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CHAPTER VII
Career Opportunities and
Education in Chemistry
Chemistry, as a central science, helps us understand the universe around us, see
our place in that universe, and respond to the needs of human society. Further-
more, chemistry figures importantly in the economic fabric of our country. Hence,
the pursuit of chemistry provides a fulfilling and rewarding career for young people
interested in science and in service to humankind. We shall discuss here these
career opportunities and the educational pattern associated with chemistry as a
profession.
CHEMISTRY: AN ACTIVITY OF CREATIVE INDIVIDUALISTS
Today's public image of science is still heavily influenced by the reverberating
impact of the World War I! Manhattan Project that brought us the atomic bomb and
the Apollo Project of the 1960s that let us set foot on the Moon. But embedded in
this glamorous, highly organized, and well-publicized setting, there are several
scientific disciplines that have somehow maintained the highly personal character-
istics of classical human creativity. (How many poets were needed to write
Hamlet? How many artists to paint the Mona Lisa? How many scientists to
propose relativity?) Chemistry is one of these disciplines. Somehow it has
remained an individualistic and highly competitive activity that depends upon
prolonged individual initiative and personal creativity. Scientific publications in the
field generally involve only two or three authors.
Chemistry has remained, worldwide, an innovative "cottage industry" that has
been remarkably productive. Its continuing success is shown by the increasing rate
of discovery of new compounds (see Chapter I, p. 2), despite the fact that at any
given moment the molecules easiest to synthesize have already been made; the
harder ones remain. This evidence shows that chemistry in the small project mode
is an extremely effective enterprise, both here and abroad. Thus, the term cottage
industry describes a highly individualistic and personally creative activity rather
than a group one. These characteristics impart a healthy competitiveness and a
liberating freedom from accepted dogma. They make chemistry an ideal field in
which to nurture a young scientist's originality and initiative. He or she can be
intimately involved and in control of every aspect of an investigation, selecting the
question, deciding on the approach, assembling and personally operating the
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CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AND EDUCATION IN CHEMISTRY
TABLE VII-1
Employed Scientists and Engineers in Selected Field (1980)
Chemical Biological Physicists and
Employer Chemists Engineers Mathematicians Scientists Astronomers
Business/Industry 86,640 63,710 42,190 39,350 22,400
Academia (Ph.D. 26,940 3,980 52,230 95,240 24,110
Bunting) (7,800) (1,665) (9,140) (28,135) (7,995)
Federal 9,075 2,025 12,580 16,160 6,585
government
State and local 7,940 1,015 4,985 13,685 1,175
government
Other nonprofit 7,660 580 4,510 22,620 3,115
organizations
Military 1,560 510 1,190 1,520 590
Other 1,985 580 1,185 1,525 835
Total 141,800 72,400 118,870 190,100 58,810
SOURCES:
U. S. Scientists and Engineers 1980, NSF Report No. 82-314, Table B-12.
Academic Science: Scientists and Engineers, January 1981. Washington, D.C.: National Science Foundation.
Detailed Statistical Tables, NSF Report No. 82-305, Table B-5. 1981. Washington, D.C.: National Science
Foundation.
Science, Engineering, and Humanities Doctorates in the United States: 1981 Profile. 1982. Table 1.5A.
Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences.
equipment, collecting and analyzing the data, and deciding on the significance of
the results.
The contention that chemistry responds to the needs and desires of our society is
strikingly verified by the statistics on the number of professional chemists employed by
industry. Table VIl-1 compares the number of scientists and engineers employed in
various fields. The first line shows that In 1980, business and industry employed almost
one and a half times more chemists and chemical engineers than the sum of the
mathematicians, biological scientists, physicists, and astronomers. Of course, this
pattern is the sum of many individual hong decisions by industnes that exist and
survive only if they market products needed by the people of the world. These figures
imply that a young person thinking of entering a professional career in the chemical
sciences can be assured that there is "somewhere to go."
This contrast is equally significant if we look at employment of professional
scientists at the Ph.D. or doctoral level. In 1981, business and industry employed
24,320 Ph.D. chemists, more than the sum of Ph.D. mathematicians, biological
scientists, physicists, and astronomers combined. This figure indicates that indus-
try employed 56 percent of the 43,200 working Ph.D. chemists. (The corresponding
percentage for the four disciplines above is 21 percent.) Academic institutions were
the next largest employer; in 1981, 14,775 doctoral chemists were so employed, 34
percent of the total.
Because of the clear potential for positive economic return from chemical
research, the chemical industry invests heavily in its own in-house research. In
1982, the Chemical and Allied Products industries invested about $4.2 billion in
corporate research and development, of which about $380 million might be
classified as basic research. The rest is applied research and development of new
products. These statistics again indicate that research in chemistry pays off in
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CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AND EDUCATION IN CHEMISTRY
future processes and products used by society. They also show that industnal
laboratories furnish an important arena for chemical research.
THE BACHELORS DEGREE IN CHEMISTRY (AB OR BS)
College preparation for a professional career in chemistry begins with a 4-year
degree leading either to a Bachelor of Arts (AB degree) or a Bachelor of Science
(BS degree), with a major in chemistry in either case. The former degree tends to
place more emphasis on the humanities and to carry somewhat more flexibility.
