[408]

Good thing that for every "whining" post here, there will always be an arrogant one like yours to balance it out. What I hear from you is " I worked hard, and I got where I am through my own sheer effort and determination. I never needed a break or advice from anyone, and I have never been frustrated in my career. So if you aren't as successful as I am, it must be your own fault."

If you are not successful it is your own fault.  Go on, blame others for your shortcomings, and I guarantee you will never stop being a sucker.

[Dan]

This thread is degenerating fast. If nonconstructive comments continue the thread will be locked.

[sdfsfgfdgdfdf]

For those claiming that if you failed, essentially, you were either too lazy or incompetent... you must consider that chance is a very important element in life... there are simply too many things that an individual can not control... It is true that if you work hard and have a positive expectation you will be more likely to succeed, but that will not necessarily always be the case. One thing that you certainly can not control is the state of the economy and the job market... and in every success story there is always an element of luck...

On the other hand, there are always those that didn't try hard enough, but I doubt you'll hear them complaining.

And it is possible to have been really enthusiastic and excited about chemistry when first starting out and to then have that feeling dumbed down by a series of unpleasant experiences... After all its not a very easy major, nor is it an easy profession. However much you may like chemistry, no one spends years of their life training in this field to not be appreciated for it.

I would recommend this talk to you if you can sit through it (its not very exciting)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtSE4rglxbY

[408]

I would recommend this talk to you if you can sit through it (its not very exciting)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtSE4rglxbY

I see that, and raise you :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVlgtsAggRc
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxS731BtTsQ&feature=related

[sdfsfgfdgdfdf]

haha that's funny. But seriously, this guy is so cheesy. And his ideas are so outdated. He's all empty words, taking money from desperate people, willing to pay people like him to sell them motivation. But motivation isn't everything. I'm surprised he's not selling success crystals. This man is anti-empathy. I don't like that. And I don't like him. He looks like a corporate schmuck. 

I'm sure that everyone that has "whined" here tried hard and tried to take many different career paths. But how many paths can you take with a degree in chemistry? Chemistry is not an easy major and its not an easy profession. I don't mean to undermine other professions, but some really are a lot easier. Many of these people spent years of their lives studying and training and its not fair to insult them by saying they are lazy whiners.

It's easy for people to put others down, or be all positive motivation or something when they're at the top... but then when they fall down... they have a change of heart... and the wheel does keep turning all the time...

And another thing, now that I've gotten more interested in this subject, I've read many articles about this problem. My conclusion is that too many trained professionals are being produced in the west and there are not enough jobs to accommodate all of them, so you can say there is an inflation in trained professionals in STEM fields. The people that spent their youth at university, investing in the future, are the victims of this.   

[fledarmus]

You get paid for having what people need, and the need for chemists in the United States has fallen spectacularly over the last 15 years. The largest consumer of advanced chemistry degrees was the pharmaceutical industry, and the large pharmaceutical companies paid very high wages for a lot of chemists with really good benefits and job security. Now many of the large pharmaceutical companies have disappeared in mergers and acquisitions, and the ones remaining have stripped their research divisions to almost nothing. The almost nothing that remains is a small amount of contract labor at low wages with no job security at all, and a very few directors and managers that are managing mostly overseas contract research.

There is still relatively consistent, low demand for analytical chemists and materials chemists, some demand in formulations, and a small (and highly competitive!) demand in academics, but the vast numbers of chemists that we needed in the 60's-90's are no longer in demand. All of the advice I have seen recently for getting a job with a chemistry degree involves "non-traditional" chemistry jobs and "alternative" career paths. Or going overseas - I hear that there is a high demand for good research and language skills in India and China, and some in the former Soviet bloc countries.

[Daveolyte]

Well, I got an internship my sophomore year, and continued to work at the same firm for the next 3 while I finished my degree.  I don't make a king's ransom or anything, but I have a job in R&D.  I love it.  I synthesize something new almost every day.  I know I'm lucky, but I really don't think it's nearly as bleak as OP paints it. 

If you want a good job in chem, study something viable to the future.  Energy storage, materials, etc. 

Good luck out there.

[Borek]

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/08/what_is_the_value_of_a_science_phd_is_graduate_school_worth_the_effort_.html

[yesway]

@Elena, I enjoyed the video link. Good talk.

On topic: Are there options for organic chemists other than big pharma or academia? Materials synthesis? Specialty/fine chemicals? Should I learn Mandarin (not to be taken sarcastically) or another major language ? Should I learn programming/sysadmin skills? Or in general, how can one improve their prospects of landing a job in science?

[ghaznavi]

Oh no.

Is the pharmaceutical industry in the same situation?

[Jasim]

In organic chemistry Materials Science is a big area. IT skills are more useful for analytical chemists, but if you want to do very large scale synthesis in an industrial like setting IT skills would be useful. Large scale synthesis is now performed by robotics which must be programmed, troubleshooted, and maintained - that's where IT skills for an organic chemist would be handy.

If you are looking for more international opportunities, as far as languages go I would recommend German, Japanese, or Mandarin...India also has a sizable chemistry industry.

[benjamin5476]

I agree with moderator opinion，I engaged in this profession has six years in taiwan .Last year, I give up the job,I think if I do it again,my later life won't have too big significance.

[OC pro]

Here in Germany the situation is relaxed these days for chemists. I could easily switch from my former company into a new one. Also, most of the people I have studied with got a nice job somewhere in Germany. In fact, good chemists are highly demanded by the industry here.

[Jasim]

Every post on this thread just seems to reinforce the same thing... Chemistry jobs aren't everywhere, but chemists are in very high demand where the jobs are located.

This makes sense with regards to the industry itself. If you want to be able to work anywhere, go into the service industry or healthcare...We need those workers in just about every location on the planet that has people living there. If you want to be a chemist, then you need to be in an area that has an active chemical industry, a high tech area, and/or an area that is active in research. Those kinds of locations aren't everywhere, but in those locations demand is very high and compensation is very competitive.

To those posters who have nothing but negative comments, Stop complaining! If you want to work in this industry and you can't find a decent job in your area, then you probably need to move. This industry isn't for everyone, but I LOVE my job, I get paid well to do it, and every day I learn something new.

[Doc Oc]

Unless you have authority over the moderators, people are free to complain here as much as they please until the moderator deems it excessive.

I agree that moving to a hub area often helps tremendously, but it is not a cure all, especially in this current job climate.  There's lots of smart people out there with a lot of knowledge and skill that were displaced due to business decisions that had nothing to do with their performance.  And a lot of them are having trouble getting jobs because they're perceived as too costly and/or too old.  Thousands of them were cut from jobs in hub areas where the market is now saturated with outstanding talent not only from other displaced scientists, but also top tier universities.

You're right, this industry isn't for everyone.  And politicians, professors, or journalists who don't know anything about this shouldn't have the loudest voices.  But they do.  And that's part of the reason the job market is so tight; there's just too many of us who bought into it.  The people that survive aren't all going to be the best and brightest.  Often they're the most flexible and determined.  If you love organic/medicinal chemistry and want to make drugs for a living, great.  If you think you're always going to have a fulfilling job doing that and that you'll be making good money until you retire, you're going to be very disappointed.  The people who are being negative in this thread are coming to that realization, and that's a very bitter pill.