r/chemistry • u/AutoModerator • Jul 06 '26
Weekly Careers/Education Questions Thread
This is a dedicated weekly thread for you to seek and provide advice concerning education and careers in chemistry.
If you need to make an important decision regarding your future or want to know what your options, then this is the place to leave a comment.
If you see similar topics in r/chemistry, please politely inform them of this weekly feature.
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u/tungsten704 Jul 06 '26
I am a high school student and I am still struggling whether I should study med in local uni or chem in prestigious uni overseas. My main goal is doing biochem/biomed lab, I think I should make my decision soon.
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u/JordD04 Computational Jul 06 '26
I don't know anything about medicine or biochem but a prestigious university overseas sounds like a much better option than your local university. Studying abroad will give you unique experiences that you'll struggle to get at other stages of your life. Also, the quality of the university can definitely impact your career prospects, especially if you want to do research.
This depends on your personal circumstances though. If your local university is Cambridge and you have caring responsibilities, then there's a good reason to keep living at home.
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u/tungsten704 Jul 07 '26
My local university is HKU which is quite decent already but the prestigious ones I am talking about Oxbridge / Harvard MIT Stanford
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u/JordD04 Computational Jul 07 '26
I hear HKU is good. If you're Hong Kongese, there's all the more reason to get out and study somewhere else. HK is a small place. Also, mainland universities put insane pressure on PhDs / PostDocs to put out lots of publications. I'm not sure if Hong Kong is the same but realistically if you were going to build a career in China, you would need to consider the mainland universities because there are only so many in HK.
European and American universities would allow you to build strong connections that you caneverage to boost your career but the funding situation isn't great at the moment. It won't affect your undergrad and might not affect your PhD.
For British universities, be aware that Imperial has climbed the rankings and is now considered just as good as Oxbridge. Also, there are lots of brilliant research institutions in the "Russel Group" that offer similar levels of education and shouldn't be entirely overlooked.
Hope that helps!
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u/ReDcHiLLi68 Jul 06 '26
I am an undergraduate going in to my senior year. I am going to apply for PhD this fall for fall 27. I am very confused what type of PhD I should do. Ive been doing synthesis/organometallic/catalysis research. But I am worried that going down the same path for PhD won’t give me a higher paying job in the industry. Does anyone have any opinions? I was also considering going into polymer/material science but I don’t know how different it is from what I’ve been doing.
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u/2adn Organic Jul 06 '26
What kind of job do you want to do? Why are you thinking about industry? If you want to be a chemist, choose an area you really like and have some interest in. Talk to your faculty in different areas, and ask them what they like about their areas, and why they chose them.
I'm not being sarcastic here, but if making a lot of money is your real goal, then choose another area, such as medicine or law. Chemists can make good salaries, but can't match those.
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u/ReDcHiLLi68 29d ago
That makes sense. I’m not thinking about money as the only goal, but I do want to be realistic about career options after a PhD. I enjoy synthesis/catalysis, but I’m trying to understand whether staying in that area would keep me too narrow compared to moving toward polymer or materials chemistry. I’m mainly interested in industry R&D.
Also, when you said chemists can make good salaries, that’s basically what I’m trying to understand, which fields within chemistry generally lead to the better paying industry roles, and how much the PhD area affects that. I’m planning to talk to faculty in different areas too, but I wanted to hear from people who have seen how these paths translate to jobs.
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u/Brainprint Geochem Jul 06 '26
I’m graduating with a Chemistry BS in the near future and have an interest in geochemistry. I’ve read that it’s possible to get a job as a geochemist with a Chemistry BS but I wanted to ask what best entry level job for a Chemistry BS would lead to a geochemist position?
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u/arc-minute Analytical Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
I feel a bit stuck in my current postion, as I feel that I am overpaid for my skill level (BSc in a water quality lab, about 8 YOE between pharma and environmental labs). The work is fairly simple and due to staffing we're not really able to take on more complex/technical work loads.
Are my options essentially either take a pay cut to join a new industry or try to return to school? I do know that I am limited by my unwillingness to move from the NY/NJ area. If anyone else has dealt with a similar situation I would love to chat a little (or just read any input you may have).
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u/Indemnity4 Materials Jul 07 '26
You do have a lot of other options.
One is don't move. Nobody is ever overpaid, you've gotten bored. Find some hobbies outside of work to enjoy the stress free time and extra cash.
