[aismail3]

After you received your bachelors in chemistry, what was your first job? What *exactly* did you do?

How long did it take for you to find a job after graduation?

What was the pay like?



Please be as detailed as you can. Thanks.

[marquis]

Many answers to this question.

If you start out in industry, the most positions are in a quality lab as a technician.  That is where the most positions are, but not necessarily where you want to start.  Many of your professors have probably told you about the technician/chemist divide.  If you start as a technician, it is hard to break into the chemist jobs.  The same is true of the  hourly/ salaried divide.  If you start hourly, its hard to get into the salaried positions.

For me, research was my area of interest.  In industry, they have research and development departments.  Much of this work is development, not research.  So you would spend your time, as an example, optimizing some part of the plants products.  There are some pure research jobs, but those are usually reserved for PhDs.

Another option is manufacturing.  They often want supervisors with technical experience.  The guys who did this went down the business or MBA route.  Extra classes are often in management, accounting, etc.

If you stay in quality, often you will start studying for a quality engineer or supervisor position.  Business courses help, but often it is statistics and quality related courses (such as six sigma) that are helpful.

For salary information, I would recommend the ACS web site.  The ACS does a survey every 5 years on the pay you can expect.  Having said that, I live in the midwest.  There have been so many manufacturing companies leave the area that a batchelor's degree in chemistry will get you 20K to 25K annually.  More supply than demand.  I hope your area of the country is better.

[JGK]

As a new graduate (admittedly a long time ago) I started work in the contract research (CRO) industry. These companies provide services for pharma/chemical and other companies in performing regulatory compliance testing to specific guidelines. The big advantage in working in this type of field is the level of variety in the work however the salary is not as good as pharma industry.  It does, however, provide a way to bridge the technichian/scientist divide as pharma companies develop close contacts with CRO staff and frequently headhunt candidates for their vacancies.  Alternatively, within the CRO lenght of service usually expands you level of responsibility and can lead to supervisory/ management roles within the company if you show the aptitude.

A CRO I was with hired me in one position but when I showed a particular aptitude in Analytical chem they paid for me to do an MSc degree which advanced my career in the An. Chem. side of the business.

[Agent-X]

...If you start as a technician, it is hard to break into the chemist jobs.  The same is true of the  hourly/ salaried divide.  If you start hourly, its hard to get into the salaried positions...

Do you think you could discuss the reasons for those things. I don't understand the reasoning.

[marquis]

I wish I could explain the reasoning.

When you hire as a technician, often times you will not be considered for a chemist position.  You have experience working in the area, you have an understanding of the way the company works.  You would think the technicians would be considered first.

Unfortunately, it often doesn't work that way.  That's an observation from myself and friends dealing with corporate America. 

Often, the best way to get promoted is to get a new job with a different company.

Another approach is used by some contract labs.  They don't have technicians.  They have chemist level 1,2, and 3.  You have the title, if not necessarily the pay.

[Agent-X]

I wish I could explain the reasoning.

When you hire as a technician, often times you will not be considered for a chemist position.  You have experience working in the area, you have an understanding of the way the company works.  You would think the technicians would be considered first.

Unfortunately, it often doesn't work that way.  That's an observation from myself and friends dealing with corporate America. 

Often, the best way to get promoted is to get a new job with a different company.

Another approach is used by some contract labs.  They don't have technicians.  They have chemist level 1,2, and 3.  You have the title, if not necessarily the pay.

So, in other words, it's difficult to transfer to a different position within the company? But it's not as difficult to leave and then take a chemist job at a different company?

I suspect that would make sense. Perhaps businesspersons see a technician as a more valuable asset than a chemist, because the technician already understands the business; and they want to keep a group of people who understand the business and its goals (knowledge of business model, plan, etc.) rather than chemistry.

[JGK]

I did for a time work within a Pharma company and they had a fairly rigid technician/scientist grade structure. New graduates (BSc) entered the technician structure and rose through that. The grades were TA, T1, T2, T3,  T4 and T5. However, promotions to T4 and T5 were only made if a vacancy arose and your career was likely to stall at the T3 level.

To gain access to the scientist grade usually required a PHd qualification.

This is why I suggested the CRO route. In a pharma company you are only exposed to whatever is in the company's product pipeline, however, with are CRO the variety of work and problems encountered is much greater, consequently, you will gather a greater level of experience in 5 years working in a CRO than you would in a pharma company. It is this high level of experience which helps you to leap the technician/scientist gap within pharma.


I would also advise you to check out any prospective employer before you start work with them. I know of one company who employed some of my former staff (in permanent positions) at much improved salaries. However, once the "project" they worked on was completed they were terminated rather than redeployed within the company. This is more common in companies in the startup phase where income is from investors only.

[aismail3]

Thanks everyone for the great answers! It helps.