomes the value-add that seals the deal. 🎯

03/18/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁: 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴’𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲, 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 🔓

For decades, being a software developer meant spending days "hunched over a keyboard," writing code "line by painstaking line" to avoid even the smallest "niggling error". To some, this now looks like "drudgery" that we’ve finally escaped, but the "Insightful Curator's" view is different: This wasn't a mistake; it was the essential era of **digital craftsmanship** that built the world we live in.

The Lesson: The Next Layer of Abstraction 🌉
The history of programming is a continuous story of **adding layers of abstraction** to boost human output.

* The 1960s: Coders used Assembly, meticulously tracking every bit of data in the computer’s memory.
* The 1990s: Languages like Python abstracted that "fiddly memory business" away, allowing a single line of code to replace nine lines of obtuse commands.
* Today: AI is simply the newest, most powerful layer. We are moving from translating logic into syntax to **translating human intent into systems**.

**The Shift: From Construction Worker to Architect**
We are witnessing a massive productivity leap where a project that once took a month can now be finished in a single morning. By automating the "boring" parts, we aren't losing the craft; we are transitioning from being **digital construction workers** to **software architects**.

The role of the coder has evolved from "creating" every brick to "judging" the entire structure—focusing on the "soulful, human parts" of design and strategy while the AI handles the repetitive labor. Read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/magazine/ai-coding-programming-jobs-claude-chatgpt.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SlA.D2Dt.Ux_VJeM18afC&smid=url-share

**For Professionals:** We haven't "coded our jobs away." We’ve finally cleared the "backlog" of drudgery to make room for high-level systems thinking and innovation.

**The Question:** Now that the "construction" is automated, what world-changing structures are you going to architect? 📝

03/14/2026

𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁"


Can your career show you the world without becoming your whole world? 🔓
At 14, Roger Federer realized that while tennis could show him the world, "tennis could never be the world"
- This is a vital lesson for anyone navigating today's volatile job market

The Lesson: The Multi-Dimensional Professional 🌉 Federer’s final "tennis lesson" was that life is bigger than the court
- When we tie our entire identity to a job title, we become fragile to industry shifts.
Exploration is Growth: He valued "life on the move" and new cultures as much as his backhand

Success is Holistic: He defined his goals as having fun and keeping people engaged, not just winning trophies

For Students: As you enter the workforce, remember that your degree or your first job title is what you do, not who you are

What "life on the move" experiences are you building alongside your resume? 📝