Where do you go next?

by Nina Matheny Roscher
(Reproduced with permission from from: IN CHEMISTRY, SPECIAL ISSUE, 1996.)

You are about to complete your college career with a B.S. degree in chemistry and you are trying to decide where you should go after you complete college. You are fortunate that a B.S. degree in chemistry provides the foundation for many careers and many options in life. As you are trying to decide where you go after college, you need to consider your strengths, your weaknesses, and what you enjoy doing.

It is important to decide what it is that made you want to study chemistry in the first place and if it is still what you like about chemistry. Have you found that there are other areas that are more interesting or equally interesting to you? Do you like the laboratory and have fun doing experlments? Do you llke workmg on a computer? Are you interested in solving problems? Do you like to work with people, or do you prefer to work with inanimate objects? Do you like to fix things? Are you interested in public service? Do you have geographic limitations in what you do next? Are you committed to saving the world for the next generation? These are just some of the questions you might ask yourself as you are deciding what to do with your B.S. degree.

You need to consider the type of employer that you would like to work for: Each has advantages and disadvantages. In 1995 at the B.S. Ievel, 77% of men and 71% of women members of ACS worked in industry; 7% of men and 8% of women worked in government; 6% of men and 9% of women worked in colleges or universities; 9% of men and 10% of women worked for other non-academic employers; and 1% of men and 2% of women worked in high schools. These are the general classifications that ACS uses for employers, but they do not relate to what the job might be. Different types of employers pay differently, so if salary is immediately important to you, you need to keep that in mind as you begin your job search.

While ultimately you will be concerned about your work speciality, as you finish college you are not yet classified in a specialty. However, most B.S. chemists ultimately define their speciality as analytical chemistry. Environmental chemistry is also a growing area with specialties. Organic, polymer, medicinal-pharmaceutical, and agricultural chemistry are other common specialities in industry.

The work function is a clearer indication of the type of job you might have. Large numbers of B.S. chemists work in research, in both applied and basic research, and for all types of employers. There are many jobs at all degree levels that are directly related to the traditional view of a chemist working in the laboratory. The analytical laboratory may provide service to others in the company or outside the company. Depending on the size of the company you may become a specialist in NMR, or you may need to know all of the instruments to provide general support to the research or production facility. The production function is key to industry. Synthesis, whether for research or production, is also an important area and employs many B.S. chemists.

Marketing and management are also areas in which many B.S. chemists find themselves. In marketing and management, people skills are particularly important, whether you are going to provide leadership or convince others that you have the best product for them to buy. Forensics is an important area in the government, and a good career if you like to pay close attention to detail and solve problems. Also in forensics, you need to be skilled at presenting your results in a convincing manner.

A growing area for chemists is in chemical information services. An interest in computers is very valuable with a good logical mind as you help others to find material in the literature. A related field is in the patent area, whether with the government in the patent office or in the patent offices of companies, universities, or other nonprofit employers. The health and safety area is important, not only from the regulatory aspects, but it is becoming a larger field as companies realize that healthy employees are more productive employees.

Teaching is another field that is very important. There is a growing need for chemistry teachers in the high schools throughout the country. While you can start with a B.S. degree, most states require further training, and a M.S. degree is much more common. At the college or university level, the Ph.D. degree is the norm. Many companies also employ consultants or use their own employees to provide specialized knowledge to others within the company or to teach others about their product. Education continues throughout your lifetime no matter what avenue you decide to pursue.

About half of B.S. chemists today anticipate that they will go on for advanced training. The primary areas are an M.D. or Ph.D. The Ph.D. may work in all of the areas we have discussed that a B.S.chemist may work, but will more likely be in a supervisory role. M.D.s may do research, but the majority work with patients. B.S. chemists also may go to law school, usually with the intent of becoming involved in patent-related work, although forensic work may also lead one into law school. Chemists may also go on to school to pursue degrees in archaeology or art history, where they can use their chemistry training in museums or art galleries. Identifying an art forgery requires careful detailed work. An M.B.A. may also be a second degree, but it is often pursued after working in industry for a period of time.

Chemists are employed throughout the United States in all parts of the country, but don't limit yourself only to this country's national boundries. With the international companies, opportunities for jobs overseas, perhaps in marketing, education or production, may be available to you if you are fluent in another language.

As you decide on where to go next, keep in mind that you will probably work in many types of jobs throughout your lifetime. Each one will combine to expand your knowledge. Enjoy whatever avenue you decide to pursue.
Nina Matheny Roscher is Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemistry at The American University in Washington, DC 20016-8014. She recently completed the book Women Chemists 1995 for the Career Services Division of the ACS. While she went directly from her B.S. and earned her Ph.D. four years later, she worked at the Coca Cola Export Company in New York, taught in several universities and spent fourteen years as a full-time academic administrator at Rutgers and American University. She does basic research with her undergraduate and graduate students, but also studies the sociological and historical aspects of women and chemistry.