Hidden Jobs/Job Market Outlook

There´s good evidence that, at any given time, around 2/3 of available jobs are “hidden” — meaning not advertised or posted — for a variety of reasons: 

·         Other jobs in the organization have higher priority for being filled.

·         The job is slated for budget approval, but not yet approved.

·         Particularly in smaller organizations, management is too busy to search for a needed employee.

·         Management has not yet recognized a serious need to hire.

Marketplace changes are defining a new job market for chemists. Increased demand for new consumer goods such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and specialty chemicals is expected to create jobs in these industrial segments. In essence, this will counterbalance the slower growth and loss of jobs predicted in the traditional chemical industry (for example, industrial chemicals). The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects:

·         Reasonable growth in employment for chemical professionals and technicians overall, due to scientific and medical R&D and an increase in the technical service industry

·         Job losses for scientists in petroleum, heavy chemicals, plastic and synthetic materials, agricultural chemicals, and paints as well as allied products.

Most new jobs in chemistry are anticipated in these areas:

·         Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology

·         Independent research and testing services

·         Specialty chemicals

·         Toxicology

·         Information specialties

·         Patent law

·         Marketing and sales

·         Industry public relations

·         Consulting.

Clearly, to maintain a prosperous career, chemists must be flexible and open to change. 

The ACS Careers publishes several reports based on surveys of industry, government and academic senior management. The issues covered include areas of growth and decline, shifts in R&D funding, economic factors, and federal policies affecting the chemical industry. These reports also estimate supply of and demand for chemical professionals, focusing on hiring trends and degrees granted in the chemical sciences. See www.acs.org/careers for more details.

Salary Generalities 
Degree level, years of experience, region, and other factors affect what you will earn. Factors that influence salaries are:

·         Degree — Doctoral chemists, on average, can earn 50% more than those with a bachelor´s degree. Master´s chemists have greater earnings potential than bachelor´s chemists, but not as great as that of doctoral chemists.

·         Type of employer — Industrial chemists generally earn more than those in academic or government positions, and salaries are higher overall in certain industries such as petroleum, electronics, and pharmaceuticals. For example, as of this writing, pharmaceutical chemists earn significantly more than other chemists because of a current supply-demand imbalance.

·         Experience — Typically, nonacademic salaries rise fairly steadily for about 20–25 years after graduation and then level off. And in general, salaries go up with an increase in supervisory responsibilities.

·         Other factors — Salaries also vary in geographic regions of the U.S. and other coun tries. Ordinarily, large companies pay more than small companies; however, other benefits are more easily negotiated with small companies than with the larger ones.

ACS conducts surveys on salaries for starting and experienced chemists and publishes the data annually in Chemical & Engineering News, (normally in an August issue) as well as more detailed reports. These reports include

·         Salary Survey — Annual survey of the domestic employment and salaries of ACS members. $250 plus applicable tax, shipping, and handling.

·         Starting Salary Survey — employment and salaries of new chemistry and chemical engineering graduates, along with education data. $49.95 plus applicable tax, shipping, and handling.

Consult the annual ACS salary surveys or the Salary Comparator to determine your salary level expectations, and always request the most current survey document.

We also provide an ACS Salary Comparator; ACS members can access this useful calcu lator online (www.acs.org/careers) to estimate salaries and make comparisons involving numerous variables (job type, location, degree, experience, and so on). ACS keeps the Salary Comparator data current.