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COURTESY OF GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
C
hemists who are ready
to enter the workforce or change
jobs—and who are hoping that
the industry has finally made a
recovery and is hiring in earnest
again—may be disappointed in the coming
months. Many of the industry representatives
and university chemistry department heads
C&EN talked to about the 2005–06 hiring
season said they predicted hiring levels for
new chemists will roughly mirror those of last
year or be slightly reduced. That’s not good
news, as last year’s employment situation
showed little sign of recovery from the
prolonged downturn that has been affecting
chemical hiring for years now.
It’s still early in the hiring season, though,
and a number of factors complicate this
year’s hiring forecasts. Economic and political
events, for example, have buffeted
an already beleaguered chemical industry.
Drastic increases in the price of petroleum
products have sent feedstock, material, and
transportation costs skyrocketing, and a record-breaking
hurricane season has made
things worse by battering manufacturing
COVER STORY
LITTLE CHANGE IN HIRING
FOR NEW GRADUATES
Many recruiters say efforts will resemble last year’s
depressed levels
A ALOK MEHTA , C&EN WA SHINGTON
facilities and oil production on the U.S. Gulf
Coast. Companies continue to invest heavily
in foreign facilities, lured by inexpensive
labor and production costs.
Even the pharmaceutical industry, which
has traditionally been a huge source of jobs
for chemists, biochemists, and
chemical engineers even in difficult
economic situations, seems
to have slowed its growth in the
face of a number of unique controversies
and dilemmas. Fallout
from the Vioxx controversy may
dramatically affect the regulatory
climate for new pharmaceuticals,
making companies skittish about
announcing large hiring increases.
Uproar over vaccine production
and increasing prescription drug
costs have deepened public distrust of pharmaceutical
companies. And in an effort to
alleviate the massive costs of drug research,
pharmaceutical companies continue to contract
research to offshore firms.
All this means that chemists looking to
enter the workforce in the coming year will
have a tough time. Most candidates are unlikely
to have multiple job offers, and searches
may take months longer than expected. Yet
not all recruiters C&EN talked with were
pessimistic about the hiring outlook. Petrochemical
companies are doing especially
well, and the forecast for chemical engineers
and bachelor’s- and master’s-level chemists is
promising. Other firms will continue to hire
at modest levels to replace their aging workforces,
and some are still expanding their
research capacities significantly.
Strong candidates with expertise in synthetic
organic and medicinal chemistry will
still land coveted positions in the pharmaceutical
industry. And even in difficult circumstances,
most chemists fare decently. The university
representatives C&EN interviewed
said that, on the whole, almost all of their
graduate students and postdocs searching
for jobs last year ended up finding the kind
of position they were looking for.
At the two largest U.S. chemical companies,
reports are mixed. DuPont predicts that
the recruiting season will generally be tough
for new graduates, though there will be exceptions.
“This may again be a challenging year
for chemistry, biochemistry, and chemical
engineering grads, due mainly to the uncertainty
in the global economic climate,” says
Senyo Opong, the company’s Ph.D. and science
staffing manager. “Chemical engineers
are likely to be the most affected.
“THE UNCERTAIN economy—including the
effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita—is
hurting the renewal effort of
most U.S. manufacturing-based
companies, and our industry is
no exception,” he adds. “Despite
the uncertain economy, I believe
DuPont is positioned to have a
great recruiting season. Our science
and technology leadership
is fully committed to science
workforce renewal, particularly
at the Ph.D. level.”
EMPLOYMENT
OUTLOOK
For that reason, “the needs of
DuPont this year are similar to
last year,” Opong says. The company has
been hiring more Ph.D.s in the past few
years, and this year will be no exception.
“We are recruiting actively on campus at all
degree levels, including chemists, chemical
engineers, biochemists/biologists, material
scientists, and others,” he says.
“My assessment is that it is a somewhat below-average
job market for new graduates. It’s very uneven in terms
of which companies are hiring and not hiring.”
