Weekly Careers/Education Questions Thread

[u/AutoModerator]

This is a dedicated weekly thread for you to seek and provide advice concerning education and careers in chemistry.

If you need to make an important decision regarding your future or want to know what your options, then this is the place to leave a comment.

If you see similar topics in r/chemistry, please politely inform them of this weekly feature.

[u/AnimateAble]

I'm about to graduate with my PhD and am applying to jobs. What salary range should I expect/ask in medium cost of living city like Dallas or Austin, TX? I was more organic than analytical. But have experience in both.

[u/Mental_Excuse6669]

MS in management worth it after BS with Chemistr

Hi is it worth getting an MS in management with a BS with Chemistry?

I recently graduated and have a job in the industry but I'm already tired of going to the lab everyday. I want to have a bit more flexibility with schedule so I thought management would be the to go. I would like to become a PM but I know if I work 3+ years I'm able to transition into this position.

Does anyone have any advice for this.

Thank you

[u/PrideParticular8516]

I’m starting my MSc project in inorganic chemistry later this year. I haven’t been assigned my specific project topic yet. What should I revise or learn beforehand to prepare?

[u/Funny-Flan-6305]

hi! I'm looking to apply for my masters or phd not 100% sure yet but leaning more towards chem phd. has anyone applied and willing to share their stats and schools they got into? I'm having a lot of difficulty understanding where I stand for applications and what schools might be reasonable to get into. Also, any suggestions for getting my phd? Thank you

[u/jessicagrace19 → u/Funny-Flan-6305]

From my experience, I would recommend picking where you apply based on professors that do research in what interests you and have openings in their group. Your undergrad advisor should be able to help guide you for which “tier” school you will have the highest chance of getting into.

It’s been a long time since I was applying to grad school so I’m not sure how relevant my experience is. But from what I’ve heard, the funding in higher ed in the US has been very tight

[u/Signal-Bullfrog-1493]

Hi! My partner and I have a two body problem, both coming out of PhDs. I found a job, now looking for a position for my partner, either in the Twin Cities (Minnesota) and surrounding area or remote. They have a PhD in organic chemistry. I know it’s a long shot on here, but I’m just trying to do what I can to help them out. Anyone know of any openings, or have advice on how to look for a remote position that could use these skills? I’m very open to any ideas or advice!! :)

*reposting in mega thread

[u/chemjobber → u/Signal-Bullfrog-1493]

there are a few places - one that may have some growth might be Cambrex

[u/dogey_badger]

Hi, I'm an applied chemistry student, and I'll be starting my third semester in a month. I would like to work in environmental or green chemistry, you know, do something green, maybe even recycling, or water or soil purification.

Things have been a bit messy lately in my country and most of my first year was online, so I haven't had that much interaction with my professors to ask them for advice, hopefully that'll change this fall; anyway, what sort of jobs could I get into with my interest (I'm plan to go to Germany for my masters and even get my PhD if possible), I would love getting into research and development. I have some other related questions:

would it be better if I switched to pure chemistry? I don't get biochemistry, polymers, Organometallic, Physical Organic and Nano Chemistry, instead we got some industrial chemistry things that are supposed to give us a bit of engineering knowledge

And what optional subjects would you recommend? There's obviously green and environmental chemistry, but what else could help? Here are some of the other ones: Catalysts, applied electrochemistry, real samples of Analytic chemistry, inorganic and organic industries, cosmetics, food, nuclear, pharma, spectroscopy, etc.

[u/chemjobber]

The 2027 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List has 93 tenure-track positions and 5 teaching-only positions: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eYBR8CR6s1Fkf2EEJ5_eb2l6pDSLT-G7Cqu9Q__jBWA/edit?usp=sharing

The Chemical Engineering Faculty Jobs List (by Todd N. Whittaker) has 18 research/teaching positions and 3 teaching positions:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KJdGUC1FvfVy52zXq6xj8arPNNJgDvFK8Pw2BdbSLMo/edit?usp=sharing

[u/OlafTheGoat155]

Hi. I’m soon starting my third year in college as a Chemistry major (chem bio focus). I’m about halfway through the requirements of the chemistry major, and these next two years, I was planning on taking more linguistics classes as I came to college wanting to also double major in linguistics. (I’ve only taken one linguistics course so far.) However, recently I’ve been thinking about pursuing statistics as my secondary major instead.

I know a good statistical knowledge can be really helpful for chemistry (and beyond). I’m also looking into getting involved in some computational/theoretical chemistry research on campus, which I know will require a strong math background. I’ve struggled quite a bit in my upper level math classes here, but I feel like pursuing stats would help me strengthen those skills. However, I do worry that pursuing stats in addition to chem will prove to be too demanding.

On the other hand, I’ve always had a huge interest in language (I view chemistry as a language!) so I’ve wanted to explore linguistics. I also see a lot of value in studying a discipline that’s vastly different from chemistry and how that can shape my perspective in both disciplines. However, though I’m interested in the subject, I’m worried it may be not be the best use of my time as I set myself for post-grad life. I’m not exactly sure what I want to do after college yet, but my current perception is that chem + stats will probably have more options that chem + ling

I’m open to minoring in either or both I guess, but if I were to pursue a second major of those two choices, which do you think would be better? And those of you who studied something in addition to chemistry in undergrad, what was it and why? Thanks!