- #1
aerohead_18
- 33
- 4
After digging around the web to piece together a picture of the chemistry job market, it looks pretty abysmal. There are countless posts on other sites by disgruntled chemists complaining about working hard for advanced degrees only to end up in low-wage jobs with no benefits and minimal upward mobility. I also read "The Real Science Gap" (look it up, it's a good read), which analyzed why this has happened to so many scientists who came to the field expecting high demand. According to the article, it's tied in with the politics of academia, immigration, and myriad other issues. The overall picture I get is that the profession is in tatters.
So, is what I've gathered accurate? I'm looking into potential majors and I have a strong interest in chem, but if the prospects are really that bad it might not be worth pursuing. Anyone have any insights into whether or not chemistry will be a viable field to enter within the next five to ten years? Or the best way to go about doing that in terms of specialization, research work, etc.?
(On a side note, what's weird is how this goes against almost everything that gets pushed on you in school, that "STEM" careers are in insanely high demand and are all awesome fields to go into. It's almost like students are being lied to if this isn't really the case. )
So, is what I've gathered accurate? I'm looking into potential majors and I have a strong interest in chem, but if the prospects are really that bad it might not be worth pursuing. Anyone have any insights into whether or not chemistry will be a viable field to enter within the next five to ten years? Or the best way to go about doing that in terms of specialization, research work, etc.?
(On a side note, what's weird is how this goes against almost everything that gets pushed on you in school, that "STEM" careers are in insanely high demand and are all awesome fields to go into. It's almost like students are being lied to if this isn't really the case. )