What Do Chemistry Graduates Do? -- Part 3

Prospects have been compiling their graduate survey report in a standard format for a number of years, allowing facile comparison of datasets. For example, while the number of people graduating with a chemistry degree increased by 17% between 2006 and 2009, those entering employment steadily dropped from 45 to 39%, and those believed to be unemployed increased from 5.9 to 8.7%.

As a scientist, studying for a PhD is not unusual – as discussed previously, it’s a well-respected accomplishment which opens up opportunities that may otherwise be more difficult to achieve, and more. While the employment rate fell and unemployment rate rose, the number of chemistry graduates choosing to continue to study in the UK for a higher degree absorbed some of the difference, and climbed from 26 to 30%. Whether this is to remain in academia to avoid a weak job market, or a larger proportion of graduates now feel a PhD will put them in better stead for their career, the market may need to adapt to an increase of PhD-qualified chemists 3-4 years down the line.

Of the 4 in 10 chemistry graduates who entered employment in 2009, a far smaller proportion went into scientific research than in previous years. In 2006-8 this figure hovered around 23%, before dropping to 17% last year. Conversely, the number entering retail, catering, waiting and bar occupations has jumped from around 8% to 13%. That is not to say there are not good opportunities in this sector, but the strong correlation of these sets of figures suggest many more chemists may be entering service work who may otherwise be added to the unemployment figures. The number entering other “non-professional” occupations has also been steadily increasing from 7 to 12% over the four years.

While this may all seem like doom and gloom – employment down, unemployment up, research entrants down, bar staff up – it’s all relative. Compared to other degree subject areas examined by Prospects, the chemist graduate unemployment rate is the 8^th lowest out of 27. While the graduate chemist employment rate is fourth lowest, this is because many scientists traditionally study for a higher degree (ranked 3^rd highest out of 27). And if it can be deemed a bellwether for “hidden unemployment”, chemists also come fairly low on the catering/bar staff ranking as well (at 10^th lowest).

So in summary: What do chemistry graduates do? An increasing number are continuing their studies as the proportion entering employment falls and unemployment rises. Of those entering employment, the number carrying out scientific research has notably dropped recently, with a simultaneous increase in those entering service occupations. While the situation looks bleak for chemists, compared to graduates in other subjects, we’re faring well. Our unemployment rate is lower than the majority, and we have the capability and infrastructure to pursue further study.

While fewer may be entering scientific research, it remains to be seen whether this is a temporary situation. Regardless, the mindset and transferrable skills of a chemist are highly regarded by industry: willingness and ability to learn and apply knowledge; analytical and research skills; self-motivation and being proactive (demonstrated with personal research projects); and hard-working.

And I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.

What Do Chemistry Graduates Do? -- Part 2

A chemistry degree opens up opportunities far beyond the sphere of organic synthesis. Indeed, according to Prospects’ report, of the 39% of chemists that entered employment 6 months after graduation in 2009, only 17% joined the world of scientific research, analysis and development – a mere 1 in 6. This includes a swathe of traditional chemist roles covering synthesis, R&D, scientific research and analysis; across a range of industries such as pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, environmental and materials design.

In total, almost two thirds enter professional employment and, as a class, business and finance were next behind science. This is not a surprise – anecdotally, the second most popular career choice after graduating with a chemistry degree is probably accountancy. Salaries are higher after training, career progression can be faster, and long-term prospects are more stable. Banking, finance and consultancy jobs offer even quicker routes to wealth, and their established companies often have graduate training programmes to ease the transition from science. And if you can crack investment banking, then you’re laughing.

Between them, the “Big Four” professional services firms have a revenue of almost $100bn, and employ over 600k people. The careers pages of Deloitte, PwC, Ernst & Young and KPMG all advertise graduate schemes, and have hundreds of positions open for experienced hires.

The importance of these graduate-recruiting behemoths should not be underestimated. High Fliers Research – an independent market research company - published their report “The Graduate Market in 2011” last month, which includes an analysis of the number of graduate jobs filled at “The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers” in 2010. Of the almost 16000 positions, only 56 were created by chemical and pharmaceuticals companies on the list, compared to over 3500 in accountancy and professional services.

But it’s not all about the money. Management is the next most popular option, with 7% of the job share, which is likely to include a significant proportion of graduates entering the civil service. Until recently this was viewed as the most stable of job options which, while not the highest paid, had a gold-plated pension scheme. The graduate fast stream programme still exists, but opportunities may be reduced during these austere times.

