Rising Share of PhD Chemists Work in Industry

Employed Doctoral Scientists: 1999 Education Industry Gov’t Other Biological Sciences50% 29% 11% 9% Chemistry National Science Foundation/Division of Science Resources Studies, 1999 Survey of Doctorate Recipients [Data adjusted to remove scientists who were in postdoctoral positions in 1999]

Employed Doctoral Scientists: 1999 Education Industry Gov’t Other Biological Sciences 50% 29% 11% 9% Chemistry What 1997 Postdocs Were Doing in 1999 Education Industry Gov’t Other Biological Sciences 51% 33% 10% 6% Chemistry National Science Foundation/Division of Science Resources Studies, merged 1997 and 1999 Survey of Doctorate Recipients [Data adjusted to remove scientists who were in postdoctoral positions in 1999]

Outages for New PhDs in Industry Communication skills Communication skills (particularly making effective and persuasive arguments via presentations and reports) Appreciation for applied problems Appreciation for applied problems (particularly in an industrial setting) Teamwork Teamwork (particularly in interdisciplinary settings and with people whose languages and cultures are different from their own) COSEPUP, Reshaping the Graduate Education of Scientists and Engineers, 1995

Pros and Cons of an Industrial Postdoc Pro: Pro:  Good opportunity to learn what goes on in industry, work on a team to solve problems, and decide if you want to remain in industry  Much better pay ($45-55,000/year) than academics  Perhaps will provide an inside track to a permanent job

Pros and Cons of an Industrial Postdoc Pro : Pro :  Good opportunity to learn what goes on in industry, work on a team to solve problems, and decide if you want to remain in industry  Much better pay ($45-55,000/year) than academics  Perhaps will provide an inside track to a permanent job Con: Con:  Many companies will not hire their own postdocs  May have less opportunity to publish than academic post-docs, perhaps hurting chances of getting a permanent job  Will probably be a less viable candidate for an academic job

A Different Postdoctoral Model: The Academic-Industrial Blend Months in Industry Work on an upstream project in an area of importance to the company Months in an Academic Lab Continue research in an area aligned with postdoc’s industrial experience The focus is on the postdoc rather than the PI.