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“The level of experience needed varies
with the job opening,” he adds. The company
is focusing on chemists with backgrounds
in organic chemistry and polymer
chemistry, scientists with synthesis skills,
and analytical and materials chemists and
biochemists. DuPont also has increased its
recruiting of chemical engineers, “particularly
those with interdisciplinary skills and
those with process development skills.”
Dow is more optimistic. “Overall, the
job market appears to be strong, with more
companies hiring more graduates than in
the previous couple of years,” says Sarah
Kok, workforce planning specialist for
Dow. “Some companies have announced
extremely large recruiting goals.
“This is a good year to be graduating with
chemistry and chemical engineering degrees,”
she adds. “There are specific business segments
that are experiencing significant growth,
and they will need engineers to support that
growth.” Dow plans to recruit heavily to meet
booming business needs. “Our needs in 2006
are higher due to business growth and also
expected attrition in the next several years,”
Kok says. The company will be hiring mostly
bachelor’s-level scientists, but it will remain on
the lookout for a “fair number” of candidates
with graduate degrees, as well as some scientists
with work experience.
Traditional chemical companies,
however, are responsible for only a
small portion of chemical hiring.
Pharmaceutical and biotech companies
remain the strongest sectors
hiring chemists, even as the segment
faces public controversy and increasing
pressure to cut costs. But reports
from pharmaceutical representatives
this year are also mixed.
“My assessment is that it is a
somewhat below-average job market
for new graduates,” says Hans
Maag, vice president of chemistry
for Roche Palo Alto. “It’s very uneven
in terms of which companies
are hiring and not hiring.
“Company visits on average are
down,” he adds. “It’s very clear that
some companies that have routinely
visited schools have not gone
this year.”
But Roche is hiring at a slightly
higher level than it has averaged
over the past several years, Maag
says. “We are part of a multinational
company. Roche is doing quite well
in the industry, so our situation has
not been affected much” by highprofile
controversies in pharmaceuticals,
he says. “We have been well-insulated from
these kinds of events.”
COVER STORY
In particular, the firm is looking for medicinal
chemists and process chemists, both
at the Ph.D. and the bachelor’s/master’s
level. Like most pharmaceutical companies,
Roche is looking for candidates with
extensive training in synthetic organic
chemistry. But hiring is slightly down from
last year, he says, which “was an exceptional
year for us.”
Pfizer echoes many of those sentiments.
“I would classify this year as being fairly
similar to last year,” says Brian S. Bronk,
director of medicinal chemistry in neurosciences
at the company and head of the
Ph.D.-level organic chemistry recruiting efforts
in the U.S. for Pfizer Global Research
& Development. “But I also see signs that
it’ll be leaner than last year—overall demand
is not as high as it was.
“WHAT’S CHANGED is demand from major
pharma,” he adds. Whereas before, a
single company would have upward of 10
openings, openings are now spread out
over more firms, and candidates will have
to work harder to secure positions. Still,
“there are opportunities for qualified candidates,”
he says. “It just requires more effort
and diligence.”
Pfizer, he says, has a “small number of
openings for chemists at all levels—bach-
HELP WANTED
Academic job postings in C&EN jump, but
industrial openings remain low
Volume of “positions open” advertising, column-inchesa 1,200
Academic
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
2002 2003
2004
Volume of “positions open” advertising, column-inchesa 2005
800
Nonacademic
600
400
200
0
2002 2003
a Column-inches published during consecutive periods of four weeks each.
elor’s, master’s, Ph.D.s, and postdocs.” For
Ph.D.s, the company is looking for scientists
with strong synthetic organic chemistry
CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
Downward trend in number of
degrees continues at all levels
BACHELOR’S MASTER’S PH.D.
