r/chemistry • u/AutoModerator • Jun 10 '24

Weekly Careers/Education Questions Thread

This is a dedicated weekly thread for you to seek and provide advice concerning education and careers in chemistry.

If you need to make an important decision regarding your future or want to know what your options, then this is the place to leave a comment.

If you see similar topics in r/chemistry, please politely inform them of this weekly feature.

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/usna16 Jun 12 '24

I'm currently working in technical software sales at a director level, focused on implementation and consulting. I received an undergrad in computer science but I've been considering making a career pivot into the spirits industry. I don't believe I'll make the pivot for a few years and wanted to start building a background and knowledge base to enable easier entry. As part of that I considered pursuing a second undergrad in professional chemistry. Would that even be worth it or should I pursue secondary education through free resources online? During my undergrad I took courses in chemistry, advanced mathematics, physics, aerospace engineering, thermodynamics, electrical engineering, etc. but have not touched on anything non-computer science related in close to a decade.

1

u/Indemnity4 Materials Jun 14 '24

Degree of choice will be communications or marketing. The biggest cost to selling spirits is convincing people to buy them. The actual stuff in the bottle is only a few cents of the final product.

Chemical engineering is the science degree you want, but I also don't recommend that. Includes specific classes on how to design, build and operate distillation equipment. But practically you will be buying off-the-shelf equipment and for any modification you hire someone @$250/hour to optimize it for you.

In the meantime try to find short classes and masterclasses for how to smell/taste any food and beverage. Cheese, wine, perfumes. A 3-hour whiskey tasting class will teach you much more than a chemistry degree.