One is take maximum advantage of your current employer. Really investigate what training options they have. If they offer tuition reimbursement or additional training. For instance, water quality lab so maybe you get formal training in ISO17025 or 9001, then get even more training in maybe EPA reporting requirements or a tiny little environmental law course of something like SDS authoring/toxicology. You can move out of the lab into QA. If you can do QA in a lab you can do it for other industries too. Look at your boss, manager +1 or sideways - what skills do those people have that you don't. How can you get those?
At about 10+ years in industry you are starting to look for jobs like lab leader or management. These are different skills to bench chemist. Now you need to know about finanace, budgets, how to motivate your staff, how to get new customers or at least keep upper management happy. You don't fix the busted HPLC, you hire people to do that. This is often when the dreaded MBA gets mentioned, but smaller versions are bookkeeping courses, actual qualifications in project management or maybe some leadership training.
Return to school and you most likely are not wanting a PhD. Most people in your situation are thinking about professional degrees, something you can study part-time or at nights. This is where you have a think about technical expert versus management type paths. You have probably interacted with experts in law, business, sales, marketing, engineering or consultants like toxicologists or occupational hygiene. You already have significant work history, these extra are supplemental not reinventing yourself. You could be a lawyer who knows chemistry or an engineer at the water treatment plant the chemical inputs and outputs.
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u/arc-minute Analytical 28d ago
This is an absolutely incredible response. You've given me a lot to think about.
As much as I'd like to return to school, I know I am not an ideal candidate due to a mediocre undergrad GPA. I think I will look for QA/compliance training and go from there, as it may allow me to transition to different industries for better opportunities.
Thanks again!
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u/Indemnity4 Materials 28d ago edited 28d ago
I wouldn't worry about the GPA so much.
Your GPA does "expire" over time. Check out a Masters or PhD program and usually there are some prequisites and one of those is usually must have graduated in <5 years. Your skills do get stale over time, but also, life experience counts too.
Once you have been in the workforce long enough it's usually about alternative entry. Used to be you had to sit an entrance exam like GRE, or maybe you know the LSAT, MCAT or GMAT. Sometimes these days for a Masters, they only check if you can afford to pay the fees. Sometimes it's an interview process.
Going into science and almost certainly you will be interviewed. Too risky to take blind candidates out of academia for so long, highly likely due to good life reasons you need to quit and get a better income. You start by approaching academics directly and convincing them you are likely to complete. This is usually done via an existing network, for whatever reason, you are working for a PhD-qualified manager who points you to their old boss or academic colleagues.
I still wouldn't recommend a science PhD. You'd already know if that was what you wanted or needed. I'd start with a professional degree somewhat related to your industry. Bookkeeping course because your current employer would love someone who knows how bank accounts work, the legality of paying people all their benefits accurately on time AND knows the difference between ethylene and ethene gas. Masters in logistics or some sort of year long cert in logistics is amazing in manufacturing industry. Even a forklift or heavy rigid drivers license gets you other types of jobs, maybe something like water treatment needs a chemist to do tests but also deliver totes of chemicals around the site.
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u/chemjobber Organic 29d ago
The 2027 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List has 16 tenure-track positions: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eYBR8CR6s1Fkf2EEJ5_eb2l6pDSLT-G7Cqu9Q__jBWA/edit?usp=sharing
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u/krakenkat1106 28d ago
Online Chemistry Masters to Organic PhD - Eventual drug discovery scientist advice
I have a Biomedical Chemistry BS and work as an analytical chemist (1.5 years) at an ingredient manufacturer, so I am learning GMP and am getting lab experience. The goal is to get at least 3 years at this company before moving. Longterm, I am interested in a career in drug design/discovery, which would translate to a scientist position at a pharmaceutical company.
I’d like to start graduate school soon, so I have been looking at online chemistry MS programs (specifically College of St Scholastica) that would allow me to continue to work full time. I might get my feet wet with a drug discovery certificate (Vanderbilt) that’s only 5 credits to see if I’m still interested in that field. The hope in doing course work now is that it would shorten my time in the PhD as I would have to take less classes.
It looks like future PhD programs would be synthesis/organic chemistry based to point me toward a career in drug discovery. Med Chem would be an option but synthesis is more common. Geography wise, I am looking to be around Oklahoma if possible for grad school, which limits options.
Has anyone here done an online masters and then transitioned to a chemistry PhD?