1982–83 7,185 1,368 692
1983–84 7,475 1,514 409
1984–85 7,146 1,544 504
1985–86 5,877 1,361 531
1986–87 4,991 1,184 584
1987–88 3,917 1,088 685
1988–89 3,663 1,093 712
1989–90 3,430 1,035 658
1990–91 3,444 903 691
1991–92 3,754 956 725
1992–93 4,459 990 737
1993–94 5,163 1,032 725
1994–95 5,901 1,085 708
1995–96 6,319 1,176 798
1996–97 6,564 1,131 767
1997–98 6,319 1,128 776
1998–99 6,033 1,130 674
1999–00 5,807 1,078 725
2000–01 5,611 1,083 728
2001–02 5,462 973 705
2002–03 na na 643
NOTE: Data were collected from degree-granting
institutions. na = not available.
SOURCES: National Center for Education Statistics,
National Science Foundation
backgrounds, while extensive research and
lab experience are essential for B.S.- and
M.S.-level candidates.
Bronk believes candidates looking
for jobs in the pharmaceutical
industry need to be flexible and
adaptable. “The pharmaceutical
industry is facing a new set of challenges,”
he says. “Opportunities
are still going to be there, but the
opportunities are going to be in a
much more dynamic environment
and industry than it used to be. The
pace of change strikes me as different
than before.”
At AstraZeneca’s Boston site, “we
will continue our recruiting effort,
at all levels—Ph.D., bachelor’s, and
master’s,” says John Primeau, director
and head of infection chemistry
at AstraZeneca R&D Boston. “It
will likely be a similar level of recruiting
as last year.”
The company has settled into a
modest growth pattern after rapidly
expanding some of its core chemistry
groups, such as those focusing
on infection and cancer, earlier in
the decade. “We’re growing more
slowly now,” Primeau says, at about
6–7% a year.
The company is looking for synthetic
medicinal chemists, analytical chemists,
informaticians, and computational chemists
3 6 C & E N / N O V E M B E R 7 , 2 0 0 5 W W W . C E N – O N L I N E . O R G
2004
2005

at a range of levels, including some right out
of school and others with experience.
Typically, Primeau adds, AstraZeneca
conducts much of its hiring locally, in the
Boston area. “There’s pretty strong competition
for talent with other pharmaceutical
companies in the area,” he says. “That’s very
good for candidates.” But he adds that he has
seen some downsizing locally as well.
Novartis also has a pessimistic take on
hiring. “My impression is that this will be
a tight recruiting year. There aren’t as many
jobs around as in the recent past,” says Scott
Biller, head of global discovery chemistry
for the company. “I’ve even heard of other
companies reducing staff. That’s the general
tenor in the pharmaceutical industry.”
At Novartis, hiring will be
“comparable to last year,” he
says. “We’ve been growing our
chemistry at a steady pace since
I came to the company in 2003,
and we’ll at least continue that
in 2005–06.”
The company is looking
to hire scientists at all levels,
though Ph.D.s with postdocs
are preferred. And “we plan to
increase our experience base by
also hiring some people with
pharmaceutical company experience,”
Biller adds.
In particular, the company is
looking for scientists with synthetic
organic and bioorganic
backgrounds who can apply
their skills to drug discovery.
They also need some computational
chemists.
Bristol-Myers Squibb is also
not hopeful. “In pharma
in general, research budgets
aren’t growing at the same rate
that they used to,” says Carl P.
Decicco, vice president of discovery
chemistry. “There are
probably fewer jobs available in
the industry this year than previous years,
but I can’t say that for certain. The number
of companies recruiting seems to be a
little down.”
He points to a number of factors that
have contributed to the slowdown, including
the rapid consolidation the industry has
seen recently. “Organizations are trying to
make strategic decisions on how big their
research groups should be,” he says. “It’ll
take some time to work through, so they’ll
be a little careful and hesitant doing too
much at this point.”
Bristol-Myers Squibb will be hiring at
roughly the same rate as it did the previous
two years, with a number of positions avail-
able in both its discovery and process chemistry
groups, he says. Though it’s still early, he
adds that he is “very pleased at the number
of extremely qualified candidates he’s seen at
the Ph.D. and postdoctoral level.”
“THE INDUSTRY is very cyclical,” Decicco
says. “There’s a trend where there’s not a lot
of growth right now. That’s likely to change
as the pipeline delivers and there is a reinvestment
in research.” Still, he adds, “there
will always be a demand for highly skilled
synthetic organic chemists in drug development
and research.”
