Changing careers in chemistry

Abstract

The Year of Chemistry gave rise to various reflections about our discipline. George M. Whitesides and John Deutch see the contemporary chemical industry fully embedded in society, whereas academic chemistry in its maturity is described as increasingly incurious and riskadverse [1]. For the future they locate chemistry’s best intellectual properties outside its historical boundaries. Tomorrow’s chemists need to work at integrating many disciplines. This requires changes in chemistry’s coursework, even the inclusion of “non-science” subjects in order to prepare our graduates for the job market. The changing landscape of careers in the chemical industry and their effect on young chemists was recently analyzed by Keith J. Watson of Dow Chemical [2]. According to his observations, the attributes needed to compete for employment in the modern chemical industry have changed. However, the curriculum at most traditional Western universities does not necessarily reflect these new dynamics. Although a strong foundation in the fundamentals and a diverse knowledge of cutting-edge research are important, Watson recommends that candidates further differentiate themselves by rounding out their non-technical skills. Such requirements have already been stressed by Cynthia Larive in the first contribution to this column “ABCs of Teaching Analytical Science” in 2004 [3]. Strategies for a successful start in the job market were discussed by Rodney P. Townsend, former Chairman of the European Technology Platform on Sustainable Chemistry “Suschem” [4], at the conference “Chemistry and the Bologna Process-Current Status and Future Needs” in Dresden, Germany, in 2009 [5]. He analyzed a potential skills shortage and indicated that already two thirds of European chemical companies had difficulties filling vacancies. Some shortages arise from a mismatch between the requirements of industry and taught courses, e.g., academia focuses on synthetic chemistry but 40% of EU chemical production involves formulation chemistry. He was not just saying “we need more chemists”: we need to be specific and look at precise skills and shortages; these are different things.