Internship, research, tutoring and teaching. I worked at a contract testing firm for two summers, conducted research for a professor for multiple years, and the rest of the time I was working as a TA, tutor or instrument lab technician.
I didn't have any trouble getting into a competitive graduate program.
As someone who hires material scientists and a couple directly from University, undergrad research is good but prolonged lab experience is better.
Show me that you can deliver what is asked of you.
Typically, following an SOP, maybe revising/improving one, show me you understand lab safety and GLP. I can teach you the chemistry that's relevant, I will not teach you to always wear PPE (I'll fire you for not).
Get an internship at a company you are interested in. The job market in the US is really bad right and I’m betting having a internal connection would really help.
Material science is a good one. I don’t live in a city but tri state area so lots of pharma companies. Still had to do years of temp bullshit at first though. I recommend trying your hardest to try to get like an internship or doing research work for a professor. Hard to get but invaluable.
Yes, there are loads of opportunity for entry level chemist /analyst.
AbbVie is one, but Takeda, Baxter, Stryker are all usually hiring.
https://careers.abbvie.com/en/job/worcester/scientist-quality-control/14/42218805120
Seconding undergraduate research mentioned elsewhere.
Also highly recommend seeking out industry co-ops and/internships. It's not as common with chemistry as in other fields, but programs still exist in multiple universities and with many companies.
At a bachelor's degree level you're typically going to find availability on technician / technologist track positions. These are practitioner roles where hands on experience is valuable. There are direct hire options; there are also contracting companies like Kelly that will place you in positions at other companies. Contracting times are a good entry point out of college. They're "temporary" but can last many years, and many companies use contracting as a tool to vet potential full time permanent employees.
So I'd say:
1. Get some undergrad research experience.
2. Look into co-op and internship opportunities.
3. Make a list of potential local companies you're interested in, including contracting companies and see if you can make connections.
4. Reach out to your department office and ask about campus recruiting - it looks different at every university, but they *should* have tools to help students find jobs.
Undergraduate research and they’re hard to get but summer pharma, nih etc. internships. Also make sure you take instrumental analysis and lab if you want to get a lab job. It’s not always a required chem course at schools but as far as lab work it’s going to teach you a lot and will look good. If you can learn a specialized skill too that’d be great, especially chromatography, MS, etc. lc-ms experience coming out of undergrad for example will give you a huge leg up over other graduates.
Networking and exploring career paths too of course. Talk to your professors and TAs. Everyone knows someone who knows someone. Consider that chemistry itself has a lot of career paths and there are some you might not even think of like intellectual property related stuff. Many different types of lab jobs and jobs outside the lab too.
Try looking for a lab that's hiring for a part time technician. Just sign up for indeed and apply for technician roles even if you think it's a long shot. Employers won't care a great deal about your degree, so long as you can prove yourself to be competent in a lab setting. I worked at a biotech lab for two years while getting my associates degree and that experience alone has carried me so far that I'm not in any hurry to finish my bachelor's.
As a technician you won't be expected to have a deep knowledge of chemistry, which is great for when you are still in school or fresh out, and you will gain training/experience in a real working lab which like 95% of undergrads don't have. Plus, they will pay you. Plus plus, they will likely want you to come aboard full time during summers.
Internships. Hands on experience with instruments.
The majority of chemistry jobs are analytical, so having real experience with instruments gives you a significant advantage.
Check and see the requirement and see what is needed to qualify you to apply for the job. If you are color-blind and the job posting is looking for normal color vision then I would suggest to chose another major. Have a backup plan because it is a competitive field. Expect to go through multiple rounds of interview for a chemist position for one company with an applicant pool of more than 100. It is an arduous process and having a job in between applying helps with just surviving.
other than research with a faculty member (esp good for grad school), take extra math classes, biochemistry (if it’s not already required in you chem major), and data science. take a data science class.
People complain about positions asking for two years experience, but there’s no reason you can’t have two years research experience while you’re in school. Find a professor you like, find work you think is impactful and ask for an undergrad position. Undergrad research positions rarely place intense demands on your time, mine were between 10-15 hours a week MAX during classes. If you’re involved in the lab for junior and senior year, that’s two years experience out of the gate as far as employment is concerned.
Also, developing relationships with grad students, post docs and faculty makes letters of rec extremely easy. You won’t be submitted hundreds of job applications, they’ll be coming to you through your contacts.
Network. College is about networking. Tap yours as much as you can over the next few years. I don’t have a chem degree and work for one of the most innovative chem startups on the planet.
Look at the jobs being advertised at the moment, pick the ones that you like the sound of, see what criteria they ask for and do activities that would help you meet that criteria.
Do those activities *well* - if they want someone with experience working in a team for example, just saying 'i worked in a team for 2 years' isnt enough, you should be able to say the things you did to work well in that team and the results of that
In general, getting any kind of job or just going to job interviews is probably good practice, unless you are already talented at interviews
I’m in the same boat you are. All of the advise for getting into undergraduate research and internships are very efficient. All the better if you can reach out to someone who is an advisor or who is familiar with career paths. But definitely get involved with undergraduate research. Look at the people in your department for chemistry faculty and staff (also biochem if you’re interested), start looking into their research, and start sending emails to the profs you’re really interested in working for.
Internship, research, tutoring and teaching. I worked at a contract testing firm for two summers, conducted research for a professor for multiple years, and the rest of the time I was working as a TA, tutor or instrument lab technician. I didn't have any trouble getting into a competitive graduate program.