The pharmaceutical industry’s challenges
are also affecting associated companies, such
as contract research firms. “Things are not
JOB HUNT WOES
Number of job openings and employers at ACS’s national
meeting employment centers has plummeted
TOTAL
CANDIDATES EMPLOYERS
POTENTIAL
OPENINGS
as rosy as they were a year ago,” says Alexander
Chucholowski, vice president for chemistry
at ChemBridge Research Laboratories.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty in our business
and the whole area we’re working in.
“We are providers to the pharmaceutical
industry. If it is hurting, we are hurting,” he
adds. “And it’s very difficult for contract research
organizations operating in the U.S.
That’s reflective of the pharma industry in
general. The industry has problems, and it’s
trying to save money wherever possible, such
as sending research overseas. Offshoring is
the biggest threat to us.”
For those reasons, ChemBridge is being
especially careful in its hiring plans this
year. “In previous years, we hired with the
expectation that new business would appear,”
he says. “We will be much more cautious
this year.”
The company is looking for new chemists
on a case-by-case basis, at all levels. “But it’s
easier to find qualified Ph.D.s than it is to
find well-trained bachelor’s- and master’slevel
candidates,” Chucholowski says. Most
of the Ph.D.s Chembridge hires—upward
of 80%—have postdocs, he adds.
Chucholowski is not completely pessimistic
about the industry, though. “Recently I
have seen more start-up and biotech companies
getting financing. We hope we’ll see
some improvement in business from this,
but we’re not sure,” he says. Still, “if the
situation improves, it will take
some time to improve.”
One counterpoint to the modest
hiring plans of many pharmaceutical
companies is Gilead
Sciences. “As a company, we are
rapidly growing,” says Norbert
W. Bischofberger, executive vice
president of research and development.
“We’re investing a lot of
money into research, discovery,
and development.”
In fact, he adds, “one interesting
challenge we’re facing is
that hiring takes time.” Because
the company can only interview
a limited number of chemists,
and integrating new hires into
the team-based setting of drug
discovery takes a while, “there’s
a limit on just how many people
you can bring onboard in one
year.”
The company continues to
look for chemists, biochemists,
molecular biologists, and analytical
chemists for drug discovery,
process chemistry, and analytical
formulation. Synthetic organic
chemists are especially
important, Bischofberger says. “They are
the bread and butter of the pharmaceutical
industry.” He adds that Gilead is seeking, to
a lesser extent, chemical engineers.
Gilead has also had trouble attracting
good bachelor’s- and master’s-level chemists.
“We’re very interested in finding good
candidates,” he says, “but we have found it
a little more challenging.”
But Bischofberger tempers his company’s
hiring plans with a warning. “There are a lot
of changes going on, with the potential to
affect very greatly the future of the pharmaceutical
industry,” he says. “It’s a changing
environment and political landscape, and
that will affect how much the pharmaceu-
INTERVIEWS
SCHEDULED
2000
San Francisco 1,052 169 1,069 3,367
Washington, D.C. 1,057 156 1,616 3,479
2001
San Diego 897 209 1,429 4,299
Chicago 1,112 169 1,392 4,377
2002
Orlando 867 131 436 3,146
Boston 1,231 137 521 4,688
2003
New Orleans 1,151 96 305 1,751 a
New York City 1,374 97 291 1,673 a
2004
Anaheim 1,281 121 271 1,605 a
Philadelphia b 1,494 107 303 1,602 a
2005
San Diego 1,296 88 189 1,291 a
Washington, D.C. 1,927 97 289 1,685 a
a Figures for interviews scheduled may not be comparable with previous years’ because
of implementation of a computerized registration and communication system. b The National
Employment Clearing House officially became the Chemjobs Career Center beginning
with the Philadelphia meeting. SOURCES: American Chemical Society Department
of Career Services, Chemjobs Career Center
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tical industry is willing to invest in research
and development.”
