Career advice for an entry level chemist

[Juche]

I am not really hardworking or talented enough for PhD level chemistry (bad as that may sound but unless you are in the top 2% of the public in both talent and work ethic you'll have a hard time), and I know that finding a job in industry is much harder with a PhD than a MS or BS. I don't need the money, don't want the stress, don't want to deal with the job market of doctorate level chemists and don't have the ambition for a PhD.


Should I go with the MS or BS (I earned my BS in biochem in may)? Would the MS narrow my job options and make it harder to find a job?

Is it easy to find a job with a MS out of college? I figure I can either work 2 years and be earning 40-45k in 2009 or I can start grad school and start earning 40-45k as a beginning MS chemist in 2009. So either way I end up the same, but I think I'd enjoy working in research and learning new info about chemistry in school. The MS program I'd be applying to would not be anything I couldn't handle (ie not MIT level).

My goal is R&D work in industry, and another goal is to eventually (10-15 years from now) be able to work part time (20-30 hours a week).

I feel I am best at biochem and organic chem, is there a demand for MS degrees in these fields? If I got a MS in organic chem would that limit me to organic chem jobs or could I find a job as a MS level analytical chemist? Would my MS limit me to that specific subfield of chemistry or is it more important that you prove you can do the work to get the MS?

My understanding of income is there is no difference really from MS to BS. 75 vs 65k, so money isn't a huge concern.


So my goals are to

Be employable in industry
Be able to work part time if I want to
Be able to work different shifts if I want to
Be able to work in R&D


Would the MS or BS be better for these goals?

 

[jarzyna]

Hi, I’m currently on a path in my physics education where I should choose some specialization. I’m currently studying in Europe(Poland), but I’m planning to apply to some of USA’s graduate programs after I finish my undergraduate course here. I’m quite sure I will do Condensed matter. Right now I have quite good possibility to do some serious research on Amorphous Solids(glass, liquid metals, etc).

The question is I don’t know how much is currently going in science about this and what possible job could I find after I finish it. ( after M.S. I would love to do Ph.D but after that I would probably switch to do something in industry). So the question is which universities are doing such research and how much people is needed in industry in this subject?

However if I do these undergraduate research I could probably do something different in graduate but I also think it’s better to keep improving in one topic.
What do you think about it?

Thanks for all help.

 

[student357]

Hello,

I am currently an undergraduate Applied Physics Major. Ultimately I want to be an engineer with a focus on Alternative and Renewable Energy. As a career I would like to deal with more of the Research and Development end of this path. I understand that both Chemical and Mechanical Engineers are involved in this type of specialization. Which one would be a better choice? I would prefer Chemical because of the higher pay and great interest in Chemistry, but maybe it isn't the right choice.

Would I have any difficulties trying to get into graduate school as simply a physics undergad (with chem minor)?

*research is huge at my school so that wouldn't be an issue