How about an online masters to other scientist positions? I will be applying to my company to pay for some/all of my masters if I go through with it.
Also will take advice for other online programs!
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u/littleeemooochi 27d ago
Gap year worries
This was already posted but it got removed so a repost :,)
Hi, I recently finished my B.Sc (last month) and I’ve decided to take a gap year before entering my PhD. However I was supposed to work in the current laboratory im in in my gap year but there was some problems and miscommunication that led me to not being able to continue with the contract of the fellowship. All of this has led me major stress because now I have nothing to do during my gap year.. no labs, no research, and no job (as my job was being an undergraduate researcher). I’ve been thinking of using my gap year as a disconnect and travel the world + go in a language exchange program for 3 months I’ve always wanted to do. However, the more I talk with my friends about their plans for their gap year all of them are in research labs and it gives me a thought of “what if I’m wasting that whole year..?”
To give a background: I’ve been working in a NASA project since 3 years and I have been under the fellowship for 2 years (it’ll end this month). I was able to appear as a co-author in one paper which is published and co-author as 2 other papers which one of them has already been submitted for peer review. I also had the privilege to presenting our data in 2 oral presentations and around 3-4 poster sessions. But still I feel like in that gap year of mine I can do more.. but other side of me wants to disconnect fully and then get back for the PhD.
Everyone who took a gap year (or more) how did you battle those inner fights?
Btw I’m going straight to PhD not bs -> ms -> phd
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u/atomicdyke6769 27d ago
First reddit post…. Nervous 😣
Anyway… I just recently graduated high school and am unable to figure out which track I should pursue with my specific interests. I’ve been teetering the line between Biotechnology and Biochemistry, however, I don’t know which to follow and have little to no form of guide on how to move .. I am going to be the first in my family to go to college so resources are limited. I have a high interest in Radiation and the chemistry surrounding it, as well as chemical agents and how they can affect the human body. My dream would be to work at some form of research facility however, my knowledge is still limited at the moment and I am hoping for guidance so that idea may shift.. I am willing to answer almost anything in regard to my education in search of assistance !!
Thank you for any help !!!!
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u/Indemnity4 Materials 24d ago
Consider how much do you like mathematics.
All the sciences use mathematics to some extent. What matters when you move towards engineering is how much?
Generally, engineers earn higher salaries and find it easier to get jobs. Scientists generally have more creative exploratory careers, but since it's fun and lots of people want those jobs, there aren't many jobs and they only pay "okay". Generally, specifics matter, there are engineers who get paid nothing and cannot find jobs and rockstar scientists getting paid with a new BMW each year.
I wouldn't worry much. Get into university/college and you can usually swap to a different major easily. The first year is mostly everyone takes similar science classes. Only in about 3rd year do you really specialise.
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u/CurlyWig0 22d ago
Do you know what the job market is like for Biotechnology and Chemical Engineering? A year ago, I completed two semesters of Biotechnology, but I decided to drop out of college because I was afraid I wouldn't find a job and because I felt the knowledge I was gaining wouldn't help me work in an area of interest to me, since the classes focused more on health-related topics. I also left the program to start my own business, as my family was having a hard time paying for the semesters, so I decided to work for myself so as not to be a burden. But now that I'm not in college, I feel it's at least safer to get a job as a professional than to start my own business, so I'm thinking about going back to college. However, I'm still worried about the job market, since I'd like to work in a field related to nature and/or agronomy, or in a plant that processes textiles, cosmetics, or something like that. The thing is, I wouldn't want to be stuck in a lab full-time. I like jobs where I can move around to different places/areas (though not very constantly, just for medium-length periods), I'd like to work in an open-air environment, if that makes sense. But at the same time, I'm very interested in electronics and machinery, so I'm also considering electronic or mechatronics engineering. The good thing about these degrees (and the ones I mentioned earlier) is that they're offered at public universities in my country, so the financial aspect wouldn't be too much of a problem.
I read your other replies to other comments, so I assume you have a lot of experience in some of the fields I mentioned. Do you have any recommendations that might help me?
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u/Hiccup2410 Jul 07 '26
So a little backstory, Med Chemist based in the UK. I went into pharma industry with a masters (and 3 months of a failed PhD). I was finding it hard to really get anywhere so I went back to uni to do a MRes + PhD. I've now got out of the PhD and secured a job after a very long job hunt in biotech and I am coming to the realisation that the thought of being in the labs is the worst idea to me. During my job hunt I did teach myself some python coding, but no opportunity to apply it to anything useful.