Albany Molecular Research also predicts
a bright recruiting season. “We primarily
serve the pharmaceutical/biotech
sector,” says Brian D. Russell, the firm’s
CHEMISTRY DEGREES
Most recent data show number of
Ph.D.s jumping significantly
BACHELOR’S MASTER’S PH.D.
1982–83 10,796 1,622 1,758
1983–84 10,704 1,667 1,765
1984–85 10,482 1,719 1,836
1985–86 10,116 1,754 1,903
1986–87 9,670 1,738 1,975
1987–88 9,052 1,708 2,015
1988–89 8,625 1,774 1,970
1989–90 8,132 1,682 2,100
1990–91 8,321 1,665 2,194
1991–92 8,641 1,780 2,214
1992–93 8,914 1,842 2,137
1993–94 9,425 1,999 2,257
1994–95 9,722 2,099 2,162
1995–96 10,415 2,254 2,149
1996–97 10,644 2,240 2,148
1997–98 10,582 2,141 2,216
1998–99 a 10,120 2,037 2,132
1999–00 10,043 1,888 1,989
2000–01 9,493 1,985 1,980
2001–02 9,136 1,845 1,923
2002–03 na na 2,037
NOTE: Data were collected from degree-granting institutions.
a Bachelor’s and master’s degree information
estimated from ACS 1999 Starting Salary Survey.
na = not available. SOURCES: National Center for
Education Statistics, National Science Foundation
senior director of human resources. The
growth in that sector provides “a positive
outlook” for Albany Molecular, he adds.
The company will have “an active recruiting
year in the area of organic chemistry,”
Russell says. And talks with other recruiters
have suggested to him that chemical
engineering graduates will enjoy a relatively
strong market.
“OUR CURRENT and expected customer demand
indicates strong hiring trends in 2006
on the chemistry services side,” he adds.
“While we cannot speak for the chemical
industry as a whole, we believe our recruiting
situation reflects the confidence in Albany
Molecular from the market we serve, as well
as current trends in that market.”
The company is planning on hiring chemists
at all degree levels in 2006, including new
graduates and scientists with industry experience.
In particular, he adds, Albany Molecular
is looking for candidates with degrees in or
experience with organic synthesis, analytical
chemistry, and chemical engineering.
Another bright segment for new chemists
and chemical engineers is the petrochemi-
COVER STORY
cal industry. Despite extensive hurricane
damage this year and last year, oil companies
recently posted record profits. Though
this irks a public battling dramatic increases
in the cost of gasoline and heating oil, the
windfall may translate into a number of opportunities
for new chemists.
“Higher demand is evident, particularly
in the energy business, where there is an
aging workforce,” says Susan K. Wilson,
manager for recruitment marketing at
BP America. “The current job market is
very competitive for the best in class.” Top
chemical engineers are getting multiple offers,
she says, and “all students are enjoying
a lot of attention.”
At BP, “our needs are up about 30%, due
to increased needs in exploration and production,”
she says. The company is looking
mostly for B.S.-level chemical engineers, plus
a handful of Ph.D. chemical engineers and
chemists, particularly those with a background
in catalysts. In addition, its refining
technology group is actively searching for
chemists with experience.
The company looks for candidates with
solid technical skills who have demonstrated
creativity and drive. “In addition to strong
academic performance,” Wilson says, “experiential
work, such as internships, distinguishes
most higher quality candidates.
Other petrochemical companies have
similar outlooks. “The job market appears
to be very good for chemical engineering
students this year,” says Doug Chauveaux,
manager of college relations and staffing for
Chevron Phillips Chemical. “We attribute
this to three factors: the economic market
conditions in the chemical and petrochemical
industry, the approaching retirement
age of the baby boomer generation, and an
insufficient number of students entering
these disciplines each year.
“Chevron Phillips Chemical’s recruiting
situation generally mirrors that of the
chemical industry,” he adds.
The company is actively recruiting B.S.level
chemical engineers in anticipation of
large hiring needs. “When employees retire,
our preference is to promote from within. As
a result, there is a need for qualified graduates
to fill these vacancies,” Chauveaux says.
