Top 10 Reasons for Becoming a Corrosion Engineer / Scientist

1. ... finally convincing yourself that something had to be done about the cost of corrosion;

2. ... defying thermodynamics was always an intriguing concept;

3. ... having seen the corrosion professor at school drive off in a new Porsche 928S (later you discovered that he also had a MBA, and knew a thing or two about investing)...in my case is my Boss who's driving the Porsche ;)

4. ... getting that "swanning around in a white lab coat" out of your system;

5. ... knowing more than your neighbor (who works in catering and, yes, was always more popular with the ladies) about potentiodynamic polarization curves;

6. ... being "paid to worry";

7. ... putting your loved ones (and 99.9999% of the general population) into a peaceful slumber with more detailed mechanistic explanations of corrosion phenomena;

8. ... rationalizing your old disintegrating car (or house, or boat, or houseboat) as a practical (but not necessary valuable) corrosion experiment;

9. ... surrounding yourself in "an air of mystery" with other engineers or scientists, who can not quite "place you"; but somehow always seem to consult you;

10. ... being genuinely needed (but not necessarily appreciated) in most industries.

Published May 7, 2003 on corrosion-club.com (updated April 1, 2005 and December 14, 2005)
More to follow ... stay tuned !