How do you even go about jobs for a Gap Year?

[steelersfan1243]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I am taking a gap year and I was wondering how I should go about getting a job in industry. I applied to the NIH Post bacc program and have yet to hear back from some people, but if that does not pan out I would not mind working in industry or as a research assistant, but how do I even go about getting these kind of jobs. My degree is in pharmaceutical chemistry with extensive productive research. What kind of salaries does a BS Chemist get these days, is it usually around $30000, is it possible to get $60000-$70000 (Im not saying I expect this, but do rarities of this happen)? Also I would prefer to get a clinical research position with the hopes of multiple publications, any hospital known for this? I plan on applying to CHOP, anything else? Thanks for the help

 

[toastytoastie]

I emailed a bunch of PI's at my undergrad institution my senior year asking about job opportunities in their labs. I went for the big guys with lots of grant money (because they're going to burn $24-30k on a person who will only stay for one year). I'm making $22k in an academic biochem lab now (which I secured through the aforementioned method). I highly doubt you're going to start at $60k, but who knows--anything's possible?

 

[medic86]

$60-70k for a gap year job?

No way.

 

[steelersfan1243]

$60-70k for a gap year job?

No way.

I say this because I have a friend who is taking two gap years and was offered a salary of 106k. However, she is a chemical engineer and did co op with the company for two years, so that might be the difference.

 

[hoihaie]

if you only have a BS in Chemistry, it's probably around $18-20/hr. Your friend is an engineer, they make a lot more.

just apply to all the companies looking for someone that fits your description

 

[jqueb29]

I say this because I have a friend who is taking two gap years and was offered a salary of 106k. However, she is a chemical engineer and did co op with the company for two years, so that might be the difference.

Engineers can make way more than science majors with just a bachelor's. Without going on to medical school or any other graduate school, a bachelors in biology or chemistry is basically worthless.

 

[TeamBorealis]

I am taking a gap year and I was wondering how I should go about getting a job in industry. I applied to the NIH Post bacc program and have yet to hear back from some people, but if that does not pan out I would not mind working in industry or as a research assistant, but how do I even go about getting these kind of jobs. My degree is in pharmaceutical chemistry with extensive productive research. What kind of salaries does a BS Chemist get these days, is it usually around $30000, is it possible to get $60000-$70000 (Im not saying I expect this, but do rarities of this happen)? Also I would prefer to get a clinical research position with the hopes of multiple publications, any hospital known for this? I plan on applying to CHOP, anything else? Thanks for the help

Try Private School teaching. I'm a Middle School teacher in the Public System. I was offered many private gigs during my gap year, most of which were around the 57K-65K range. Ultimately, I decided to go the public route for personal reasons, and even then, my starting salary as a Step 1 teacher was just over 50K.

The caveat being...to teach public school (where the majority of jobs are, I'd say 90%+ of teaching jobs) you need licensure, which, if you haven't done it in Undergrad, isn't something you could complete over the summer. It's a 2-year process.

However, private teaching jobs, while they prefer Licensed teachers, often take people who just have a major in the field they're looking for. A friend of mine who'd TA'd for 2 years got a job teaching Chemistry (she was a Chem E major) at a private school without taking 1 education class. Will it be rough? Maybe. Is teaching worth it? Definitely.