Career Opportunities
Chemical Companies Scramble for Graduates Expansion, diversification, and good business lead to heavy recruiting
HOWARD J. SANDERS, Associate Editor, Chemical and Engineering News, Washington, D.C.
Although there have been some random exceptions, college recruiting this year has been brisk. A recent front-page story in the Wall Street Journal was headlined: GRAB T H A T GRAD! OFFERS RISE AND RIVALRY SHARPENS AS RECRUITERS SWARM OVER GAMPUSES
The article went on to say, "The annual corporation rush to hire graduating college seniors is turning into an all-out scramble." Another Wall Street Journal article, which dealt specifically with the recruiting of engineers, said that, of the more than two dozen major employers queried, 19 companies (73%) stated that they were increasing their hiring of engineers this year. A recent article in Time, discussing the "keen competition to recruit the best brainpower on campus," said, "Never before have the collegiate job hunters been so hunted themselves." For the "choosy class of '65," the most attractive companies were in "such expansive fields as chemicals, oils, autos, and consumer goods." This year's recruitment drive has been particularly vigorous in the chemical industry. Du Pont, the nation's largest chemical firm, says that its college recruiters have been looking for 2 1 % more B.S. and M.S. chemists and 37% more Ph.D. chemists this year than last. At the same time, the company's requirements for new B.S. and M.S. chemical engineers have gone up 57% over the 1964 figure. One of the chief reasons for these increases, Du Pont says, is the marked growth in its spending for new plant construction. The company's new and enlarged facilities will draw heavily upon the talents of men and women who are chemically trained. Du Pont is only one of many chemical firms stepping up their recruitment of chemists and chemical engineers. 4A
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Obviously, the employment outlook for chemically trained men and women is good. A recent C&EN survey of 10 major companies showed that most of them are looking for more new chemists and chemical engineers this year than last. Monsanto says that its recruitment needs are more than 100% greater this year than in 1964. It is looking for competent chemists and chemical engineers at all levels—bachelors, masters, Ph.D.'s. Technical recruiting has also been sharply increased at Firestone and at General Foods. For their research and development programs, these firms are looking for 100% more chemists and chemical engineers this year than last. Although not so pronounced, the trend is also up in other companies. Recruitment of chemists and chemical engineers has been boosted 25 to 30% at U.S. Rubber, 20 to 25% at Minnesota Mining & Mfg., 20% at General Electric, and 10 to 15% at Dow. Not every firm, however, is stepping up its hiring. American Cyanamid says it is planning to employ about the same number of new chemists and chemical engineers this year as last. However, since last year was a banner year for its technical recruitment, the company is still looking for a sizable number of new people. In isolated cases, companies are looking for fewer technical people this year. Union Carbide Corp. has reduced its recruitment of chemists and chemical engineers by about 20%. The reason, in part, the company says, is that it is making intensive efforts to reduce costs through more efficient use of its available technical manpower. Reasons for Growth Although some recruitment cutbacks have occurred, the over-all trend is definitely upward. Asked to explain why
Starling Salaries Keep Advancing Median Monthly Starting Salaries of Inexperienced* Chemists and Chemieaf Engineers 1000 iooo Doctor's Degree Chemical Engineers Doctor's Degree Chemist
Dollars
800
800 Master's Degree
600 WSÊSÈSÈÊÊËÈ
Baxter's Degree
400
200 19S6
•i
••
% * * H i*** *
•• •• 200
1958
1960
1962
1964
* With less than 26 weeks of prior work experience.
they are hiring more chemically trained people this year than last, companies give these reasons: • Business is good. Sales of the chemical and allied products industry reached an all-time high of $36.3 billion in 1964—an increase of 12% over 1963 sales. • The nation's over-all economy is growing. The gross national product, which was $623 billion in 1964, is expected to climb to $660 billion this year. It may reach $800 billion in 1970. • Industry in general is becoming more technically oriented. Hence, the need for scientists and engineers is rising. At Du Pont, for example, only 7% of its employees in 1947 were technical graduates. By now, the percentage has risen to 1 3 % , and at the same time the company's total number of employees has grown tremendously. • The chemical industry's spending for research and development has been steadily increasing. In 1964, the chemical and allied products industry invested more than $1.3 billion in R&D, compared with $0.6 billion in 1956. • Chemical firms are diversifying, with the result that they need more and more different types of chemical specialists. Minnesota Mining & Mfg. points out, for example, that its acquisition of both Dynacolor Corp. and the Italian photo products company, Ferrania, has moved it strongly into the photographic field. This move, in turn, has led to its greatly increased need for photographic chemists. One possible (although obviously not very precise) indication of the increasing demand for chemists and chemical engineers is the volume of employment openings advertised in CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING NEWS.
From
January through April of last year, 354 1 / 2 columns of such ads were published. For the same period this year, the figure was 393 columns—an increase of 10.9%.
