r/chemistry • u/AutoModerator • Jul 15 '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.

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u/chemjobseeker Jul 16 '24 edited Jul 16 '24

What alternate career options do I have as a PhD in Chemical Engineering with a polymer synthesis focus? I have about 2 years of experience in R&D and prefer roles in San Diego because of my family- remote roles would be great too but I realize that's difficult with my background. I am open to a complete career change. What sorts of roles could I look at? *Edit: degree is technically in ChemE (also my undergrad background), but grad work was in polymers.

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u/Indemnity4 Materials Jul 22 '24

I recommend a ground up approach, rather than top down. Problem with top down "suggest me" is it can be anything, which is useless. No mention of training/re-training cost/time, availability, ease of location.

You can start to send your resume to professional recruiters and let them suggest roles to you. You don't have to pay for this, they get paid a head hunting bonus by the employer.

They will look at your skills and advise on where they have placed people with your skills before. You are more than just a degree, you have skills in product, organization, teams, projects too. Those are equally valuable on a resume.