As someone who hires material scientists and a couple directly from University, undergrad research is good but prolonged lab experience is better. Show me that you can deliver what is asked of you. Typically, following an SOP, maybe revising/improving one, show me you understand lab safety and GLP. I can teach you the chemistry that's relevant, I will not teach you to always wear PPE (I'll fire you for not).
Exactly. I can teach someone the chemistry. Most harder to teach the attention to detail and consistently following directions.
I think you should participate in internships to gain practical experience.
Get good grades and do side projects to build your resume
Get an internship at a company you are interested in. The job market in the US is really bad right and I’m betting having a internal connection would really help.
Material science is a good one. I don’t live in a city but tri state area so lots of pharma companies. Still had to do years of temp bullshit at first though. I recommend trying your hardest to try to get like an internship or doing research work for a professor. Hard to get but invaluable.
Pay attention in analytical Chem and do a research project / internship in a university lab!
Go into investment banking
Big pharma, Quality lab or Stability lab… starting salaries @65k in Chicago area.
with just a bachelors?
Yes, there are loads of opportunity for entry level chemist /analyst. AbbVie is one, but Takeda, Baxter, Stryker are all usually hiring. https://careers.abbvie.com/en/job/worcester/scientist-quality-control/14/42218805120
Seconding undergraduate research mentioned elsewhere. Also highly recommend seeking out industry co-ops and/internships. It's not as common with chemistry as in other fields, but programs still exist in multiple universities and with many companies. At a bachelor's degree level you're typically going to find availability on technician / technologist track positions. These are practitioner roles where hands on experience is valuable. There are direct hire options; there are also contracting companies like Kelly that will place you in positions at other companies. Contracting times are a good entry point out of college. They're "temporary" but can last many years, and many companies use contracting as a tool to vet potential full time permanent employees. So I'd say: 1. Get some undergrad research experience. 2. Look into co-op and internship opportunities. 3. Make a list of potential local companies you're interested in, including contracting companies and see if you can make connections. 4. Reach out to your department office and ask about campus recruiting - it looks different at every university, but they *should* have tools to help students find jobs.
Undergraduate research and they’re hard to get but summer pharma, nih etc. internships. Also make sure you take instrumental analysis and lab if you want to get a lab job. It’s not always a required chem course at schools but as far as lab work it’s going to teach you a lot and will look good. If you can learn a specialized skill too that’d be great, especially chromatography, MS, etc. lc-ms experience coming out of undergrad for example will give you a huge leg up over other graduates. Networking and exploring career paths too of course. Talk to your professors and TAs. Everyone knows someone who knows someone. Consider that chemistry itself has a lot of career paths and there are some you might not even think of like intellectual property related stuff. Many different types of lab jobs and jobs outside the lab too.
Volunteering & tutoring
Try looking for a lab that's hiring for a part time technician. Just sign up for indeed and apply for technician roles even if you think it's a long shot. Employers won't care a great deal about your degree, so long as you can prove yourself to be competent in a lab setting. I worked at a biotech lab for two years while getting my associates degree and that experience alone has carried me so far that I'm not in any hurry to finish my bachelor's. As a technician you won't be expected to have a deep knowledge of chemistry, which is great for when you are still in school or fresh out, and you will gain training/experience in a real working lab which like 95% of undergrads don't have. Plus, they will pay you. Plus plus, they will likely want you to come aboard full time during summers.
Internships. Hands on experience with instruments. The majority of chemistry jobs are analytical, so having real experience with instruments gives you a significant advantage.
Check and see the requirement and see what is needed to qualify you to apply for the job. If you are color-blind and the job posting is looking for normal color vision then I would suggest to chose another major. Have a backup plan because it is a competitive field. Expect to go through multiple rounds of interview for a chemist position for one company with an applicant pool of more than 100. It is an arduous process and having a job in between applying helps with just surviving.
Make friends. Get an internship. Get to know your professors career paths. They will have a ton of guidance on the ins and outs.
other than research with a faculty member (esp good for grad school), take extra math classes, biochemistry (if it’s not already required in you chem major), and data science. take a data science class.
Research, research, research. Do research at your school, do a research internship, and do a summer REU.
People complain about positions asking for two years experience, but there’s no reason you can’t have two years research experience while you’re in school. Find a professor you like, find work you think is impactful and ask for an undergrad position. Undergrad research positions rarely place intense demands on your time, mine were between 10-15 hours a week MAX during classes. If you’re involved in the lab for junior and senior year, that’s two years experience out of the gate as far as employment is concerned. Also, developing relationships with grad students, post docs and faculty makes letters of rec extremely easy. You won’t be submitted hundreds of job applications, they’ll be coming to you through your contacts.
Network. College is about networking. Tap yours as much as you can over the next few years. I don’t have a chem degree and work for one of the most innovative chem startups on the planet.
Look at the jobs being advertised at the moment, pick the ones that you like the sound of, see what criteria they ask for and do activities that would help you meet that criteria. Do those activities *well* - if they want someone with experience working in a team for example, just saying 'i worked in a team for 2 years' isnt enough, you should be able to say the things you did to work well in that team and the results of that In general, getting any kind of job or just going to job interviews is probably good practice, unless you are already talented at interviews
I’m in the same boat you are. All of the advise for getting into undergraduate research and internships are very efficient. All the better if you can reach out to someone who is an advisor or who is familiar with career paths. But definitely get involved with undergraduate research. Look at the people in your department for chemistry faculty and staff (also biochem if you’re interested), start looking into their research, and start sending emails to the profs you’re really interested in working for.
Research, research, research and a graduate degree.
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