[lemonoman]

Here's an interesting question, for all the ChemicalForums regulars and visitors.

How much do you REALLY like chemistry?

Myself, I have to admit I'm just in chemistry for the career.  I want a good paying job...Chemistry is something I like doing (like...not necessarily love...anymore...) - so it's probably the best career choice.

But there's so much more stuff in the world that I want to do.  Entering grad school next September, I can't help but wonder how some people do it.  The people who devote their lives to chemistry, letting everything else go.

Basically I guess I'm REALLY trying to figure out, does anybody here overdevote themselves to chemistry?  Are you actively trying to do other things, or is chemistry 24/7 exactly the way you want to be spending life?

Obviously no right or wrong answers, just curious how everyone feels about chemistry's role in the life of a chemist.

[jdurg]

Chemistry is simply an interest of mine and a hobby.  It used to be a way towards a nice paying job and a well-funded career, but then reality set in and I realized that VERY few people actually get secure, well-paying jobs in this field.  You typically need to be in the field working with chemistry for many, many, many years before you have a chance at the higher paying positions.  If you're married or have another income to live off of, then it's not so bad.  If you are single and trying to support yourself and an active lifestyle it can be very difficult trying to do so on a typical chemist's salary.  (Especially considering how much money is REQUIRED to be spent on your college education).

This all hit me hard when I was doing my internship in Forensics when I saw the availability of jobs in the market and the pay-scale.  It was pathetic.  The only jobs that were available were $30,000 a year jobs as an entry level chemist with few options of upward mobility in the first few years.  I currently work in Clinical Data Management and make more than twice that with very high upward mobility possible.

If I could, I would love to be a professor of basic chemistry at the college level.  A place where you can teach chemistry to others, spark their interest, play with chemicals on a larger scale and just have fun.  Most of the chemistry jobs out there just don't fit that need for me.  Usually you work on tiny, microscales where you can't even see any reaction taking place.  I just don't find it fun.  What I do find fun is talking with my other buddies who collect elements and going over ways to purify them, form new allotropes that we don't have, contain them as ultra-pure samples, obtain them cheaply, etc. etc.  THAT is a bunch of fun.   

[mike]

You need to be passionate about something to make a career of it. If it is only money that motivates you then you should be in business/finance/commerce. In all other fields the passion for the topic is what must drive you, then later, the money will come (not always enough to make you rich though).

Don't chase the money, do what you love and the money will come to you.

[SteveB]

Hi.

I'm sorry that I am a little off topic... I have a little question. What does the starting salary reach if you acquire a PhD?

Thank you,

- Steve

[mike]

Try this thread

http://www.chemicalforums.com/index.php?board=12;topic=12229.6#msg59033

[Borek]

Don't chase the money, do what you love and the money will come to you.

That's the optimistic version, kids. Don't try it at home

[Dan]

You need to be passionate about something to make a career of it. If it is only money that motivates you then you should be in business/finance/commerce.

I totally agree. I couldn't work in one of these high flyer jobs, simply because it doesn't interest me at all. The money wouldn't compensate for my boredom.

As far as chemistry goes, I have always been pretty focussed. I decided at 16 that I wanted to do chemistry at uni. At 19 I decided organic was the way forward, and a few months ago (at 21) I realised that I will be happy working in organic synthesis for many years. I love it. I look foreward to going in to work, which is really nice, and something I never experienced before this academic year. I wouldn't say I was overdevoted to chemistry. There are plenty of people who work much longer hours. I spend about 45 hours a week in the lab. Out of the lab, I spend a fair amount of time on here, and thinking about chemistry and looking up odd bits and bobs, reading a few papers. I still spend alot of time with my friends and do non-chemistry stuff.
There are people who work 60 hour weeks here, but I think that's excessive.

[lemonoman]

I wouldn't say I was overdevoted to chemistry. There are plenty of people who work much longer hours. I spend about 45 hours a week in the lab. Out of the lab, I spend a fair amount of time on here, and thinking about chemistry and looking up odd bits and bobs, reading a few papers. I still spend alot of time with my friends and do non-chemistry stuff.
There are people who work 60 hour weeks here, but I think that's excessive.

As long as chemistry is what you love, then you're living a great life, my friend.

I guess you're right too...that there's no escape from having to get a job.  For me, and for the people who replied, at the very least, the answer is chemistry.

I just can't help but think about all the people who DO put in 60-hour weeks.  Are they truly happy?  I guess it doesn't matter.  It's their choice .

[constant thinker]

For me (I'm still in high school by the way) chemistry is interesting. I look at it from a highly academic stand point. I'd love to teach, but I want a PhD. From what I've gathered very very few teachers at the public high school level have a PhD because the public school systems just don't want to pay someone with a PhD.

