I heard that getting a job with just a BS in Chemistry is difficult. I’ve also heard that a BS in Chemistry with some kind of finance minor could get you a nice amount of business jobs that don’t pay too bad. I just want to know if it would be a good idea to minor in accounting, economics, or finance just in case I don’t go to grad school and there isn’t any jobs for just a BS. (I can’t do engineering at my school and comp sci bores the heck out of me, but I could consider it. Math is also a maybe.)
I doubt a minor will help you secure a job related to the minor. Minors simply don’t provide a lot of breadth or depth, which is why employers don’t generally care about them (though there are some exceptions in which a minor might be useful).
This is what I learned in my long career in analytical chemistry: Experience in operating GCMS, LCMS, HPLC and/or ICPMS analytical instruments boosts employability of a BS chemist much more than an MS degree in and of itself (although if the MS entails substantial operation of one or more of these instruments that will do the trick). These (expensive) instruments need to be operated, and obviously employers don’t want to put novices on them no matter what their GPA, minors, or even theoretical study of the instruments. BS chemists that want to be really employable should strive for internships and/or undergraduate research projects that entail hands-on work on these machines.
A minor in finance will not increase the odds of being hired, although it may help one manage a lab if years later one gets into that and remembers the content of the finance courses.