Between them, science, business, finance, management and the non-specific “other professional occupations” account for over half of all the chemistry graduates entering employment. Alternative technical professions include education, engineering, health and IT (almost 10% combined); and softer professions such as marketing, arts and social welfare (6%). Some careers - such as law - appear to be lower than expected, but this is because most people will continue study with a conversion course rather than directly entering employment in these fields.

The remaining one-third of graduates end up in non-professional occupations – the largest proportion in retail, catering, waiting and bar staff (over 1 in 8 of all chemistry graduates in employment). While some of these may be career choices, the survey unfortunately doesn’t expand upon this. As will be highlighted shortly, it is more likely that this high number masks a more significant and troublesome employment issue.

Next time: That’s all very well, but one year is just a snapshot – show me the trends!

What Do Chemistry Graduates Do? -- Part 1

According to HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency), the number of students completing chemistry first degrees in the UK has risen from 2275 to 2655 in the four years to 2009. With a weak economy and an absence of recruitment campaigns from the traditional chemistry giants, where do these graduates end up?

Fortunately, HESA also surveys graduates to find out what they’re doing 6 months after they leave university, and Prospects – the commercial arm of HECSU (Higher Education Careers Service Unit) – collates these statistics into a digestible annual report. From the chemistry alumni of 2009, a representative 2270 responses were received. The full report, published 3 months ago and containing analysis across all degree subjects, can be found here.

It comes as no surprise that around 30% of chemistry graduates continue studying in the UK for a higher degree. For those hoping to pursue a career in scientific research, a PhD will clearly command both a higher salary and entry level – which would likely take significantly longer than 3-4 years to achieve as a graduate. Current stipends are a tax-free ~£14k per year (equivalent to ~£21k in real money), with project sponsorship and undergraduate teaching potentially adding another £5k plus beer money. However, if the appeal for doing a PhD is to ride out a tough job market for a few years, seriously consider what options may be available at the end of it, and the risk of becoming overqualified.

Continuing the study theme, 1 in 200 chemistry graduates choose to undergo further study or training overseas. With prestigious colleges and a common language, the US is a popular destination. Postgraduate degrees tend to be longer, at 4-6 years, with typical stipends of $25k plus fellowships from industrial sponsors.

A sizeable 1 in 20 new chemists go on to study in the UK for a teaching qualification. An array of routes exist to gain qualified teacher status depending on your personal circumstances – including full or part time study and within a school or a higher education establishment. More information can be found at the Training and Development Agency website. As there continues to be a shortage of chemistry teachers (supported by the number of jobs advertised), a tax-free bursary of £9k is still being offered to chemists, subject to eligibility. Newly qualified teachers can expect to earn £21.6k (or £27k in Inner London).

As a proportion of the 62% of graduates that escape the confines of education, two-thirds enter UK employment, almost a tenth choose to both work and study, and 1 in 7 are believed to be unemployed. The graduate chemist unemployment rate of 8.7% is close to the graduate average (8.9%), and fares well against peers in physics (11.7%), biology (10.0%) and environmental sciences (8.3%). Further afield, graduates particularly suffering are those studying IT & computing (16.3%), engineering subjects (11-13%) and maths (10.3%); but those bringing down the average are law (6.2%), sports science (6.9%) and foundation degrees (2.7%).

Next time: For the one thousand chemistry graduates that responded to the survey saying they’d entered employment, what type of work did they do? Clue: scientific research was top, but maybe not by as much as you think.

Weekly Stats Round-up: 6th Feb 2011

All UK chemistry-related jobs added to the main sites in the last 7 days:

NewScientistJobs
“chemist”=25, “chemistry”=79, Chemistry section=81
Monster
“chemist”=37, “chemistry”=80
Reed
“chemist”=51, “chemistry”= 275
ChemistyWorldJobs (RSC)
all jobs=n/a site relaunched 1^st Feb
Jobs.ac.uk
all academic chemistry positions=24
Jobisjob.co.uk
“chemist”=113, “chemistry”=696

Midweek job roll: 3rd Feb

Tasty chemistry: If you’d like to be paid £20-25k to develop and test new flavours for soups, sauces and baked goods, look no further – with a diploma in science you could become a flavours application specialist in East Anglia. Some experience in the food industry required (unfortunately this probably doesn’t include a summer job shelf stacking in Tesco). Alternatively, if you “have experience with chocolate products” you may prefer this sensory and consumer scientist role in Berkshire. £30k and global travel, but a few more job-relevant pre-requisites.

Optimistic ad of the week: If you’ve lived a media-free life since the day this advert was placed, you may be tempted to become a research unit liaison group expert in pharmacokinetics, dynamics and metabolism. Quoted as a permanent role, one wonders how long it will exist in its advertised location.

PhD-qualified or experienced MSc medicinal chemists interested in a position across the border in Wales - this biotechnology company are offering £28k.

