Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Career's in chemistry?

texaspete - 8-12-2009 at 19:46

As a young chemistry student at a state university, I find myself unable decide what part of chemistry I want to do for a job for the rest of my life.

In high school I really enjoyed doing the sort of chemistry that goes on here; big reactions, making large quantities, and experimenting with new techniques to make what I want with what I have.

However, I have discovered that the modern organic chemical research is quite different. Most reactions are on the milligram scale, are anhydrous, and require extensive purification. Its not all bad, but I think would rather do something more similar to home chemistry.

There are so many fields out there, what to choose? (PS, I would like to work in industry)
Pharmaceutical R&D- Total synthesis
Pharmaceutical R&D- Process Chemist
Polymer Chemist
R&D for a chemical engineering company
Catalysis
Inorganic chemist (not sure what they do)
and the list goes on....

From what I've heard, process chemistry sounds the most appealing to me. It seems like a good balance of problem solving and making some real quantities of product.


So, what do yall think? If you could be any sort of chemist, what would you be? Or even better, maybe you've had experience with one of these fields?

Thanks in advance!

Hamilton - 9-12-2009 at 07:36

hi, i was considering being a chemist but decide to go for physic instead.

What i like of chemistry most is the developpement of "super" material (like high physical, chemical resistance or easy to manufacture.....). I was particularly interested in nano structured material and choose to make my path in physic and learn chemistry "on the pile" (witch isn't as easy as i tought back then).

so if i were chemist, i would have take a " "nano" material path". this combine developping new materials then developping a way to produce on large scale.

you may consider visiting industry to see what is going on there before you choose for good

As for work in indurtries, you may want to get a chemical engineer paper(or what it's called in english) just to be more interesting to the eye of an industry.

hope this help,

Hamilton

Magpie - 9-12-2009 at 08:54

Quote: Originally posted by Hamilton  

As for work in indurtries, you may want to get a chemical engineer paper(or what it's called in english) just to be more interesting to the eye of an industry.


That's a major shift in emphasis and curriculum in the US.

psychokinetic - 9-12-2009 at 12:02

When I was in high school, everyone either wanted to blow stuff up and get paid for it, or be a forensic chemist.

Psyclone - 9-12-2009 at 17:34

well currently I work as a process/scale up chemist for a pharmaceutical company... There is quite a lot of problem solving that goes on in this field.. We take the process from the medicinal chemists (workin in the milligram to low gram scale) and scale it up to multiple kilo scale and sometimes even higher (hundreds of kilo's) if needed... I started off in college with a biochemistry cellular and molecular bio degree, and ended up here and its enjoyable and sounds like something you'd be interested in..

Just look around, and don't be afraid of making the wrong choice right away... you'll figure it out

texaspete - 9-12-2009 at 20:05

Quote: Originally posted by Psyclone  
well currently I work as a process/scale up chemist for a pharmaceutical company... There is quite a lot of problem solving that goes on in this field.. We take the process from the medicinal chemists (workin in the milligram to low gram scale) and scale it up to multiple kilo scale and sometimes even higher (hundreds of kilo's) if needed... I started off in college with a biochemistry cellular and molecular bio degree, and ended up here and its enjoyable and sounds like something you'd be interested in..

Just look around, and don't be afraid of making the wrong choice right away... you'll figure it out


I'd like to know a little bit more about what you do on a daily basis. Are you a "bench chemist" or some sort of project leader? Do you work with a team that has the goal: we need to make X amount of Y? Or you assigned a small part of the project, like purifying X grams of Y?

Thanks for the replies everyone!

[Edited on 10-12-2009 by texaspete]

Psyclone - 10-12-2009 at 17:07

actually it depends on the week... What my company does might be a little different than some others you may think ok... What we do is to attract small and medium size pharmaceutical companies who are interested in a drug that they are developing, but lack the necessary skills/equipment to manufacture what is needed for drug trials. They come to us with the synthesis as presented and we either make what they need using their plan, or more likely we take their plan, and tweak it so that its easier/faster/less wasteful. Then we go through with it on the kilo-lab scale. We produce whatever they need and from there we have some companies come back for much much larger amounts for even larger trials... (some of the largest reactors we have on site are 500-1000 gallon...) We also produce some of our own drug substances for our own uses, so we also have a few labs dedicated to research.

On a daily basis I am usually working on one of these projects whether it be scaling up, or production runs. I am only a Bachelor chemist so I am not a team leader, although as chemistry isnt as strictly "timed" as other workplaces (it doesnt always work 9-5) we sometimes have to work shift schedules where I will be on a shift working 7am-3pm or 3pm-11pm... and in some of these cases I may be the shift leader... It all depends on the project and what is necessitated for each process. Usually what happens though is as the project comes in (Whatever it may entail..) a group is formed (from 1-2 chemists (More common, usually its a process that they don't want/need to be optimized and they just want us to make it how they make it, but larger scale.), all the way up to 6 or 7 stretching between 3 or more labs.... (These are usually multi step processes under GMP conditions... GMP being good manufacturing processes, where every material is accounted for using batch records, everything must be co-witnessed, and is used mostly when things are going to be used on humans..) The group then follows the project from beginning to end, and usually each week will have a conference call with the client to update them on where the project is and what is going on..

It's a job that is interesting to me, because of the lack of repetition... I don't know what I will be working on 1 month from now, and I like that... In the past year alone, I've worked on large and small scale chromatography, solid phase chemistry, multiple kilogram scale projects, I've worked with highly potent substances (made both camptothecin and carmustine) using an isolator (piqued my interest cause i felt like working in a movie...) all the way down to small gram scale reactions to make an impurity for a client.. It's sort of interesting, but it's not for everyone...

texaspete - 10-12-2009 at 19:20

Thanks for that reply, it was just what I was hoping to learn! Process chemistry definitely looks interesting, especially the lack of repetition.