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
Source: American Chemical Society
Another possible indication of the demand for chemists and chemical engineers is the average number of interviews per job applicant at the American Chemical Society's National Employment Clearing Houses. This number mainly reflects employer interest because it is the employer who decides how many applicants he will interview. At the ACS spring meeting in Philadelphia in 1964, the average number of interviews per applicant was 9.4. At the ACS spring meeting in Detroit this year, it was 11.0. At least on the basis of these figures, the pressure to hire more chemists and chemical engineers appears to be increasing.
Defense
Cutbacks
In the past two or three years, industry observers have expressed deep concern over declines in the employment of scientists and engineers in some of the nation's major companies. In many cases, these layoffs have been caused by cutbacks in government spending for defense. Government support of research and development for defense (by far the largest single segment of federal R&D spending) declined from $7.4 billion in fiscal 1964 to $7.1 billion in fiscal 1965. The budgeted figure for fiscal 1966 is still lower-$6.8 billion. However, government spending for R&D in other fields has been increasing. For the space program, for example, R&D expenditures have risen from $3.7 billion in fiscal 1964 to $4.4 billion in fiscal 1965. In the same period, the Government's total spending for R&D has also gone up— from $13.7 billion to $14.2 billion—and will continue to climb. Although spending for defense R&D has been tapering off, this decline has not had a serious impact on the employment of chemists and chemical engineers. A MAY 2 4, 1965 C & E N
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relatively small percentage of chemically trained people have jobs that are totally dependent on the defense effort. Specialists in Demand A question frequently asked is: In what types of work are chemists in greatest demand? One measure of this demand is the number of available jobs of various types listed in the ACS National Employment Clearing House. At the ACS fall meeting in Chicago in 1964, the largest number of openings (104) were for research and development work in organic chemistry. The next largest number of openings were for R&D in engineering (78), in physical chemistry (72), in polymer chemistry (61), and in analytical chemistry (49). Although the greatest number of employment opportunities are in organic chemistry, the number of available organic chemists is also large. Hence, competition for such positions is fairly keen. As many observers point out, one of today's hottest areas (where the supply of scientists falls far short of the demand) is inorganic chemistry. In the past decade, this field has undergone a spectacular resurgence. As a result, many industrial and government laboratories are clamoring for inorganic chemists—for work on semiconductors, atomic fuels, catalysts, inorganic polymers, high-temperature materials for the space age, and so on. At the same time, inorganic chemists are being actively sought for teaching or research positions in the colleges and universities. Also high on the list of "hot fields" are biochemistry and the closely related field, molecular biology. Laboratories in many parts of the country are eagerly searching for biochemists and molecular biologists who can apply their skills to unraveling the genetic code, to determining the basic mechanisms of life processes, or to discovering the underlying, often elusive, causes of disease. Likewise, the need is great for analytical chemists,
physical chemists, polymer chemists, and chemists interested in marketing or technical service. Also strongly in demand are chemistry teachers at the high school and college levels and chemists skilled in such areas as atomic physics, biology, instrumentation, or computer science. Discussing the problems involved today in recruiting new chemists and chemical engineers, a number of companies say they have had tremendous difficulty finding enough capable men and women with bachelor's degrees who are looking for jobs in industry. In some schools, as many as 807c of the B.S.'s are going on to graduate study. The nation's general affluence and the ready availability of government fellowships and other financial help have made it much easier today for competent people to continue their training into graduate school. In addition, more and more students realize that, for many positions in chemical research, particularly at the higher levels, a Ph.D. is almost essential. 1970 and Beyond For chemists and chemical engineers, the employment prospects are highly promising not only for the immediate future but throughout the next decade. According to a soon-to-be-released study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment outlook for chemists is expected to be 'Very good through the mid-1970's." The report goes on to say that the demand will be especially great for chemists with advanced degrees who wish to do research or teach. Intensifying the need for chemistry teachers will be the large increases in college enrollments expected in the late 1960's and early 1970's. This year for the first time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics lias prepared a separate report on the employment prospects for biochemists. Describing the outlook through the mid-1970's as 'Very good," the report points out that there will be a particularly strong need for biochemists
Present excellent employment prospects for chemists and chemical engineers are likely to exist for at least the next decade. Employers are stepping up recruiting efforts and are using many methods for contacting prospective employees, such as this ACS Employment Clearing House, which is similar to those operated at all ACS national meetings