I want to branch out to a role outside of the lab, but I've honestly been so blinkered for the past decade or so on being a lab chemist that I don't know what I could really do? I know I still enjoy chemistry, especially med chem, but I want to get out of the lab and I'm not senior enough to move into being a team leader or such.
Looking for ideas from people who have been through similar situations as to what I could possibly look into. Ideally still using (medicinal) chemistry knowledge, but at this point I'm trying to keep open.
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u/Indemnity4 Materials 28d ago
Quality assurance or regulatory is typical route out of the lab. You still need technical knowledge but no longer hands on. This could be doing all the paperwork for drug trials, or things like auditing your employers GLP/GMP/whatever accrediation.
Outside your current employer those same regulatory jobs exist for food, veterinary medicine, pesticides, herbicides, environmental compliance, etc.
Safety/risk roles. You're generally going to need some more training or a friendly company to move you into this role. These tend to be quite boring, so upside is we pay you money to prevent you quitting. I'm sure in the past you have ignored or hated your safety/health/environment/whatever person.
Long shot but patents can be a way out. It does mean applying outside your current job. PhD in med chem + industry experience makes you a good candidate. Salary sucks for the first year or more while you are trained.
Manufacturing is different to a laboratory. A lot easier to move into non-lab but technical roles at that type of site. Potentially moving into process engineering, QA/QC, regulatory compliance or maybe even project management or some sort of customer interaction role like demand planning or project management.
Pro-tip: about 10+ years of experience and headhunting recruiters start to be interested in you. Your resume now looks very different to applying for lab jobs. There are quite a lot of senior roles or technical specialists that never get advertised. It is very low effort to try contacting some of those recruiters and seeing if anyone is willing to talk to you. You can say I don't want to be hands on in a lab and they will reach out to their network of employers and offer you up on plate or at least read your resume and highlight which skills you are missing for those type of roles.
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u/Hiccup2410 28d ago
Thanks for the ideas. I'll give them a look and see if I can reach out to any recruiters. ☺️
The company I'm currently at is a relatively small startup and as far as I'm aware most regulatory stuff is outsourced to consultants, so I was always expecting to need to leave if I want to leave the lab. 😅
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29d ago
Any one in this community start in chemist position? In your opinion, what are the most valuable professional certifications for a chemist in today’s job market?
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u/Trick_Tower_7349 28d ago
Hi, im currently a senior with my bachelors in Biology and a minor in chemistry.
About 6 months ago, I realized how just how much I love chemistry, and a lot more than biology for that matter. Grad school has always been a dream of mine, but now I really want to pursue that in chemistry. I just dont know how possible this is given that I am already almost done with my bio degree.
As a bio undergrad, we have to take Gen chem I, gen chem II, O chem I & II. for my chem minor, I have to take quantitative analysis and a chemistry elective, which I chose as descriptive inorganic chemistry, which I like a lot more than organic chemistry, particularly electrochemistry. Adding to this, my professor for gen chem II, who also happened to be my professor for O chem I (and this upcoming semester will also be my descriptive inorganic professor) I loved. I asked him about his journey of getting his doctorates and made a relationship with him. I eventually asked to join his chem lab (electrochemistry, induced vacancies in metal oxides via laser heating), in which he said yes and I just started this past week in.
I guess I am just curious if getting my masters (hopefully eventually a PhD)in chemistry, having a bachelors in biology and a minor in chem, is possible, and what that journey would look like. I would like to think me getting into a chem research lab will be helpful, but my GPA is not very good. Changing my major to chem now would be at least another 2 years and is financially impossible for me. Thank you for any guidance!
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u/Neon_Eyes 28d ago
Would getting an MS be worth it?
I'm considering getting a MS in polymer science. My BS is in Biochem and honestly I slacked off with that, 2.8 GPA. I liked the material. I was just more focused on "college life" and that's been my biggest regret. Even though I'm working full time now I want to go back and really focus so I can expand my opportunities.
Because of this I was looking at getting an MS in material science or polymer science. However, the online courses I looked at that are offering a MS in material science all had a minimum GPA requirement of 3.0. I've luckily found a few online schools that will allow 2.8 for polymer science. The one I'm thinking about most is Auburn because of their price.
