In the working world the reward was a promotion or money. The frustrated student should remember that luck really is just statistics. Pump enough quarters into a slot machine and you will hit the jackpot. Do enough well thought-out experiments and you will eventually get a result. Graduate school of course isn't all about getting enough results to graduate.
Most graduate students are eager to contribute knowledge to their field of study.
Many strive for their work to help in the battle against human disease. Here, too, luck plays a role. Recently, a group of students at HMS gathered to study and discuss what scientists and management at Biogen had done to develop and produce Interferon beta 1-a. Interferon beta 1-a is a pharmaceutical that helps thousands of people with multiple sclerosis. In the students' discussions, it became apparent that Biogen's success couldn't fully be explained by an analysis of scientific and managerial decisions.