Do you know if these pharmaceutical companies ever offer summer internships to undergraduates? I know that engineers get into a lot of internships, but I haven't really heard of too many internships in industry for science.

BromicAcid - 11-12-2009 at 15:56

Psyclone, your experiences are very similar to mine. I did process scaleup from lab scale to 50-2000 gallon in a plant working 24/7. Honestly there was a lot of problem solving but very little hands on from my end. Most every manipulation was left to the operators running the procedure and it was frowned upon if I entered the process bays. I even did some cGMP stuff as well. I ended up getting out of the scale up chemistry (too much responsibility for procedures that I ended up with minimal control over). Now I work in lab scale production and I love it.

Psyclone - 11-12-2009 at 17:20

yeah the lab scale production is mostly where I am... We are the ones who perfect the processes before being sent up to the largest scales, where chemical operators perform the manipulations..

and texaspete, there are some companies that enjoy having interns for the summers, but I don't know how much you will actually see while doing that as they usually will keep you on some of the easier (more repetitious) projects, without a lot of the stricter cGMP policies... Ask around, never hurts to shoot an email off to any of the companies in the surrounding areas.

Contrabasso - 12-12-2009 at 15:26

Are you on a full time course or a sandwich course? Do you get industrial placements for a term? Can you get vacation work in a variety of factories?

In the UK Most graduates who did an industrial placement for two terms go and work for that company on graduating, or may even get post grad funding from them.

Think of an industrial placement as an extended interview, do well and you will do well in a career there

texaspete - 17-12-2009 at 23:31

Quote: Originally posted by Contrabasso  
Are you on a full time course or a sandwich course? Do you get industrial placements for a term? Can you get vacation work in a variety of factories?

In the UK Most graduates who did an industrial placement for two terms go and work for that company on graduating, or may even get post grad funding from them.

Think of an industrial placement as an extended interview, do well and you will do well in a career there


I am a full time student. Some people in my college do work for a company for a semester and/or in the summer. However, those people are only engineers, and not science majors.

entropy51 - 18-12-2009 at 06:37

Quote:
However, those people are only engineers
Only engineers? WTF?

They will only be paid twice as much as the science majors after college. If the science majors can get a job in science.

sonogashira - 18-12-2009 at 06:53

Only = solely, alone. Do you misread deliberately Mr entropy, sometimes it seems so? Not everyone is so pugnacious :(

entropy51 - 18-12-2009 at 11:29

Then the wording should have been something like:

Only the engineers, but not science majors, participate in the work-study programs.

Sorry, but I just read it as you wrote it, and was attempting humor. Sorry. Next time I'll stick on a smiley icon.

psychokinetic - 18-12-2009 at 13:18

Here, have one of mine - " :) "

qton - 18-12-2009 at 19:36

Quote: Originally posted by psychokinetic or be a forensic chemist.[/rquote  


Is that like CSI? I read an article that there was a surge in Forensic science courses when programs like CSI went to air. Maybe we need a TV drama about chemists? ;)

sonogashira - 19-12-2009 at 16:26

What a shame when they find it is not nearly so glamorous! :( / :)

texaspete - 21-12-2009 at 12:52

Quote: Originally posted by entropy51  
Then the wording should have been something like:

Only the engineers, but not science majors, participate in the work-study programs.

Sorry, but I just read it as you wrote it, and was attempting humor. Sorry. Next time I'll stick on a smiley icon.


Sorry about that, there's a reason I'm not an english major. ;)

entropy51 - 21-12-2009 at 15:17

Quote: Originally posted by texaspete  
Sorry about that, there's a reason I'm not an english major. ;)
Nor was I! I transferred from Arts & Sciences to Engineering to get away from the language & literature requirements.

ChrisWhewell - 27-12-2009 at 18:27

I worked 13 years in industry, research and analytical, then eight years in the IP legal department, always inventing and now a free-wheeler. Take my advice with a dose of NaCl. About half organic and half inorganic. To be successful not merely based on luck one needs to know how to whittle, as Edison wrote. I see inorganic as having more opportunities - materials science - in fact right now I could use some help, there's always a ton of work to be done. I must made a nice piece today of titanium dioxide adhered to glass and the process generates essentially no waste and I anticipate will be highly useful in solar cells of Graetzel flavor. Yet I also fall back on the organic, such as when needing to seal glass to metal via a good epoxy, urethane polymer, etc. There's no substitute for experience and if your desire for knowledge is greater than that for money (must be, you're seeking chemistry :) ), and you invest a bunch of time and get lucky to work under some old timers who know what the h377 they're doing and have old school ethics, you may have a chance at being industriously prolific. For me, materials are where its at, opportunities are tremendous. Get yourself a tube furnace and some rare earth oxides and start mixing them and heating them and testing them for magnetic properties - you'll be surprised at what you find - you actually CAN discover things nobody else has seen before. Keep your eyes open and Nature will teach you. That should be the biggest part of experimenting that's taught in the schools by the learned elders of chemistry to teach their students to learn to be a good observers, and I'm not the first to suggest that but am dismayed at the quality of professors attitudes I expereienced 25 years ago and figure its worse now since so many are willing to cower for a paycheck. I did have some inspiring influences, quite a few. You may get a dog or two or three for a chem prof, just don't let them get you down if it happens. People who merely want good grades can get them via reading, but to be a good chemist one needs to know the materials in addition to the books. If you ever want any pointers for good reading material, look me up.


[Edited on 28-12-2009 by ChrisWhewell]