“In fact, Chevron Phillips Chemical expects
to hire more graduates in the next two years
than the total number of new hires in the
company’s previous five years.”
The company also recruits scientists and
engineers with more experience when positions
requiring such expertise open up. Currently,
the company’s joint-venture project in
Saudi Arabia, Jubail Chevron Phillips, has a
need for experienced engineers, he says.
University department heads mirror the
uncertainty of industry representatives over
this year’s hiring trends: Many were discouraged
by early signs, fearing the recruiting
situation for their students will be similar
to or worse than last year, though others
were encouraged by the initial progress of
job seekers.
The University of Pennsylvania’s Gary A.
Molander, a professor of chemistry and acting
vice chair of the chemistry department,
for example, is optimistic about prospects
for the department’s students. More companies
than last year are coming to campus,
he notes, the bulk being pharmaceutical or
biotech companies. “It will be as good as last
year or better,” he says. “There seem to be
more opportunities at companies.” But he
warns that it’s early in the season and first
impressions might be misleading.
Still, “last year turned out well,” Molander
says. “Almost everyone got a job who
was looking.”
OF COURSE, chemists whose prime desire is
pure research and who want the freedom to
pursue their own interests without too much
outside interference won’t be seeking positions
in industry, but rather a place among
the faculty of university or college chemistry
departments. This is a longer and more
challenging road, as postdocs are required
for many of these positions, and competition
for slots is fierce. Hiring committees
often seek candidates with specific specialties,
but they are also always on the lookout
for star scientists. Yet, the outlook for jobs
is promising, as advertising for academic
positions in C&EN has jumped and most
universities C&EN talked with continue to
hire at a modest pace.
The University of Pennsylvania is busy
trying to fill four open chemistry faculty
positions. “We’ve been authorized by the
dean to search for three senior faculty, and
we have the initial go-ahead to hire one junior
faculty member,” Molander says. “This
is part of a new initiative to try to recruit
outstanding senior faculty.”
The effort represents a marked departure
from the department’s typical hiring
pattern. “This is the most we’ve hired in the
past six to 10 years,” he says. “We’ve been
hiring one or fewer faculty a year on average
over the past six years.”
These faculty searches are open to any
qualified candidate. “Our searches recently
have been for the best candidate in any
area,” Molander says. “Previously, we had
been searching for candidates with specific
specialties.”
David E. Clemmer, chair of the department
of chemistry at Indiana University,
agrees that students looking for jobs will
3 8 C & E N / N O V E M B E R 7 , 2 0 0 5 W W W . C E N – O N L I N E . O R G

fare well. “I think in general that it’s still
a pretty good market for our people,” he
says. “I do think it may have slipped a little
bit from last year, but I don’t know anyone
having trouble finding a job.”
He says that slightly fewer companies
have visited the campus this year, but it’s
not a significant difference. Those that do
come are mostly pharmaceutical companies
in the Midwest looking mostly for analytical
and organic chemists.
“Everybody got good positions”
last year, he says. “We had people
who had a range of different offers.
But for others, offers didn’t come
as quickly. And maybe searches
are taking a little bit longer.”
Fueled by a number of university
initiatives, especially a new
program in materials science and
a new interdisciplinary science
building that will feature genomics
and proteomics facilities,
the department is hiring pretty
rapidly. It is looking for new faculty
in all areas but in particular
is “expanding in the area where
chemistry merges with biology,”
Clemmer says.
Because of the expansion in lab
space and losses from retirement,
the department is “still understaffed
at this point,” he adds. So
it will continue to hire at an average
rate of about three new faculty
members a year, as it has in the
past four years. “It’s a matter of the
right fit of people—the right age
distribution,” Clemmer says. “It’s
not a matter of positions.”
James J. Valentini, chair of
Columbia University’s chemistry
department, says the university is
searching for two junior chemistry
faculty—one in organic chemistry
and the other in theoretical
chemistry.
