Chemical employment opportunities have traditionally been cyclical, and when jobs are tight, the conventional wisdom has frequently been to steer newly minted Ph.D. chemists toward postdoctoral positions. Not only can a well-chosen postdoc strengthen the job seeker's credentials, but it also offers the pragmatic benefit of giving a new graduate a chance to wait out economic downturns like the one the U.S. is currently experiencing. Postdoctoral appointments in chemistry typically last from one to three years, a time frame in which many observers are predicting that the U.S. economy will turn around. So, a Ph.D. chemist beginning a postdoc now will likely enter a stronger job market in a few years' time than the one he or she faces now.

	GOOD TRAINING Postdoc Valery Fokin works on boronic acid chemistry at the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute at the University of Southern California. PHOTO BY JOHN LIVZEY

"Given the general state of the economy and of the pharmaceutical industry specifically, this will be a slow year for new chemistry graduates," predicts David M. Floyd, vice president for discovery chemistry at Bristol-Myers Squibb. "It's probably a good time to line up a postdoc."

A postdoc is almost required for a tenure-track faculty position, points out Emile A. Schweikert, head of the chemistry department at Texas A&M University. Getting postdoctoral training "leaves the option open to eventually go into an academic career or to take an industrial position," he says. "If you want both of those options, you should certainly consider a postdoc."

In recent years, the market for new Ph.D. synthetic organic chemists has been so strong, particularly at smaller biotechnology start-up companies, that many new graduates have opted to skip a postdoc and go straight to work for one of these firms. That's not necessarily a wise career move, suggests Alexander Chucholowski, executive director of chemistry at ChemBridge Research Laboratories, San Diego, Calif. A small biotech company cannot afford to invest in training new graduates, he explains. If the biotech company fails, as several have in the past few months, it can be very difficult for these people to find new jobs.

"I've seen too many résumés of people in this position who don't have enough basic academic training behind them," Chucholowski says. "They joined a biotech company that failed, and now they are looking for positions and having a hard time finding something."

Chucholowski's advice: "If you can't immediately get a position that will further your career, join a strong academic group and do a postdoc."

But a postdoc isn't always the right choice for someone struggling to find a job in industry, suggests Ron Webb, manager of doctoral recruiting and university relations at Procter & Gamble. "If somebody is just fundamentally tired of being in the academic system and is really wanting to go to work and, perhaps, start a family, then don't give up that dream," Webb says. "There are still jobs out there; it's just that the competition is stiffer."

Furthermore, Webb explains, "people need to go into a postdoc with all of their focus and energy behind it. It is another way to stretch yourself and to grow and challenge your technical mastery and your independence in your field. But if you go into it just because you have to, and your heart's not in it, you are probably not going to do as well as somebody who really believes it's the right career step for them."

Advice differs on what kind of postdoc will be most helpful in making a new graduate more employable. For those hoping to end up in the pharmaceutical or biotech field, Chucholowski recommends doing a postdoc with the strongest synthetic organic chemistry group one can get into. Denise Parsonage, college recruiter for medicinal chemistry at Gilead Sciences, Foster City, Calif., offers similar advice. "We look for people who have really deep training in synthetic organic chemistry," she says. "Unfortunately, some of the Ph.D. programs are a little bit too broad right now." The remedy, she suggests, is a postdoc with a strong focus on synthesis.

Others recommend taking a postdoc that broadens one's experience. "Look for opportunities to do a postdoc in an area that is significantly removed from where you have been," says Lawrence B. Friedman, manager of university relations at Bayer Polymers in Pittsburgh. "Too often, a postdoc is done in an area very similar to the Ph.D. area, and that just builds greater concentration in a narrow specialty." Instead, he advises "a person with, say, a polymer background, to work in an area that involves biochemistry, for example, or some other discipline that will result in a broader technical background."

Postdoctoral positions are "not hard to find, relatively speaking," says William M. Gelbart, chairman of the department of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles."Good people at good universities are getting funded," he notes, "and part of what allows them to do their work is having a good number of postdoctorals in their groups."

The number of postdocs in the chemistry department of the University of Washington has doubled in the past five years, rising from about 30 to about 60, according to D. Michael Heinekey, associate chairman for the graduate program. As grant funding has increased, tuition and stipends for graduate students have also risen, he points out, which makes postdocs seem more economical. The number of postdocs in Harvard University's department of chemistry and chemical biology has also been rising, though less dramatically, in recent years. The department brought in 82 new postdocs in 2000, 89 last year, and 95--so far--in 2002, says Anthony R. Shaw Jr., codirector of graduate studies for the department.

Some academic chemists see a pent-up demand for postdocs, particularly for candidates who have chemistry degrees from U.S. universities. "If you put in advertisements for postdocs, you get a substantial number of applicants, but few of them are really qualified, and almost none are U.S. citizens," says John C. Wright, chairman of the chemistry department at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Many foreign-trained applicants come from universities in China and India, where their training in chemistry is apt to be what Wright describes as more classical than that found at U.S. universities."They are not as aware of the things that are cutting edge," he says.

There's an unknown quality about many foreign-educated postdoctoral applicants that works to the advantage of U.S. graduates, says Ronald Breslow, chemistry professor at Columbia University. "People with a U.S. education have a more likely chance at a postdoctoral position than someone coming in from overseas, whom one knows very little about."

Yet Cornell University chemistry professor and department chairman Barry K. Carpenter is cautious about how valuable a postdoc may be. "If you have a strong graduate student who is leaving and doesn't have a job to go to, it seems like the most sensible thing to recommend to them," Carpenter says, "though I have my doubts about whether it makes them that much more marketable. But certainly, in terms of tiding them over, it's hard to know what else to recommend."

Carpenter adds: "Of course, by making such a recommendation, one is really building up a kind of pent-up supply of people for the next round of hiring that will be in competition with the graduate students of that year. So, in a sense, you are only delaying the problem."

COVER STORY

INTRODUCTION - EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK 2003

DEMAND

The year ahead is shaping up as even tougher than this one for those seeking employment in most fields of chemistry. Jobs are available, but the hunt is likely to be long and arduous.

WANTED
Scientists Needed To Help Secure The Homeland

BEYOND GRAD SCHOOL
When Jobs Are Scarce, Some Seek Postdocs

SALARIES & EMPLOYMENT

The unemployment rate for chemists climbed to 3.3% in 2002, the highest rate measured in more than 30 years' worth of ACS surveys. But for chemists already in the workforce, the salary situation remained quite strong.

WORKFORCE
Societies Look At Changing The Face Of Science & Engineering

THE INTERVIEW

Seasoned chemical industry recruiters describe what works and what does not, plus a list of tips for the interviewee.

HEALTH INSURANCE

What employees need to know about ensuring continued coverage when their employment status changes.

CAREER-PLANNING RESOURCES

A guide to sources of job and career information well suited to chemical scientists seeking industrial, academic, or government positions or looking to change careers. Some of the most comprehensive resources can be found at the American Chemical Society.

Chemical & Engineering News
Copyright © 2002 American Chemical Society