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Besides teach, does anyone have any intuitive notions as to what else chem majors can do?
Chem Majors, What can you do with a chemistry degree?
- Thread starter Blown Away
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the possibilities are endless.
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Really? besides research and teach? I've always thought it would be cool to maybe work in a synthesis lab for pharmacies
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Quality control at places like DuPont?
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Take a bunch of kids into a bakery and make the baker thing he's going insane, all the while looking at the crystalline structure of sugar and studying reactions involving heat!Really? besides research and teach? I've always thought it would be cool to maybe work in a synthesis lab for pharmacies
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Really? besides research and teach? I've always thought it would be cool to maybe work in a synthesis lab for pharmacies
lol I was just joking, I have no idea. honestly I'm not sure what anyone can do with just a bachelor's degree these days. It seems like every job requires some form of higher education.
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CH3CH2OH. True story.
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What you can do with a chem major is go to graduate school for chemistry. You then get a PhD and go into industry. Industries are practically limitless, but I suggest pharmaceutical companies (free Viagra).
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Design an innovative compound and find a niche in the market you can exploit. A friend of mine utilized his bachelor's in chemistry (albeit with a significant amount of research on his own) and designed a solvent capable of dissolving specific types of rubber. After patenting his creation he took out heavy loans to manufacture it on an industrial scale. The solvent is primarily used at airports to remove rubber on the runways. As a chem major myself I debated going in industry as well, but having just a bachelors doesn't open up too many doors unless you can market yourself well.
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It's sad that I get this joke.
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I think most on this forum get it.
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Tell me where to find those jobs. I will have taken two 'gap' years by the time I matriculate this fall, and I looked high and low for higher paying entry-level jobs with my B.S. in Biochemistry degree. I was ACS certified so I had a lot of expertise in just straight up chem. The only class I didn't take that chem majors take is the advanced organic synthesis class (blech!).
For an entry-level position, you can expect something between 25-40k/yr in metropolitan areas, from personal experience, at least. I only was searching for 8 months, so I could be wrong.
And why Boston, SF, or MD? Basically any place where there's a large chemical or biotech or pharma presence. Of course, this includes Boston, SF, and MD...but NJ, PA, MI, WA, NY, etc. all have jobs for chem majors.
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Not me. What's chemistry?? 😕
But seriously, you could probably use it to clean your hindquarters after a hefty BM. If you're looking for a backup plan, try for the PhD. Your backup backup plan might be a masters. Your backup backup backup plan could be truck driver.
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Ditto. Backup A - PhD; Backup B - MS; Backup C - MBA (working on the business side in a chem, biotech, pharma company); Backup D - truck driver?
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I interned in an aftertreatment research group at a Fortune 50 company. There were many chem majors working there. They technically had the title "engineer" because they didn't have a chemist designation. At many industrial companies I am sure there would be a department with something chem related. As someone else mentioned, the key to employment is not degree=job. You need to actively market yourself and your skills for a job that you are confident you can perform. This company also has a geology major working in another engineering related department. I also had a job offer after graduation working in an oil testing department which paid pretty well. It is still possible to get in a company and work your way up. Don't be so frightened by the starting salary. It's just a starting salary. Experience and hard work gets the job done much more than a degree. That is hard for college students to realize. Ask around to successful people you know that are mid-career and it is unlikely that many of their degrees really have anything to do with their job.
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Fine. I guess you could also drive a bus if you wanna get nitpicky.
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Yes. There is always becoming a high school chem teach and secretly brewing/dealing meth. I guess you could make money that way...but dipping into the stash too might take some money out of your bottom-line.
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Many jobs listed for chemical engineers also mention chemistry degrees as a valid qualification.
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Yes. My friend graduated last summer with a bachelors in Chem and had a string of internships doing QC/QA at wineries. She just got a full-time testing batches of hops using GC-MS for a microbrewery.
I am a co-op chemical engineer working at dupont for this spring semester and, I have seen people with a bachelor in chemistry working as technician here at the dupont site where I work. They make around $40,000. A phd in chemistry makes $98,000. These are starting raw salaries also. A phd chemist and a phd chemical engineer make the same starting salary ($98,000) out of college but not the same salary with a bachelor degree (Chemical engineers make about $20,000 more). A phd in chemistry is what you might want to look into.
