<p>So my HS sophomore DD3 is good in math and science, very artistic and creative, and also loves makeup, nail polish and fashion. She told me her dream job would be working in creating and developing makeup/skincare for a company. What field of study should she start considering? Chemistry, chemical engineering? Are there even jobs out there for someone in this field? Any other ideas for someone with those skills?</p>
<p>I can tell you that there are absolutely jobs in this field, but I don’t know how common they are. </p>
<p>My mom’s friend currently works at a cosmetics company (a prominent one, you know the name) doing just that. However, she did have to move to Paris for it… This is anecdotal evidence though, so it’s obviously not as strong as a statistic. </p>
<p>When I get home tonight I’ll ask my mom for more info and report back :)</p>
<p>Edit: I forgot to add, they did their PhD in immunology at Stanford together.</p>
<p>Lassie, I know nothing about the cosmetics field, but if she has an entrepreneurial spirit, look for a school that has entrepreneurship programs/funding for its students.</p>
<p>Biochemistry, biochemical engineering, biomedical engineering maybe with a double major and/or minor in microbiology and genetics</p>
<p>Penn’s M&T (Jerome Fisher program) in 4 years a BS in biochemical engineering and BA in economics from Wharton</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>Think of Chemistry as well. Search the internet for ideas.</p>
<p>Lassie, is your daughter familiar with Bobbi Brown’s story? IIRC Brown wanted to design a new type of cosmetic, but didn’t have the science background to do so. So she ended up finding a friendly local chemist to work with her. Also, the founder of Lush cosmetics comes from a chemistry background. So there are certainly opportunities. She might want to write to those two businesspeople and ask if they have any pointers and/or advice. </p>
<p>FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and…something starting with an M, I can never remember) has a 1-2 year program in something like cosmetics marketing and design. Not a substitute program for your D, but another source of info for her to investigate.</p>
<p>My mother has degrees in Chemistry and Communication (two different ends of the spectrum, i know) and is just now starting her own fragrance company after working in the flavor industry for many years. Some type of chemistry would be best. Biochem, Chem, or ChemE.</p>
<p>My college roommate was a pharmacy major. For a while she thought she would like to develop cosmetics, but when she got older, she thought that was sort of a frivolous aspiration and ended up working for nursing homes. Besides, geriatrics is truly a growing field!</p>
<p>I guess the relevant part is that pharma majors can go into related fields such as makeup chemistry.</p>
<p>Can you have her contact some of the major manufactures and ask for a tour or at least some information? They might have some good insights for her as to what they are looking for and she will have made some contacts, and hopefully stays in contact with them, for when she graduates and is looking for a job.</p>
<p>Go thru the web pages of the obvious companies and see what specialties they’re hiring for… </p>
<p>Something like: <a href=“Job Search”>Job Search;
<p>or</p>
<p>[Find</a> job Cosmetic Chemist](<a href=“http://www.efbf.org/jobs/Personal-Care-and-Service/Find-job-Cosmetic-Chemist-396120.htm]Find”>http://www.efbf.org/jobs/Personal-Care-and-Service/Find-job-Cosmetic-Chemist-396120.htm)</p>
<p>Since these are regulated / quasi-regulated via FDA expect a TON of writing for validation, quality, and the like. Not as bad as Pharma, but about as close as it gets.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info. I was looking for what a job title or description would be and cosmetic chemist /scientist pretty much fits the bill. Any other colleges or universities that would slant the curriculum towards that?</p>
<p>^check Cornell-----I too would think ChemE but I know a few grads who are working for cosmetic companies with BioChem degrees.</p>
<p>I was in Materials Science & Engineering and one of my friends went to L’Oreal after graduating. She was specializing in ways to “green” their production process. Another went to Johnson & Johnson, though I’m not sure exactly which division she was in.</p>
<p>I know several people in the cosmetics manufacturing industry that work in the labs…they all were chemistry majors. Also many that are in marketing and customer research which is an entire different angle…but for the science minded, the labs are usually where they want to be. Neutraceuticals are huge now also so biology, pharmacy or plant science may be a path.</p>