Any chemists here?

[dookie1481]

I am thinking of going back to school to finish my degree in Chem. Just wondering what you do for a living, what the job market is like, and what fields look to be growing/hot areas in the next 10 years or so. Thanks.

Jay

[decodeddiesel]

I would highly suggest chemical engineering over straight chemistry. BS Chemists make piss poor salaries. That said most all of the chemistry people at my work are in energetic materials and explosives. It is definitely fun work and it's not going away anytime soon. However it is not the nighest paying field, for that you need to get into petroleum.

[dookie1481]

I would highly suggest chemical engineering over straight chemistry. BS Chemists make piss poor salaries. That said most all of the chemistry people at my work are in energetic materials and explosives. It is definitely fun work and it's not going away anytime soon. However it is not the nighest paying field, for that you need to get into petroleum.

Unfortunately my school doesn't offer a Chem Eng degree; I would prefer to major in that.

Jay

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

I have my undergrad in Chemistry and an MBA. I'm in specialty chemical sales.

I think it all depends on your personality and what you want. A bachelors in Chemistry is not going to get you very far, I think. Teach maybe or be in a lab running tests. You need a masters or a PhD to be a real 'chemist' nowadays IMHO.

Depends on how close you are to getting your degree. If you are thru things like Organic, P-chem, quant., and all the calc (some of us don't take to it like Decodediesel ;) ) you might as well just finish it out and go from there. Once you get your BS, you can always go to Law, med, or business school. If you aren't thru Orgo yet, it might be better to switch to something you have a passion for and might be more

After I got my chemistry degree and I was trying to figure out what to do with it my Dad said something kind of funny "They can never take it away from you." In that he meant that a degree in chemistry, or any of the hard sciences and engineering show that you are not a moron. Lots of people get college 'degrees' now, but that doesn't mean that they are college educated.

I'm actually a horrible bench chemist- I never thought that I would spend much time there- that's why went back at night and got my MBA, got into chemical sales. I've been doing that for ten years, with lots of travel- to all over the US. I'm starting to travel internationally now.

I guess what I'm saying is that a chemistry degree can be the basis for a lot of things besides just the traditional jobs in chemistry.

Today a beaker, tomorrow the WORLD!

[dookie1481]

I have my undergrad in Chemistry and an MBA. I'm in specialty chemical sales.

I think it all depends on your personality and what you want. A bachelors in Chemistry is not going to get you very far, I think. Teach maybe or be in a lab running tests. You need a masters or a PhD to be a real 'chemist' nowadays IMHO.

Depends on how close you are to getting your degree. If you are thru things like Organic, P-chem, quant., and all the calc (some of us don't take to it like Decodediesel ;) ) you might as well just finish it out and go from there. Once you get your BS, you can always go to Law, med, or business school. If you aren't thru Orgo yet, it might be better to switch to something you have a passion for and might be more

After I got my chemistry degree and I was trying to figure out what to do with it my Dad said something kind of funny "They can never take it away from you." In that he meant that a degree in chemistry, or any of the hard sciences and engineering show that you are not a moron. Lots of people get college 'degrees' now, but that doesn't mean that they are college educated.

I'm actually a horrible bench chemist- I never thought that I would spend much time there- that's why went back at night and got my MBA, got into chemical sales. I've been doing that for ten years, with lots of travel- to all over the US. I'm starting to travel internationally now.

I guess what I'm saying is that a chemistry degree can be the basis for a lot of things besides just the traditional jobs in chemistry.

Today a beaker, tomorrow the WORLD!

Thanks for the input. I would still have about 2 years left for my B.S. The other field I was considering was Mechanical Engineering, but I would almost have to start over and have ~4 years to go, but it seems like there are many more opportunities for engineers out there.

I'm kicking myself for switching majors so many times and spending shitloads of money on courses I will likely never use :mad:

Jay

[Preferred User]

My sister-in-law has a chem degree and is a foam chemist FXI (http://www.fxi.com/).

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

My sister-in-law has a chem degree and is a foam chemist FXI (http://www.fxi.com/).

Lightweight :D

[Army Chief]

How this thread ever made it seven posts without any "Holiday Inn Express" comments is beyond me.

AC

[Preferred User]

Lightweight :DYou would think so, however some of the foam "loaves" come out of the oven the size of a minivan and require two forklifts to move. Pretty interesting process, but dirty and smelly.

[decodeddiesel]

Thanks for the input. I would still have about 2 years left for my B.S. The other field I was considering was Mechanical Engineering, but I would almost have to start over and have ~4 years to go, but it seems like there are many more opportunities for engineers out there.

I'm kicking myself for switching majors so many times and spending shitloads of money on courses I will likely never use :mad:

Jay

Well after my stint in the Army, I am using my GI Bill to finish a BS in ME. It is a difficult undertaking to say the least now that I am 31 years old, with a toddler, wife, and mortgage payment, but I keep my eyes focused on the end goal and set milestones along the way. I just finished a big one with my AS in Science (Magna Cum Laude). It may seem like it's a long way away, but it is an attainable goal.

I will say this much though, the academics are WAY easier this time around. Honestly I ****ing amaze myself at the math I can do with ease now that I struggled with back in my late teens. Physics I, II, Calculus II, III, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Numeric Methods, Etc. were all stupid easy now.

I'll tell you the thing that really gets me is how little respect the students have for the teachers and the learning process it's self. It burns me to no extent to see some 19 year old punk "covertly" texting on his or her phone in the back of the class then wonder why they are failing. :rolleyes:

[chadbag]

If you finish your chem degree, you can always look at a Masters in an engineering field.

My brother had a BA in German (it was supposed to be a double major with Physics but he ended up with just the German bit).

He got into software, first working at WordPerfect and then Novell, then Iomega, some small companies and a startup, then some gigs consulting for some cable companies, and for the last 10 years has been working at Sun (now Oracle).

He got an MS CS last year from Boston Universities Metropolitan College.

(As I type this, he is in Maryland at OCS going into EOD with the AZ NG -- he lost 135 lbs since last summer and got back into the military at age 41 this spring after mustering out in the mid 90s from the UT NG after like 8 years, after having a weight issue)

My point is, the chem degree is just the start for you. As FromMyColdDeadHand said, you can go into Law, MBA, etc or can go further with technical graduate work.

So go finish it and graduate! Keep your eyes open for opportunities along the way as well for summer internships, part time jobs in interesting fields, etc. and start to develop a network of people you know in the fields you would like to possibly get into in the future.

[jklaughrey]

Chemical Engineering, or environmental chemistry related fields are in demand.

[Surf]

Major in Bio, minor in Chem, just because I had so many chem credits anyway. Didn't like Chem but it was necessary. Wanted to go the Marine Bio route. Got out of school, wanted to take a year off before continuing on. Got a bio job offer and a chem related offer with Uncle Sam. The chem related job payed more. Much more, so I took it. I liked the job but couldn't see myself doing it forever, despite the clearances and potential earning opportunities that came with a nuclear qualification school of 9 months.

But another job opportunity opened up and being young I wanted to join the circus and do something fun. 21 years later I am still with the circus.

For the most part general chem and bio jobs are not well paying after 4 years unless if you get lucky. You can pretty much anticipate that you are going to continue past that as far as schooling goes.