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Build atomic bombs
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You could find a job at a pharmaceutical company doing something in a laboratory.
Many people already listed great ideas, if you want to hear it in person you could probably go talk to your(or any) chem professor/advisor and they will be glad to talk about it and give you some resources if your lucky.
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@PddppfCl2
First of all, I'm glad you're one the incredibly few who found an incredibly rare job.
This isn't my first time around the block. I presented at two different research symposiums, and I did gather a few (3) business cards of people who were interested in my potential with their company. I never pursued the opportunities because my wife (fiance at the time) was starting school in a different metro 16 hours away from my undergrad. So, I'm not sure what I could've made if I had applied there. I doubt $65k was anywhere near what was attainable for a B.S.
I applied broadly, had excellent credentials (comparatively speaking) and had four offers with zero connections. As an entry-level (I had 3 years of research experience) applicant, I was hardly qualified for something making more than $50k/yr. I have met ZERO B.S. grads who make more than $50k/yr out of school. I have met very few M.S. grads making $65k/yr and I know none making $75k/yr. Without a great connection, a recent graduate doesn't have the experience in industry to warrant a, "Scientist", "Research Associate", and "Engineer" position. All of these positions at the research hospital where I work are primarily filled with PhD's and older M.S. scientists with extensive experience and at least a few first author publications. Without connections, you're forced to market yourself with your own credentials. As a recent graduate, those are severely lacking to attain the kinds of your positions you're proposing a chem grad could attain. Your experience isn't necessarily reflective of the greater job market available to recent graduates.
As a technician, I have great control over my research which has already led to a publication and was one of my greatest assets applying to MD/PhD programs. I was able to present my work at both national and international conferences...as a technician.
I do believe you are in the minority, and that your comments exude a bit of arrogance, unintentionally, I'm sure.
Realistically, I would suggest most chem graduates shouldn't hope to make more than $40k/yr. The lucky few make more...
First of all, I'm glad you're one the incredibly few who found an incredibly rare job.
This isn't my first time around the block. I presented at two different research symposiums, and I did gather a few (3) business cards of people who were interested in my potential with their company. I never pursued the opportunities because my wife (fiance at the time) was starting school in a different metro 16 hours away from my undergrad. So, I'm not sure what I could've made if I had applied there. I doubt $65k was anywhere near what was attainable for a B.S.
I applied broadly, had excellent credentials (comparatively speaking) and had four offers with zero connections. As an entry-level (I had 3 years of research experience) applicant, I was hardly qualified for something making more than $50k/yr. I have met ZERO B.S. grads who make more than $50k/yr out of school. I have met very few M.S. grads making $65k/yr and I know none making $75k/yr. Without a great connection, a recent graduate doesn't have the experience in industry to warrant a, "Scientist", "Research Associate", and "Engineer" position. All of these positions at the research hospital where I work are primarily filled with PhD's and older M.S. scientists with extensive experience and at least a few first author publications. Without connections, you're forced to market yourself with your own credentials. As a recent graduate, those are severely lacking to attain the kinds of your positions you're proposing a chem grad could attain. Your experience isn't necessarily reflective of the greater job market available to recent graduates.
As a technician, I have great control over my research which has already led to a publication and was one of my greatest assets applying to MD/PhD programs. I was able to present my work at both national and international conferences...as a technician.
I do believe you are in the minority, and that your comments exude a bit of arrogance, unintentionally, I'm sure.
Realistically, I would suggest most chem graduates shouldn't hope to make more than $40k/yr. The lucky few make more...
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Chemist can:
1) academia (need a phd)
2) industry (want a phd)
3) med school (get an MD)
4) not get an advanced degree, go into industry, and make half as much.
5) get a chemical engineering type job- but why study to be a chemist and not an engineer, then? Would be harder to land, too, if not an engineer.
Basically, go to grad school.
1) academia (need a phd)
2) industry (want a phd)
3) med school (get an MD)
4) not get an advanced degree, go into industry, and make half as much.
5) get a chemical engineering type job- but why study to be a chemist and not an engineer, then? Would be harder to land, too, if not an engineer.
Basically, go to grad school.
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You could be the next Alton Brown and start another quarky Food Network show: Good Eats II