Both of these characteristics are of significant value, as discussed below.
Because of the basic character of chemistry and its centrality among the sciences,
introductory chemistry classes are not dominated by majors in chemistry but, rather,
by students thinking of careers in fields adjacent to chemistry. A knowledge of the
atomic makeup of the world around us is a necessity in most advanced courses to be
taken by the student entering the health and biological sciences, physics, engineenng,
geology, oceanography, and even astronomy. This implies that the course content
encountered in the first 2 years of chemistry tends to be general and suited to a wide
range of student interest. This is undoubtedly an advantage to every individual taking
the introductory courses. One of the problems of modern higher education is the
tendency to force specialization too early. The college curriculum should permit easy
movement toward more suitable career goals as the student's breadth of experience
and maturity provide a firmer basis for these important life choices. Introductory
chemistry courses tend to permit such mobility.
Of course, the last 2 years of a major in chemistry provide the focus needed to give
personal experience with the major areas in chemistry. Laboratory courses occupy a
special place in this inductive science, and access to modern instrumentation (in-
cluding computers) is a crucial element. These laboratory activities also furnish a
fascinating exposure to the challenging puzzles that are day-to-day fare in chemistry,
as wed as the colorful changes that take place in flasks and in nature. Next, it is
important that the budding scientist be well grounded in the pnnciples that guide a
chem~sts's thinking: molecular structure and bonding, based in quantum mechanics,
and the delving force for chemical change, based in chemical thermodynamics. Finally,
there should be opportunity for participation in undergraduate research.
However, it is important to recognize that we are in a penod of increasingly rapid
change in which boundaries within science are disappeanng. Each student should
ensure that his or her curriculum leaves ample flexibility to engage in studies of
adjacent disciplines such as biology, molecular biology, solid-state physics, geochem-
istry, and the environmental sciences. Equally important is the need for time reserved
for courses in the humaruties. No single remark is heard more often from experienced
scientists (and employers) than the observation that ability to communicate—to write
and to speak clearly is as important as any other component of a scientific education.
THE DOCTORAL DEGREE IN CHEMISTRY (Ph.D.)
There is no room for doubt that the higher levels of professional activity in
chemistry depend directly on the educational experiences embodied in the Ph.D.
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CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AND EDUCATION IN CHEMISTRY
program. The dependence is rooted in the rapid pace of scientific progress over the
span of a professional chemist's career. This pace requires ability to cope with and
develop new ideas the heart of Ph.D. thesis work in chemistry.
Graduate education in chemistry provides a valuable, career-molding interaction
with a mature scientist who is working productively at an active research frontier.
There is a significant one-on-one aspect to the research director-graduate student
interaction. In a highly personalized way, the faculty member win encourage individ-
uality and creativity while directing the student toward problems likely to be solvable,
interpretable, and significant to the advancement of existing frontiers. As the student
matures, he or she assumes more and more responsibility for selecting the next
question to be addressed and the experimental approach to be followed, for eliminating
obstacles as they appear, and for interpreting results as they are obtained.
At the same time, the typical chemistry graduate student will be a member of a
group working with the same research director on related problems based on
similar experimental and theoretical techniques. This group might include several
other graduate students and postdoctoral students. The transfer of ideas and
techniques within this peer group is another vital and rewarding part of graduate
study in chemistry.
Currently, a large proportion of Ph.D. degree recipients continue their educational
preparation by conducting one or two years of postdoctoral study at another Univer-
sity, a National Laboratory, or in industry. This, too, has become an important part of
the chem~st's career development. It lets the student broaden horizons by venturing
into a field different from the thesis work, by interacting with other productive
researchers at a different locale, and by assuming more complete responsibility for the
course of the research program. The combination of close codeg~al collaboration with
a research-aci~ve professor, followed by more independent postdoctoral research
work, identifies chemistry as an excellent prescription for the encouragement and
nurturing of individual creativity in talented young scientists.
Chemistry Doctorates in U.S. Education
Table VIT-2 shows the number of U.S. degrees awarded in chemistry for the
penod 1960 to 1980. It is not to
be assumed that most of the
Ph.D.s have progressed
through the Master's degree;
quite the opposite, the M.S. is
for many their final graduate
degree, usually received 2 to 3
years after the Baccalaureate.
The larger fraction of the
Ph.D. candidates enter gradu-
ate school with a 4-year Bachelor's degree, and they complete the Ph.D. between
4 and 5 years later.
Table VIl-2 shows that in recent years about 1/7th of those receiving Bachelor's
degrees continue on to receive the Ph.D. For Chemical Engineering this fraction
would be I/12th, for Biological Sciences, I/13th, and for Mathematics, 1/27th. The
TABLE VII-2 Number of Degrees Awarded in
Chemistry, 1960-1980
Masters
17228
17586
27O14
27259
1 7796
1 7733
Year
Bachelors
79603
99724
1O7847
1O9721
117107
119446
Ph.D.s
17O48
17301
1 7757
17971
17623
1 9551
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
~ .