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with Ph.D. degrees. Employment opportunities will expand with the anticipated increases in spending for research and development in the life sciences. Government spending of this type, which almost doubled in the fiveyear period ending 1964, is expected to grow rapidly. For the years ahead, the prospects also look good for chemical technicians (men and women who have had only two years of post-secondary school or college-level training in chemistry). More and more firms today are using laboratory technicians to relieve their Ph.D.'s and others of routine, time-consuming duties. Should a severe shortage of highly trained scientists develop in the future, the demand for such supporting personnel will increase markedly. Starting Salaries Move
Upward
A clear indication of the rising demand for chemists and chemical engineers is the steady increase in the starting salaries of young graduates. With few exceptions, the median salaries of beginning chemists and chemical engineers have gone up every year for the past decade. According to recent ACS salary surveys, the median monthly starting salary of inexperienced chemistry graduates with a bachelor's degree rose from $541 in 1963 to $550 in 1964—an increase of 1.7%. The greatest rise (7.1%) was for chemistry graduates with a Ph.D. degree. Their median monthly starting salary climbed from $850 in 1963 to $910 in 1964. In the same period, starting salaries for inexperienced chemical engineering graduates also increased. For chemical engineers with a bachelor's degree, the median starting salary rose from $590 to $ 6 1 5 - a gain of 4.2%. For those with a Ph.D. degree, the median moved up from $900 to $950-an increase of 5.6%. Actually, the starting salaries of chemists, even though they have the same degree, cover a rather wide range. Chemists with a bachelor's degree who were in the lower 10% of the salary range received a median monthly starting salary last year of $390. Those in the upper 10% of the salary range received a median starting salary of $660. The range is considerably narrower, however, for chemical engineers. Those in the lower 10% of the salary scale received a median starting salary of $575 a month. Those in the upper 10% received $645. These differences result from several factors. To an extent, they reflect the varying talents and scholastic achievements of the graduates. They also reflect the type of employment the graduate chooses. Typically, salaries in industry are higher than those in the schools or in the Government. The relatively high median starting salary paid to chemical engineers in the lower 10% of the salary range reflects the fact that 94% of all beginning chemical engineers last year went to work in industry, while only 2% accepted positions in the schools and 2% in the Government. On the other hand, only 64% of all beginning chemists last year took jobs in industry, while 17% were employed in the schools and 5% in the Government. The latest ACS salary survey confirms the long-recognized fact that starting salaries are greatly influenced by the type of employer. For example, in 1964, inexperienced B.S. chemists had a median starting salary of $563 in industry, $471 in the Government, $428 in the schools, and $400 in research institutions.
Starting salaries in industry vary with the type of employer. The industries that in 1964 paid the highest median starting salaries to B.S. chemists were the photographic industry ($597), rubber industry ($595), textile industry ($588), and the petroleum industry ($587). The fields that paid the lowest starting salaries were the food industry ($517) and the pharmaceutical industry ($540). The median starting salaries in these latter fields are low partly because they employ a relatively large percentage of women. In 1964, 52% of all women B.S. chemistry graduates entered the pharmaceutical industry. In most cases, women receive lower starting salaries than men with equivalent degrees. In 1964, men with bachelor's degrees in chemistry had a median starting salary of $560. Women with B.S. degrees in chemistry received a median of $480. Income in Later Years So far, we have considered only the salaries of chemists and chemical engineers at the outset of their careers. Also important are the salary prospects throughout a career. The latest data of this type are based on the 1964 National Register of Scientific and Technical Personnel, sponsored by the National Science Foundation. This register, covering 224,000 scientists of all types, included about 63,000 chemists, in addition to a limited number of chemical engineers. According to this survey, the 1964 median salaries of chemists at all experience levels was $9900 a year for those with bachelor's degrees, $10,600 for those with master's degrees, and $13,000 for Ph.D.'s. Last year, the median annual salary for chemists at all degree levels and all experience levels was $11,000. It was $11,700 for chemists in industry, $10,800 in the Federal Government, $9300 in the schools, and $7000 in the military and Public Health Service. The highest median salary (by employer classification) was earned by selfemployed chemists, who received $15,000. When chemists are classified by work activity, the highest paid group, not surprisingly, are those in management. In 1964, chemists in managerial positions had a median annual salary of $15,000. The median annual salary in research and development was $10,800; in production, $9500; and in teaching, $8900. These figures, however, do not indicate how the median salaries of chemists increase at progressive stages of their careers. In the coming months, the National Register figures will be analyzed to obtain information of this type, and the results will be reported later this year in C&EN. Promising
Outlook
Almost all of the indicators point to expanding horizons for chemists and chemical engineers in the years ahead. For the research-minded chemist, limitless possibilities exist for work on the chemistry of the human body, the oceans, the atmosphere, the planets. Chemical research aimed at the conquest of disease is even now, in many cases, just on the threshold of discovery. Research on the development of new, improved materials for use in the home, in industry, or in outer space offers immense opportunities for the skilled, creative chemist. Among the most challenging areas of science today, chemistry holds vast promise for a useful, satisfying, and rewarding career. Seldom has the outlook been better. MAY
2 4, 1965
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