Possible career options...(assuming there are any)

College Majors Science Majors
1

<p>I've been thinking, especially after I read so many negative things last night about science degrees, about what I can do with a career and still have some science in it. I have come up with a few, admittedly rough, ideas of what to do:</p>

<ol>
<li>Just graduate with a degree in gen chem, going on to get a masters and, most likely, a Phd.</li>
</ol>

<p>Granted, while this plan peaks my interest the most, everything I have read and learned about chemistry careers say that this is the absolutely wrong thing to do and will result in poor wages and a dearth of job opportunities.</p>

<ol>
<li>Go pre-med or pharmacy instead.</li>
</ol>

<p>Pharmacy more so than pre-med appeals to me. They're both scientific, and pharmacy still has the chemical aspect to it, in a way.</p>

<ol>
<li>Double major in bio, and chem, then get for a master's in pharmacology</li>
</ol>

<p>This seems to be my favorite idea at the moment because it incorporates all the things I want, and still seems to lead to a decent job. I think anyway, I need to do more research.</p>

<ol>
<li>Give in and major in econ, accounting, etc</li>
</ol>

<p>Well at least it leads to a good paying job (for the most part). And I find it somewhat interesting.</p>

<p>Basically, I just want to see what everyone has to say about any of these ideas, or to add any of their own. I'd really love to have a career in science or some related field, but more and more that seems to be impossible.</p>

2

<p>How about various branches of engineering, a.k.a. applied science in industry?</p>

3

<p>Would chemical or materials engineering be of interest to you?</p>

4

<p>If you can get into med school then that is optimal. Pharmacy is still good but getting a job may require you to relocate to more rural areas as many of the cities are saturated with pharm grads. PA, PT, OT and other professional schools are also good.</p>

<p>Engineering most of what I’ve heard has been positive.</p>

<p>As someone who is almost a BioS and Chem double major (I got my MS in biochemistry and molecular biology in a chem department so I had to do both) I can say that it is not helpful really. I haven’t used the biology part of my education since I graduated and I haven’t really had any job offers for it because there are 5 chem jobs for every 1 bios job and there are 10 fold more bios grads than chem grads (though oddly many of the bios jobs prefer chem majors because they are more quantitative and have better equipment skills). </p>

<p>The MS is treated as worthless by industry or simply as a BS with 2 years of experience. Just look at the job ads. They will either say BS/MS or BS with n years experience or MS with n-2 years experience. It really doesn’t make financial sense to get one. Better to be working those 2 years then either paying tuition or even living off a stipend with free tuition. </p>

<p>The PhD is almost a curse. There is a huge glut of science PhD’s competing for the few PhD level jobs. Many of my colleagues were considering hiding their PhD to get BS/MS level jobs or unrelated jobs. That was pretty much what sealed my decision not to pursue the PhD despite being heavily encouraged to. Most of my colleagues who have the PhD are still working post-docs 5 years later with no future to look forward to. It is a tragedy.</p>

<p>I’ve posted about science jobs at the BS/MS levels. Most are through temp agencies at $15 to 20 an hour no benefits, no job security, no development. They are dead end, crappy, boring. The only possible place to go is teaching or the FED as they are the only employer paying scientists a living wage and benefits. I’ve been trying for 3 years and have over 180 applications with no success. The competition is that fierce as no one wants to work for American Companies with a science degree.</p>

<p>The market for chemists/biologists have collapsed. All the largest employers of them have been hit hard and are not recovering. This includes the govt, the pharmaceuticals industry (still laying off, off-shoring, and outsourcing), the chemical industry (has been declining for some time), food industry…</p>

5

<p>Thanks everyone for your advice. I’ll look into engineering.</p>