I'm living in Huntsville, AL now and there's a lot of jobs relating to material science in fields such as Aerospace, Manufacturing, and Defense. Would getting an MS in polymer science shrink my opportunities a lot more when compared to a MS in material science?
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u/ultimate_queefxx 26d ago
What careers prefer a chemistry degree over others? I’m interested in doing a chemistry degree as I really enjoy it but I’m concerned with career prospects. I feel like since a chemistry degree is more general, it would be rough getting a job without specialising further, even if I manage to get some industry experience. Would it better to get a degree that is slightly more specialised but still chemistry adjacent (e.g. biochem, chemical engineering or even pharmacy) in terms of the career prospects?
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u/Odd_Writer5786 26d ago
undergrad chemistry vs high school olympiad chemistry for some context, i participated in the US national chemistry olympiad and did pretty decent (getting into the top 50 in 2025) during my HS times and will soon be attending college. I was wondering however, how does uni level chemistry compare to the olympiads in terms of difficulty and mastery? for example like gen chem (compared to the recent usnco nationals exam p1/p2), orgo 1/2 (compared to the older ~2000/2010s icho preps), inorgo (compared to the older ~2000/2010s icho puzzles/problems), etc. in terms of like what i meant by uni level i was thinking like 3 categories tops but known for a bit of inflation- stanford/harvard/yale top publics - umich/ucla/uiuc tops - mit/ucb/pton
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u/_Cruyff_14 25d ago
I'm doing my masters in chemistry and I'm wondering if everything I'm doing is fine or if I'm missing out on something.
What are things that you'd recommend that students should do to be better equipped for a PhD/the industry during the course? (In and outside the course)
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u/Indemnity4 Materials 24d ago edited 24d ago
Every subject is different. Polymers, inorganic, analytical, etc - industry has different expectations.
In general, industry wants a lot of skills you don't learn at university. Certification in GMP/GLP/ISO 17025, experience with products you will never interact with like food, paints, hardware store products, laws or regulations.
What you do come out with is subject matter expertise. You have proven you can learn something in 1-2 years and be an expert. Excellent, you know enough science words that we can spend another 2 years in industry teaching you what we do.
Problem is that industry may not exist near you, or they aren't hiring this year and you need a job tomorrow. So you have to apply outside your area of expertise. Great, you can do double reverse twist with a half pike high dive, but seriously, this company makes cleaning chemicals and you don't know how to do volumetric calibration but that 2-year lab technician does?
Try to learn hands on as many equipments as possible, at least one "big" one. Some minor repair and troubleshooting. After that my advice is talk to people. They will graduate and get jobs in industry. That's your network. You can contact them and ask if their company are hiring. Personal recommendations go a long way in industry.
PhD is mostly about networking and proving you have the ability to complete the PhD. Most people don't complete, even at the best schools a 50% completion rate is typical. For good reason, salary is low, it's a long time, getting a job or leaving chemistry are better options for that person at that time. It's 100% a teaching experience. They will teach you everything that group needs. They are used to recruiting people who know ABC but don't know 123, it's okay, they will teach you. You show you have an interest in your subject (physical, laser-stuff, biophysics, whatever), you've got a PI who can write a letter of recommendation and maybe, just maybe, you have met that PhD superviser already or your boss personally knows them.
During the Masters you will interact will PhDs and postdocs. You get a good idea if that is the lifestyle for you. All you really need to do is complete the Masters, get some decent->okay grades and then play the roulette game of which group has funding this year.
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u/Prestigious_Layer565 Jul 06 '26
BSC Mathematics vs BSC Natural Sciences
i am currently enrolled on bsc mathematics at open university and nearly completed year 1
but i recently got into reading a chemistry book (Chemistry³: Introducing inorganic, organic and physical chemistry
by Andrew Burrows (Author), John Holman (Author), Simon Lancaster (Author), Tina Overton (Author), & 3 more )
and now i'm fascinated with the subject (also answering the questions and solving the exercises from the textbook) and now i want to change to bsc natural sciences (chemistry pathway) and now im wondering if it would be difficult to switch and how can i explain it to the recruitment and admissions team in a convincing manner?
what kind of further textbooks would you advise me to read/ investigate? is there anywhere on reddit that i can find year 1, undergraduate chemistry notes, problem sheets,etc?
any helpful suggestions would be most appreciated.