Careers
in Chemistry
Workshop
Session 1
Workshop Objectives
Provide Perspective and Awareness on:
• Careers in Industry
• Effective Job Search
• Value added Skills and
How to Develop them.
Workshop Roadmap
 Careers in Chemistry….What should you Expect?
Feb 11
• Job Search Process(Resume, Interviews)
Feb 25
• Skill Session 1
Mar 11
• Skill Session 2
Mar 25
Today’s Content
Careers in Chemistry….What should you Expect?
• Gauging your Perspective
• Three Career Examples
• P&G
• Dow
• GE
• Panel Discussion
• Intro to the Next Session
• 15 min
• 45 min
• 20 min
• 5 min
Perspective
Most Advanced Degrees Lead to Positions in Industry
The Career Perspective of Most Students is based on
University Experiences and Mentors
Influences on the Perspective of Students
University Influence
• Mission of the Department
• Mission of the University
• Location
• Applied Sciences Departments
• Advisors Connective-ness
• Consortiums
Individual’s Experience
• Industrial Experience
• Coops, Summer jobs
• Research Topic
• Parental Heritage
• Personal Experience
Science in Academia and Business
Science in the Public Interest
Science For Commercial Value
Common Values
• Intelligence
• Ambition to Succeed
• Scientific Creativity
• Passion for Science
• Selling your Ideas
• Competition
Science in Academia and Business
Science in the Public Interest
Science For Commercial Value
Commercial Value Drives some Unique Skills/Values
• Cross Functional Interfaces
• Accountability…Safety, Financial, Timing
• Intellectual Property
• Business Skills
• Communication to Non-Scientists
Explore Further these Values/Skills Today
Education and Career
Undergrad
Grad Student
Post Doc
Academics
Industry
Perception
Education
Career
Education and Career
Undergrad
Grad Student
Post Doc
Academics
Industry
New Science
Reality
Skills
Education
Learning
Patents
Business
Interpersonal
Learning Accelerates and Diversifies
Education and Career
Undergrad
Grad Student
Post Doc
Academics
Industry
Reality
Career
Your Career Starts Earlier than You May Think…
Need to be Career Minded Early
Understanding the Goal Allows you to take Action
Corporate Culture Plays a Significant Role
• Values are Similar between Companies, but
Corporate Culture and Market will Influence
• Stated Corporate Objectives
• Big vs Small
• Market and Product Maturity
• Global vs Domestic
Today we have 3 Different Perspectives/Cultures
• DowAgro…Chemicals
• P&G…Consumer Goods
• GE……Materials
3 Perspectives from Kevin, Katherine and Todd
• Career Background
• Transition to Industry Experience
• Skills/Values of Their Business
• What would have done differently
Kevin Meyer-Dow AgroSciences Senior Research Chemist
Education Background
• B.S. Chem, Truman State Univ.,
Kirksville, MO (1994)
• Ph.D. Organic, IU (1999)
Total Synthesis of (+)-Amphidinolide K
Professor David R. Williams
What Kind of Chemistry?
• Natural Product derivatization
• Heterocyclic chemistry
•new methodologies
• Field Sample Preparation
•(100+ gram scale)
• Combinatorial chemistry
Job Responsibilities
•
•
•
•
Synthesize molecules
Interact with Biologists
Write/Provide Tech support
to Patents
Area Safety Focal Point
What do Other Chemists do?
• Prepare Field Samples
• Radiolabeling
• Biochemistry (assays/metabolic fate)
• Formulation Chemists
• Computational Chemists
• Analytical Support
•Environmental fate/purity determination
Kevin Meyer-Dow AgroSciences Senior Research Chemist
Surprises I Found in my Transition to DAS
• Emphasis on Safety
•Company is liable
•Peer review for larger scales
•Bioactive Chemistry!!
•Professional responsibility
• Chemistry Surprises
•Cheaper to purchase reagents
•Stereochemistry=$$
•Yield doesn’t matter (discovery)
•Super-pure, super-dry reagents
not needed
Challenges I had to Overcome in My Transition to DAS
•Meetings, meetings and, oh yeah, more meetings (time management)
• Realize you are looked as an expert in your field/area of chemistry by
others
Kevin Meyer-Dow AgroSciences Senior Research Chemist
What Skills or Values does
DAS Value
In a Professional Chemist
•Ability to work with others
A Skill I had to Learn
•Being a Team Player
•Looking out for #1
•Decision making abilities
•Productivity
•Able to see ‘The Big Picture’
•Self-motivated
•Question dogma
What Less Successful Chemists
Generally Lack at DAS
• Interpersonal Skills
• Motivation
• Unable to make good, timely
decisions
Kevin Meyer-Dow AgroSciences Senior Research Chemist
Things I wish I had Understood about Careers while I was at IU
• You don’t get promoted, you promote yourself through good work.
• Leadership isn’t about dictating the work of others, it’s about influencing others
with your credibility
• You are not just a chemist making molecules, you are a scientist in your field of
work.
What I would have done Differently to be better Prepared
•
Time management—work on being organized.
•
Emphasize communication skills—(writing/presenting work).
•
Be more of a resource for the group to develop leadership skills.
Katherine Glasgow-GEAM Product Developer
Education Background
Career Path
• B.S. Chem, UNC-Chapel Hill (1995)
• BPA Process Chemist (2000-2001)
Oxidative cleavage of DNA by TM complexes
Professor Holden Thorp
• Ph.D. Inorganic, IUB (2000)
Organometallic synthesis, catalysis
Professor Malcolm Chisholm
Chemistry I Currently Practice
• Polymer Chemistry
• Stabilization (hydrolysis, etc.)
