Do chemists like their jobs/careers?

Question

I am a potenial graduate of a B.S. in Chemistry.

Do they like their jobs in the beginning? The long haul (10+, 20+ years)?

Why do they like their jobs?

Is it a good field to go into? Why?

Answer 1

Man I loved it. It is one of the few degrees that trains the student for so MANY fields. I trained as a Phospholipid Cellular Toxicologist. I "minored" in LCMS. I had high hopes for a career in Pharmaceuticals. However, the pay is lowsy. Now, the jobs that do pay well come with a hefty penalty. They are contract jobs. In other words, if you have 20 good years of drug discovery and finally have 1 bad year... you are fired, oh... sorry... your contract is not renewed. I know about 15 people who were making $150,000 to $200,000 a year and then BLAM! Now, one of them does Roofing. If that turns you on, go for it.

For me... I went to work for the government in Forensics. Bad pay, but the most excitement I have ever had. I testified in court cases against Drug dealers and users. Really COOL! Bad pay, but REALLY COOL!

But after a while, I got bored. I now teach at a high school. Yuck you say... think about it. Let's compare:

Forensics: 300 days a year
Teaching: 186 days a year

Forensics: 9 hours a day
Teaching: 8 hours a day (6.5 actually working)

Forensics: Police Retirement Fund
Teaching: 50:50 IRA, Teacher Retirement Fund, AND Pension

Forensics: I had to work on Christmas Day!
Teaching: All major (and some minor) holidays off

Forensics: Death threats by hardened criminals
Teaching: Ummm, uhhh, hmmm... I have nothing here.

Well, in conclusion, I have tried 4 fields of chemistry and found the best to be teaching. With a B.S. Chemistry, you will not find one that pays better. Good luck, and I hope this helps.

Answer 2

I graduated with a chemistry degree 15 years ago. I spent 2 years working as an analytical chemist & it was interesting for the first 6 months. After that i was utterly bored - the work is to specific standards, so is repetitive & boring. There were some high points, but these were perks of the job like throwing chunks of sodium into puddles outside the lab to see how big the explosion would be & other spectacularly unsafe exploits.
I left to work in the pharmaceutical industry, which is where I remain - reasonably happily.
In addition (unless times have changed) toiling in labs is rather badly paid. This possibly explains why the majority of chemistry graduates train as accountants.
You have nothing to lose by trying a career in laboratory work - after all that is where your knowledge & technical skills now lie. Good luck!

Answer 3

Depends on the job you do.

I got my degree 25 years ago - B App Sci - App Chem.

Worked for a couple of years in AgriChem - pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers - first job, right at the bottom, lousy pay, good fun.

Moved to a multinational oil Co. - Lab manager for 5 years, ran blending plant, learned how to discharge oil tankers, worked on the refinery fire team - better pay. Moved into sales (2 years), still as a chemist, better pay and perks. Moved into business analysis (3 years) better pay. 1 year as Communications manager (weird). 1 year as Tech manager, 2 years as R&D Manager for the "region". Got to do lots of things and really enjoyed the company and people - varied, lots of "toys" (ICP, GC/MS, AAS, etc), learned lots. Picked up an MBA on the way.

Moved back home, worked as a consultant for a few months, then 3 years in refining and recycling of used oil and destruction of hazwaste (something different, again).

For the last 7 years, I've owned my own chemicals company making "specialty" products - consumer chemistry (detergents, etc), water treatment chemistry, industrial chemicals (biocides, solvents, etc). I'm building up some toys again - about 15 blending tanks and powder mills, packing machines, an AAS, UV-VIS, GC, HPLC. I do a bit of consulting "on the side" just for fun.

All in all - yeah. I've enjoyed my 25 years and am looking forward to the next 25. I know people who have been "career chemists" with the government or in industry. Most seem to enjoy their work. But it's like anything - you have to love what you do or it's always going to seem second rate.

Answer 4

BS chemist = lab tech = slave = 30,000 to start

MS chemist = lachey = 40-50,000 to start

PhD chemist = boss = 60-80,000 to start

i know a lot who love their jobs (my dad is one of them) grad school is a lot of work, but unless you like being a slave you need to go. grad school throws you in the deep end to see if you can survive. some do, some quit. find a program that has both PhD and Masters options so you have something if you decide to quit halfway through.

organic, biochemistry, and most all fields pay pretty well. it all depends on what you fancy, and once you get into it sometimes tastes change.

Answer 5

My degree is in chemistry and I have worked in the environmental testing area for almost 20 years. Overall, I have liked what I do. Most times it is routine but every once in a while I get something interesting to test. I'm not a tree hugger or anything like that but I feel like I am doing my part to protect our environment.

Answer 6

It all depends on you. I have friends who have been in the field for 30 years (LOL!!! I am old) and they enjoy their work. Lots of companies especially the medical companies hire Chemists and they make pretty good money.

Answer 7

Hello
I think that chemists wasted the earth with burning oil and gas. please be care in your job about environment.
Power electrical engineer Ahmadi and energy manager from of Iran.
[e-mail]

Answer 8

your mom