Chemical Careers
Much has been said and written about the current job market for chemists. Proposals to close down doctoral programs on the one hand and to discourage incoming freshmen from majoring in chemistry on the other, have been advanced. Neither proposal benefits last year's BS, MS or PhD aaduate. There are other individuals unaffected bv such extreme proposals. These are the students still in thk ~ i ~ e l i n the e . good chemistrv . maiors - of senior. junior. and even sophomore standing, who are doing &I in 'their course work, and whose interest in and enthusiasm for chemistry have not waned despite the job outlook. We cannot promise jobs for all of these students, hut perhaps we can provide new insight into their future role in a chemical world. A large number of chemistry majors, I suspect, have little appreciation of what they will be able to do with their chemistry degree. Too many of them are accustomed to following instructions from a laboratory manual, and anticipate only more of the same,at a laboratory bench somewhere in the chemical industry. The extent to which this picture is true obviously varies greatly from institution to institution, and is prohahly also a function of the size of the institution, or a t least of the size of the group of majors. Because of the very nature of the courses they take, chemistry majors are generally aware of the overlap among not only different areas of chemistry, but also among the other sciences. Yet how much thought is given to pursuing a career along interdisciplinary lines? True, chemists fill positions in clinical, forensic, and environmental laboratories, hut how many of these chemists entered the job market with these positions specifically in mind? Similarly, how many chemistry majors have taken an engineering course or two with the aim of a position in production engineering? Or courses in economics and/or business administration, so as to enter the realm of mar-
opinion keting? Computer courses for the field of data processing? How many majors are not too. thrilled with laboratory work, b i t could do a great job in chemical sales? Or in personnel work? Or in informational science? Or in technical patents? Obviously this listing is not exhaustive but simply illustrative, and further training may he necessary for some of these pursuits. A quick glance at the recruitment material arriving daily shows that opportunities for chemically-trained students at the graduate level are also numerous. Related areas are represented in the brochures, such as the obvious chemical physics, polymer science and engineering, microbiology, and pharmacology, hut, more significantly, areas of study not until recently heard from are also included. Thus materials or solid state science might he mentioned, as well as oceanography, cereal chemistry, environmental health, geochemistry and metallurgy. Finally, chemically-trained individuals are being sought for positions in Science Information and Industrial Management, as well as by graduate schools df Management and of Library. The opportunities for the qualified student really are there, and it's u p to us to make him or her aware of these. Some of this counseling is already beingdone. This is true, I'm sure, where there is present a good one-to-one interaction, either through undergraduate research, or through informal discussion outside of the lecture hall. I suggest that now is the time for each of us to become involved in this particular area of counseling. An emphasis of this sort, on chemical careers, not simply chemistry careers, may relieve some of the overcrowding in chemistry itself, if that is our aim. More importantly, however, it may instill, in counselor and counselee alike, a greater appreciation of what it is that chemists can do.
Robert J. Niedzielski The University of Toledo Toledo. Ohio 43606
Volume 50. Number 5, May 7973
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