• Biological interactions (proteins)
• Lexan Process Chemist (2001-2002)
• Lexan Product Developer (2002-)
“Non Chemistry” Responsibilities
• Application Development
• Implementation of New Products
and Processes (scale-up)
• Patent activities
• Recruiting
• Prioritizing work for others
Katherine Glasgow-GEAM Product Developer
Surprises I Found in my Transition to GEAM
• Scale increases the difficulty
• Problem solving is half anticipation
• Your work depends much more
on other peoples’ help
• Office work can still be data-based
Challenges I had to Overcome in My Transition to GEAM
• Laws of Thermodynamics hold, but everything else is different!
• To be successful, you have to convince other people to help you.
Influencing peers is an important skill.
Katherine Glasgow-GEAM Product Developer
What Skills or Values does
GEAM Value
In a Professional Chemist
A Skill I had to Learn
• The right questions to ask
•Communication
•Analytical nature
•Decisiveness
•Creativity
•Productivity
What Less Successful Chemists
Generally Lack at GEAM
• Initiative
• Confidence
• Ability to work in a team
Katherine Glasgow-GEAM Product Developer
Things I wish I had Understood about Careers while I was at IU
• The things you learn along the way, not the thesis content, form the foundation
upon which your career and future research will be built.
• Leadership shown outside the lab is also relevant in the interviewing process.
• The most distinguishing feature of a graduate career is not just the number of
publications, but what creative and original ideas you bring to your group.
What I would have done Differently to be better Prepared
•
•
I would have done more research on the companies with whom I
interviewed.
I would have talked to former group members to:
(i) Better understand industrial chemistry & careers
(ii) Know what to look for (and what to avoid) in a job.
Todd A. Brugel – Senior Scientist, P&G Pharmaceuticals
Education Background
• Ph.D. Organic, Indiana (2000)
Career Path
(Prof. David R. Williams)
Efforts towards the total synthesis of
Zoanthamine alkaloids
• Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry
P&G Pharmaceuticals (2001-2003)
• Post-Doc., CSU (2000-01)
(Prof. Lou S. Hegedus)
Chromium carbene photochemistry
for the synthesis of dioxocyclams
Chemistry I Currently Practice
• Multi-Step Organic Synthesis
• Heterocyclic Chemistry
• Peptide Chemistry
• Senior Scientist, Medicinal Chem
P&G Pharmaceuticals (2003)
“Non Chemistry” Responsibilities
• Managing Others
• New Project Development
• Organize Departmental Seminar
Series
• On-Campus Recruiting
• Core Function Communication
Todd A. Brugel – Senior Scientist, P&G Pharmaceuticals
Surprises I Found in my Transition to P&GP
• Medicinal chemistry very different
from Natural Product chemistry
• Patents more important than
publications
• Intellectual property drives project
direction
• Personal Conduct as important
as scientific output
Challenges I had to Overcome in My Transition to P&GP
• Turnover of final compounds, more important than efficiency of
individual steps
• Balancing importance of maintaining corporate line with pursuit of
scientific achievement
Todd A. Brugel – Senior Scientist, P&G Pharmaceuticals
What Skills or Values does
P&G Value In a
Professional Chemist
•Leadership
A Skill I had to Learn
• Principles of Pharmaceutical
Science
Biological Assays
Pharmacokinetics
Efficacy
•Diversity/Collaboration
•Decisiveness
•Innovation
•Communication
•Technical Mastery
What Less Successful Chemists
Generally Lack at P&G
• Focus
• Sense of Team
• Ability to adapt to change
Todd A. Brugel – Senior Scientist, P&G Pharmaceuticals
Things I wish I had Understood about Careers while I was at IU
• Not enough to just be a good scientist, must embrace corporate values and
principles
• You don’t have to be industry experienced to be an industry leader
• Will be asked often to evaluate your peers – for performance evaluations as
well as recognitions
What I would have done Differently to be better Prepared
• Worked more with individuals in other areas (Analytical, Biology, Molecular
Modeling) to become more complete scientist
• Balanced research with more community activities
Panel Discussion
Common Values/Skills for an Industrial Career
Values
• Communication…Up, down, sideways
• Interpersonal Ability
Team Work, Collaboration
Influencing Skills…Peers, Functions
Motivating Others
• Decision Making…Self Confidence
• Ability to Change
• Self Motivated
• Responsibility
• Productive….Time Management
• See the Big Picture…Vision
• Prioritization/Planning
Skills
• Communication
• Patents
• Implications of Scale
• Recruiting
• Safety
• Technical Mastery
Common Values/Skills for an Industrial Career
Values
• Communication…Up, down, sideways
• Interpersonal Ability
Team Work, Collaboration
Influencing Skills…Peers, Functions
Motivating Others
• Decision Making…Self Confidence
• Ability to Change
• Self Motivated
• Responsibility
• Productive….Time Management
• See the Big Picture…Vision
• Prioritization/Planning/Focus
Skills
• Communication
• Patents
• Implications of Scale
• Recruiting
• Safety
• Technical Mastery
What Holds People back is Their Values more than
Their Technical Skills
Few Key Take Away Concepts
• Industry/Business Careers Require a Large Set
Of Values and Skills to be Successful
• The Emphasis is Probably Different than your Experience
• These Skills need to be developed early in your Career
• Your Career has already started as a Graduate Student
Next Step
• You are working on this Product called You
• Technical Credentials
• Professional Credentials
• Next Step will be to talk about How you Sell this Product
• Resume
• Initial Interview
• Site Interview
Workshop Roadmap
 Careers in Chemistry….What should you Expect?
Feb 11
• Job Search Process(Resume, Interviews)
Feb 25
• Skill Session 1
Mar 11
• Skill Session 2
Mar 25