Is Chemistry a Dead-End Career or a Promising Path?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the career prospects for individuals with a chemistry degree, exploring whether it is a viable path or a dead-end. Participants share personal experiences, opinions on job availability, and considerations for further education in chemistry or related fields.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express concern that a chemistry degree may lead to limited job opportunities, citing a shift in the job market and lower pay for available positions.
  • Others argue that there is still a demand for chemists, particularly in biochemistry, and suggest considering a shift towards that field.
  • One participant mentions the potential benefits of pursuing a master's degree in chemistry to enhance career prospects.
  • There are differing views on the practicality of switching to chemical engineering, with some acknowledging its difficulty and others suggesting it as a more viable option than biochemistry.
  • Concerns are raised about the relevance of job outlook information and the importance of taking foundational courses like organic chemistry to fully understand the field.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally do not reach consensus on the viability of a chemistry career, with multiple competing views on job availability and the merits of different fields of study remaining unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Some participants reference personal experiences and anecdotal evidence regarding job markets, which may not reflect broader trends. There is also uncertainty regarding the definitions and distinctions between chemistry and biochemistry, as well as the implications of pursuing chemical engineering.

bael
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I've been reading a lot over the internet that chemistry is a dead end career, and that it will be very hard to find a job with a chemistry degree. My dad on the other hand says that I should be able to find a great job as a chemist because there is a need for scientists in the US (He is an electrical engineer so I generally believe him when it comes to these things). PF, I would like to hear your opinions on this matter. I like chemistry and I am doing good in all my chem classes but I see no point in getting a BSc in a field that won't even have jobs. So, what do you think? Will I be able to make a living as a chemist? Should I switch majors?
 
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what would you want to switch to?

also, what are your thoughts on grad school? a masters in chemistry would be pretty baller as far as career prospects go. . . other than that what do you like in chemistry? organic? materials?

my ochem professor always told us that people with a phd in organic will make more money than a doctor...
 
My opinion is based on my own experiences and observations, so take it as-is.

Chemistry is a very difficult field right now. Many jobs followed manufacturing as it shifted overseas. It used to be fairly easy to pick up a standard lab job that paid well without much effort; now they are rare, and the pay can be pretty low (last job I saw advertised in my area was a night shift position offering $17/hour).

I think your dad is remembering the "good-old days". The job market is different now.

I'm in the south-of-Seattle area, btw.

The good news is, there seems to be plenty of jobs in biochemistry. Might you consider shifting your studies toward that field?
 
Moreover, have you considered Chemical Engineering?
 
Highway said:
what would you want to switch to?

I honestly have no idea what else I would do. Maybe something along the lines of computer programming.
Highway said:
also, what are your thoughts on grad school? a masters in chemistry would be pretty baller as far as career prospects go. . . other than that what do you like in chemistry? organic? materials?

I was actually considering o-chem but I haven't taken the class yet so I really can't say for sure. This is my first year as a chem major so I haven't been exposed to all the different fields of chemistry yet.
 
lisab said:
I think your dad is remembering the "good-old days". The job market is different now.
Ha, probably. He is old-fashioned like that.

lisab said:
The good news is, there seems to be plenty of jobs in biochemistry. Might you consider shifting your studies toward that field?

That seems strange to me that the chemistry field is so bad yet the biochemistry field is doing well. I always thought that a chemist and a biochemist did nearly the same thing.
 
i def wouldn't switch to biochem, if anything, chemical engineering would be the most practical. but honestly, it's ****ing difficult.

what are your thoughts on physics and calc so far? because che is a lot of both.
 
Highway said:
i def wouldn't switch to biochem, if anything, chemical engineering would be the most practical. but honestly, it's ****ing difficult.

what are your thoughts on physics and calc so far? because che is a lot of both.

I know chemical engineering is very difficult, that's why I would never do it lol. I looked at my school's curriculum for chem engineering and it was pretty ridiculous. Another reason why I wouldn't do it is because you don't learn as much chemistry, it's more engineering courses.
 
If you are worried about job outlook, you should check out:
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes192031.htm

If you haven't taken Organic yet, then you really haven't done "chemistry". What makes you think that you would like it in the first place?
 
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  • #10
bael said:
I've been reading a lot over the internet that chemistry is a dead end career, and that it will be very hard to find a job with a chemistry degree. My dad on the other hand says that I should be able to find a great job as a chemist because there is a need for scientists in the US (He is an electrical engineer so I generally believe him when it comes to these things). PF, I would like to hear your opinions on this matter. I like chemistry and I am doing good in all my chem classes but I see no point in getting a BSc in a field that won't even have jobs. So, what do you think? Will I be able to make a living as a chemist? Should I switch majors?

I have been reading over the internet that Earth is flat... well now seriously. Virtually all of the modern world is related to chemistry. Take a look to what chemists are doing today

http://portal.acs.org/portal/PublicWebSite/careers/whatchemistsdo/careers/index.htm
 
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