And at the University of California,
Berkeley, two faculty
searches are also under way, says
Michael A. Marletta, chair of the
department of chemistry there.
The department is looking to
fill positions in interdisciplinary
fields, specifically chemical biology
and materials chemistry.
“The exciting stuff is happening
at the interfaces,” he says. “So
we’re looking for people to work
at the interfaces of traditional
disciplines.”
The recruiting efforts are designed
to fill department needs
and support a university-wide initiative in
nanoscience. But, like most departments,
Berkeley will still consider other strong applicants.
“Outstanding candidates in any
area of chemistry will be hired,” Marletta
says, pointing out that recently the department
created an extra position for a theoretician
during a search for an experimental
scientist, based on a candidate’s extremely
strong potential.
The recruiting situation for the depart-
WHERE NEW GRADS FIND JOBS
Universities and pharmaceutical firms employ
large numbers of chemists ...
Biotech
2%
Elementary &
secondary teaching
7%
Federal, state
& local government
8%
Traditional
chemical
Other
manufacturing
15%
a
14%
Respondents with Ph.D. degrees = 175
Pharmaceutical
14%
Universities
& colleges
13%
Other
manufacturing
16%
Traditional
chemical Analytical &
hospital labs
13%
Respondents with bachelor’s degrees = 704
a
11%
Elementary &
secondary teaching
1%
Biotech
5%
Federal, state
& local government
6%
Other
16%
Universities
& colleges
30%
Pharmaceutical
18%
... and traditional chemical companies still employ
the most chemical engineers
Food
5%
Universities
& colleges
7%
Pharmaceutical
& biotech
8%
Federal, state
& local government
10%
Other
10%
ment’s students seems pretty similar to last
year, Marletta says. The department’s graduate
students headed mostly to postdocs, he
adds, while its postdocs, “based on the reputation
of their training, found jobs. But I
can’t say everyone got their first choice.”
IN ADDITION, the job market remains tight,
and those who want to go from “a Ph.D.
straight to industry might have to end up
doing a postdoc that they wouldn’t have
had to otherwise,” he says.
Michael P. Doyle, a professor
and chair of the department of
chemistry and biochemistry at
the University of Maryland, is also
worried. “It’s too early in the sea-
son to tell for sure, but from what
I sense, there has been a shrinking
in the marketplace for our
students,” he says. “Responses are
coming slower and fewer.”
Last year, “our students did very
well. I don’t know anyone who
was left unemployed—individuals
found the positions they wanted
to be in,” he says. “I don’t think
the same is going to be true this
year.” He has already noticed more
people applying for postdoctoral
positions, possibly in anticipation
of a difficult job market.
The department is looking to
hire two new faculty members this
year, one specializing in organic
chemistry and the other in biochemistry.
“We’ve had open searches in
the last couple of years, but we’re
focusing more this year,” Doyle says.
“We’re targeting these areas because
of certain needs we have.”
But like most universities, the
department will pull strings to
hire additional candidates if they
are especially strong, regardless
of their area of specialization.
“There are always opportunities
for people who present themselves
who might be suitable for a position,”
he adds.
The chemical and pharmaceutical
industries continue to face a
number of difficult challenges, but
hiring will continue at rates comparable
to last year. That means job
hunts may be difficult, but they
won’t be impossible, as suggested by
the ultimately successful outcomes
reported by university representatives
about last year’s graduates.
There are still plenty of positions
available for talented scientists with
patience and perseverance. ■
W W W . C E N – O N L I N E . O R G C & E N / N O V E M B E R 7 , 2 0 0 5 3 9
Other
11%
Traditional
chemical a
28%
Other
manufacturing
20%
Professional services
12%
Respondents with bachelor’s degrees = 246
NOTE: Data are for newly graduated chemists and chemical engineers working
full time. a Includes agricultural chemicals, basic chemicals, coatings and inks,
personal care products, petroleum, plastics, rubber, soaps and detergents,
specialty chemicals, and textiles. SOURCE: 2004 ACS Starting Salary Survey