Among the plethora of analytical positions being advertised, two on NewScientistJobs are Up North: a development analyst role for a pharmaceutical company in Leeds (£23-27k, permanent); the other for an R&D analytical chemist in E Yorkshire which involves business travel (up to £35k, permanent).

Finally, ChemistryWorldJobs – run by the RSC – deserves special mention this week for its shiny new interface. Hopefully the number of jobs will increase accordingly, but already there are ads from Key Organics in Cornwall for contract synthetic organic chemists (plural, note!); and Lilly in Surrey for contract synthetic organic chemists (plural, again!) and a chromatographer.

32 Companies

Unfortunately the large companies with the large salaries are generally the ones that aren’t recruiting or are actively cutting back their workforce. Nevertheless, here are 32 companies of various sizes from the UK healthcare sector that may be worth checking occasionally.

Listed are the links to their UK website and careers page, with info on whether they're advertising for chemist R&D positions on their site (on 2/2/11). Note that not all companies advertise vacancies on their own site (a lot go through agencies) so this list is just another tool in the job searching armory.

Abbott – Job site – none in R&D

AstraZeneca – Job site - pharmacometrician, med comms scientist, chemometrics, DMPK

Bayer – Job site – none in R&D

Boehringer Ingelheim – Job site – none in R&D

Bristol-Myers Squibb – Job site – none in R&D

Chroma – Job site – PhD medicinal chemist (beyond closing date)

Eisai – Job site – none in R&D

Eli Lilly – Job site – none in R&D

Evotec – Job site – snr medicinal chemist

GE Healthcare – Job site – development technologist

Gilead Sciences – Job site - regulatory

GSK – Job site – formulation, new products

Johnson & Johnson – Job site – none in R&D

Merck Serono – Job site – none in R&D

Merck Sharp Dohme – Job site – reg affairs

Mundi Int – Job site – none in R&D

Novartis – Job site – chemical engineer, stats

Prosidion – Job site – principal formulation scientist, team leaders, scientists, snr scientists

Pfizer – Job site – none in R&D

Proctor & Gamble – Job site – lab tech, technical information scientist, QA

Roche – Job site – none in R&D

Sanofi-Aventis – Job site – none in R&D

Servier – Job site – none in R&D

Shire – Job site – directors, packaging&labeling, snr medical writer

Sigma Aldrich – Job site – process chemist

Syngenta – Job site – chemical indexing officer

Takeda – Job site – none in R&D

Teva – Job site – regulatory

UCB – Job site – devices, M&S

Unilever – Job site – material spec specialist

Vectura – Job site – formulation specialist

Vertex – Job site – DMPK research scientist

Monthly Stats Round-up: Jan 2011

All UK chemistry-related jobs added to the main sites in the Jan 2011 (and still up):

NewScientistJobs
“chemist”=76, “chemistry”=120, Chemistry section=119
Monster
“chemist”=54, “chemistry”= 196
Reed
“chemist”=84, “chemistry”= 374
ChemistyWorldJobs (RSC)
all jobs=15
Jobs.ac.uk
all academic chemistry positions=110
Jobisjob.co.uk
“chemist”=450, “chemistry”=~2200

Fingers crossed things pick up in February - even December had more listings than this...

Pfizer to exit Sandwich

It’s with considerable sadness that the first major UK chemistry job cuts of the year have been announced. In their Financial Guidance and 2010 Results press release, Pfizer today announced they will be exiting the Sandwich, Kent site by 2012.

According to the UK Pfizer website, 3600 staff are based at the site – 2700 of whom work in R&D. Given the reference to PGM on this page it’s likely these figures are somewhat dated (Manufacturing vacated Sandwich in 2007, with the loss of 420 jobs). The local and national press are quoting a figure of 2400 employees - which may not include all the contractor supporting functions on-site.

The move will provide some of the $1.5bn cost savings to reduce Pfizer’s forecasted R&D spend in 2012 from $8 to $8.5bn down to $6.5 to $7bn. To further increase shareholder value, Pfizer also announced they would repurchase ~$5bn of stock, which is not expected to constrain their ability to continue dividend increases. By lunchtime, PFE shares were up over 5%.

While Pfizer, Kent County Council and a Local Enterprise Partnership pursue options for investment at the site by other companies, a significant number of scientists will be leaving the area. Some will pursue new opportunities, while others will make the decision to stay in chemistry. Over the next few weeks, LabMonkey will be looking into the former, and asks for your help with the latter.

If you know of any available positions at your company - or would like to share job adverts that you find with others - then please email me with the details and I’ll list them here. Good luck to all.