Once I realized the whole PhD and teaching dilemma, I decided that I'll try to get a job in the pharmaceutical industry. I realize I may be a bit a naive at the age about future means to support myself, but I would love to work on life saving medicines, especially in the oncology area. I'd be content not making that $60,000 figure for years after university.

[Ψ×Ψ]

I'm not in it for the money.  If I were, I'd be a chemical engineer

[Donaldson Tan]

I enjoy computational modelling and want a well-paid job. I was actually thinking of doing a PhD in Chemical Engineering, specialising in Computational Fluid Dynamics or Computational Reaction Engineering. Since I made into the final round interview to join the analytics group at Lehman Brothers, I changed my mind about getting the PhD.

If I do get into Lehman Brothers, I will still be doing computational modelling, except I am modelling the financial market and not a chemical process. Plus it's an investment banking job - it pays extremely well. The same type of math is involved in modelling the financial market. Attached shows the typical partial differential equation (PDE) used in bond pricing. The PDE that describes that linear velocity of a fluid flowing in a pipe and its axial distribution comes in the same form.

[jdurg]

For me (I'm still in high school by the way) chemistry is interesting. I look at it from a highly academic stand point. I'd love to teach, but I want a PhD. From what I've gathered very very few teachers at the public high school level have a PhD because the public school systems just don't want to pay someone with a PhD.

Once I realized the whole PhD and teaching dilemma, I decided that I'll try to get a job in the pharmaceutical industry. I realize I may be a bit a naive at the age about future means to support myself, but I would love to work on life saving medicines, especially in the oncology area. I'd be content not making that $60,000 figure for years after university.

I currently work in the pharmaceutical industry and will usually work 55-60 hour work-weeks.  I do it not because I have to, but more because I just need to get the job done.  I actually enjoy work.  Yes it's stressful and yes it's mentally exhausting at times, but when you work on a successful clinical trial and see that the work you've done has saved the lives of thousands of people, something about that feels really good.  Every day the work I do is potentially making somebody's life longer and more enjoyable.  Every now and then I'll run into a complete stranger whose life was made better by a drug my company put out, and when they say "Thank you" to me it feels great.  When I break the blind at the end of a study and see that those who were on the drug showed great results, it makes me feel good.  There's just something great about working hard and knowing that the hard work I do is helping people out.  In addition, the nearly six-figure salary with AMAZING benefits is oh so very nice.   

[lemonoman]

when you work on a successful clinical trial and see that the work you've done has saved the lives of thousands of people, something about that feels really good.  Every day the work I do is potentially making somebody's life longer and more enjoyable.  Every now and then I'll run into a complete stranger whose life was made better by a drug my company put out, and when they say "Thank you" to me it feels great.  When I break the blind at the end of a study and see that those who were on the drug showed great results, it makes me feel good.  There's just something great about working hard and knowing that the hard work I do is helping people out.

Very noble.  If people like you could ever get elected into government, then REAL positive change would happen....too bad the system's set up so the good guys never even see an election ballot - progess is expensive

[Dude]

For me, it was a little bit of both.  I started out thinking that I was smarter than the average bear and that I was going to cure cancer, find infinite energy, and have the ability to fly all before the age of 30 and then start a career as a professional surfer.  Along the way, I had to make a few minor modifications.

For the first year and half to two years in grad school I was probably working 70-80 h a week.  In retrospect, it was probably because there were some subtle indicators via word of mouth that the professor would kick you out of the research group if you were lazy rather than a passionate interest.  During my second year, a Chinese guy joined the group and he put in about 30 h a week at work and goofed off the rest of the time.  I thought he was going to get booted, however, after watching him work, he was probably the most efficient person I had ever seen.  I watched and learned a bit and then started cutting my hours back to about 40 per week.  After graduating, I became very disillusioned again upon learning that most "good" research jobs in industry or opportunities as professors were reserved for the "elite" (i.e. MIT or Cal tech grads).  I probably spent a year just trying to get a job interview.  By the time I finally got an interview, I was so PO'd that I just put down a high amount of money (90 K US) knowing that the employer wouldn't match it as I started planning another career.  Oddly, not only did the employer did match it, but I've been getting ~15 % raises for the last 6 years.  With the money I've saved from the income, along with a few lucky investments in Taser and Valero, I could probably retire today.  Today, it's all about money and science is just a blip along the way.  I like to think that the analytical thought rigor that I have gained along the way came from those 80 h weeks, however, it might be innate and those hours were just wasted time.  I try not to think about it much now.     

[constant thinker]

Dude, that's pretty sweet. 

I want to go into the pharmaceutical industry to help save peoples lives, especially in the field of oncology. Even if I never developed and actual treatment, if my work contributed to someone else's major discovery or the development of a treatment, I'd be happy.

Lately though, I've also been thinking about regenerative medicine. The thought of growing (or even printing  ) a knew heart to save someone's life sounds like fun.