Chemical & Engineering News Digital Edition - Institute of Materia ...
Chemical & Engineering News Digital Edition - Institute of Materia ...
Chemical & Engineering News Digital Edition - Institute of Materia ...
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employment outlook<br />
OPPORTUNITIES FOR 2008 AND BEYOND<br />
STEWART WOODWARD<br />
LAUNCHING CORPORATE CAREERS<br />
Recent B.S. AND M.S. GRADUATES ignite their passion for chemistry within diverse businesses<br />
SUSAN J. AINSWORTH, C&EN DALLAS<br />
FOR CASEY MCLEOD, the reality <strong>of</strong><br />
working in an industrial lab has exceeded<br />
her expectations. The synthetic organic<br />
chemist who joined Dow AgroSciences in<br />
Indianapolis six months ago says she is surprisingly<br />
encouraged to make significant<br />
and satisfying contributions to the company’s<br />
R&D efforts despite not having an<br />
advanced degree.<br />
“In the past, and still in some companies<br />
today, I think there’s a mentality that Ph.D.<br />
chemists are the only employees who are<br />
qualified to form hypotheses and come<br />
up with research ideas, leaving B.S.- and<br />
M.S.-degreed chemists to simply test and<br />
exemplify them,” says McLeod, who earned<br />
a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from<br />
Purdue University in 2006. “But at this<br />
company, at least, that’s the farthest thing<br />
from the truth.”<br />
And McLeod—one <strong>of</strong> a dozen <strong>of</strong> fledgling<br />
non-Ph.D. chemists contacted by<br />
C&EN—is not alone in her perceptions.<br />
The experiences <strong>of</strong> these chemists give a<br />
glimpse <strong>of</strong> the kinds <strong>of</strong> engaging jobs that<br />
some B.S. and M.S. chemists are finding in<br />
industry now.<br />
The key to tapping into these opportu-<br />
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 55 APRIL 14, 2008<br />
ENCOURAGED<br />
Birkett conducts<br />
antibacterial<br />
products drug<br />
discovery research<br />
at AstraZeneca’s<br />
Boston facility.<br />
nities is thinking outside the box, gaining<br />
experience through internships and temporary<br />
work, and polishing interviewing<br />
skills, according to the chemists C&EN interviewed.<br />
As a result, it is possible for new<br />
chemists to launch into exciting careers in<br />
a variety <strong>of</strong> businesses.<br />
“I am surprised to find that I am free<br />
to generate hypotheses and do the work<br />
needed to test them,” McLeod says <strong>of</strong><br />
her job designing and synthesizing novel<br />
molecules to control pests. “It’s just a very<br />
level playing field. And that is really motivating<br />
to me. The supportive culture here
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