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CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AND EDUCATION IN CHEMISTRY
larger fraction for chemistry reflects the direct value of and need for graduate
education in the chemistry profession.
The trend in the annual number of Ph.D. degrees awarded has changed dramatically
over the last two decades. Dunng the 1960s, the number of Ph.D.s in chemistry
doubled, peaking at 2,200 Ph.D.s in 1970. Then there was a decline that seemed to level
off by the end of the 1970s at
about 1,500 Ph.D.s per year.
Now, it is rising again. These
long-range trends are difficult to
interpret because they span a
penod of complicated demo-
graphic, social, and economic
changes. They do, however, in-
dicate that the decline in Ph.D.s
dunng the 1970s has ended, and
Ph.D. entry into chemistry is
again nsing, presumably in re-
sponse to positive career expec-
tations.
2 ooo
Post-Baccalaureate
Educational Patterns for
Chemists
~ 1 500
a
o
1 000
lo
500
, ~ ~ 1 ~ ~
~ it.
. I l I ~ I
1 965 1 970 1 975 1 980
YEAR
, CHEMISTRY
_'
at_
PHYSICS ~
I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ,, ,
Ph.D. DEGREES IN CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
While considerable variation
exists, a typical chemistry Ph.D. graduate experience involves three essential ele-
ments: teaching, course work, and thesis research. In many graduate schools, teaching
is required for one year, sometimes including fellowship holders. The rationale for this
element has several components: teaching is a valuable educational experience for the
graduate; it helps him or her evaluate an academic career as a career goal, it provides
financial support, and it aids chemistry departments in meeting their large role in
undergraduate education for related fields. From the point of view of financial support,
teaching can thus provide approximately 20 percent of the support usually received by
a chemistry graduate student.
There are several qualifying steps that may be required for successful completion of
doctoral study in chemistry: entrance examinations, course grades, cumulative exam-
inations, preliminary examinations, thesis submission, and final defense of thesis. Few
schools would use ad of these, and of those used, there is considerable variation in
relative importance. Generally, the most significant are cumulative examinations taken
during the first 2 years (if used) and the preliminary examination taken dunng the
second or third year. Of course, the ultunate completion of Ph.D. study depends upon
submission of a suitable research-based thesis. A thesis is a written account detailing
substantial research accomplished by the graduate student. Almost always, portions of
the thesis are published in the research literature.
In addition to payment for teaching duties (as Teaching Assistants or TAs), most
chemistry graduate students have either won fellowship financial aid (National
Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, etc.) or they receive Research
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CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AND EDUCATIONINCHEMlSTRY
Assistantship (RA) financial aid ("stipends"). A number of these stipends are
supported by industrial grants, but the majority are drawn from federal grants to an
individual faculty member to support the graduate students under his or her
direction. At the major research universities, essentially ad of the chemistry
graduate students receive continuous stipend and tuition support throughout their
graduate study. For the national average over the period 1974 to 1980, the best
available data indicate that between two-thirds and three-fourths of U.S. doctoral
students in chemistry currently receive either TA or RA stipends.
CAREER DIRECTIONS
A chemistry degree provides entry to a variety of fulfilling and rewarding careers.
Many undergraduates choose the chemistry major to obtain a good foundation for
employment and/or advanced studies in a variety of adjacent fields. Chemists are
needed in such fields as environmental protection, the health sciences (including
toxicology), the biological sciences (including genetic engineering), transportation
industries (including aviation), and the semiconductor industry. Of course, the
chemical industry offers a wide variety of jobs to help it produce and market its
products and to help it discover new products needed by the public.
A second career goal of great social importance is in teaching. The need for
science teachers at the high school and middle school levels is probably greater
than in any other teaching area. An individual with a baccalaureate degree in
chemistry who goes on to obtain a teaching credential (usually one more year of
advanced study) is assured of a choice among teaching jobs.
Research is the major career avenue pursued by those who go on to an advanced
degree (MA or Ph.D.~. Research in chemistry is camed out in venous arenas:
industrial laboratories, private (not-for-profit) laboratories, national or other fed-
eral laboratories, and in our Universities and Colleges. Progressively through this
sequence, research tends to be increasingly directed toward the fundamental
understanding of nature and less toward practical or goal-onented problems. In the
United States, more than anywhere else in the world, the most fundamental
research is conducted in the Universities, thus coupling the basic research function
to the education of the next generation of scientists. Thus, it continuously renews
our pool of scientific personnel with young scientists whose thesis research work
has probed the edges of our knowledge.
SUPPLEMENTARY READING
ACS Information Pamphlets
"Futures Through Chemistry: Charting a
Course," 12 pages, March 1985.
"Careers in Chemistry: Questions and
Answers," 4 pages, May 1984.
"Chemical Careers in the Life Sciences," 18
pages, 1984.
"Careers in Chemical Education," 13 pages,
Spring 1982.
"Graduate Programs in Chemistry," 39
pages, 1983.
Pamphlets available from:
American Chemical Society
Educational Division
1155 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Representative terms from entire chapter:
chemistry graduate
