A EHS WTH moment.

Seen during my employer's EHS training:

"Practice using forceps between the 1st and 2nd digits instead of using the thumb and the first digit."

What the hell? Maybe they're talking about other kinds of forceps (other than the tweezer kind, that is.) But I saw this and immediately went into the lab to try to use a pair of tweezers with my index and middle finger. No dice.

Interestingly, this language was seen on my EHS training software as well as the EHS websites of both governmental and academic institutions. It's clearly something that some commitee came up with. I want to see a YouTube of a EHS employee using their first two fingers (and no thumb!) to usefully employ a pair of tweezers.

Working Chemist ACS Web Index: 1/25-1/31/09

This is the third post of Chemjobber's Working Chemist ACS Web Index. It is a measurement of how many jobs posted on the ACS Careers website are aimed at the bench-level chemist. Definitions/caveats at the end of the post.

Going through the 28 positions listed from January 25 through January 31, there are 6 new positions posted that are available to the working chemist. There are 4 connected to the pharmaceutical industry and 2 outside of pharma.

That wasn't such a great week for the working chemist. Sigh. There was, however, an interesting position (ACS registration required) with the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change, but I would not characterize it at all as a bench-level position. If you're into climate change and have a PhD, it might be for you.

For the month of January, 162 new advertisements were posted. Of those, there were 41 available to the working chemist. 23 (plus 2 multiple position ads) were in the pharmaceutical industry, while 18 were outside of pharma.

Definitions/caveats: This index is primarily for chemists (at all educational levels) who have been working for less than 10 years and are still 'at the bench.' It counts only jobs that are lab-oriented and primarily non-managerial; obvious senior-level titles such as "Group Leader", "Research Fellow" or "Director" will not be counted. Academic jobs (professor positions at any level, any Ph.D.-level lecturer position, postdocs) are also not counted. Academic technician or staff positions are counted on a case-by-case basis. Engineering positions are not counted, unless they are open to chemistry degree holders as well. Jobs outside the US are not counted.

Working Chemist ACS Web Index: 1/18-1/24/09

This is the second post of Chemjobber's Working Chemist ACS Web Index. It is a measurement of how many jobs posted on the ACS Careers website are aimed at the bench-level chemist. Definitions/caveats at the end of the post.

Going through the 42 positions listed from January 18 through January 24, there are 18 new positions posted that are available to the working chemist. There are 13 connected to the pharmaceutical industry and 5 outside of pharma.

I could be wrong, but I feel that this week has been particularly positive for the WCWI in that multiple positions have been posted with a variety of companies. Kudos to ArQule for posting a "multiple position" ad (ACS registration required) for junior-level Ph.D. medicinal chemists. Most of them are in pharma, granted, but there are some nice university positions (staff/technician) level as well.

Definitions/caveats: This index is primarily for chemists (at all educational levels) who have been working for less than 10 years and are still 'at the bench.' It counts only jobs that are lab-oriented and primarily non-managerial; obvious senior-level titles such as "Group Leader", "Research Fellow" or "Director" will not be counted. Academic jobs (professor positions at any level, any Ph.D.-level lecturer position, postdocs) are also not counted. Academic technician or staff positions are counted on a case-by-case basis.

Chemjobber C&EN index: 1/19/09

Industrial (non-academic, non-governmental) positions:
Total number of ads: 4
- Postdocs: 0
- Permanent positions: 9 (at least 6 in China, some in Hangzhou, one multiple position ad)
- Area (square cm): 304

Governmental positions (US and others):
Total number of ads: 1
- Permanent positions: 0
- Postdocs: 1 (analytical)
- Area (square cm): 23

Academic positions:
Total number of ads: 2
- Postdocs: 0
- Tenure-track faculty: 2
- Temporary faculty: 0
- Lecturer positions: 0
- Staff positions: 0
- Area (square cm): 65

Well, there ain't much out there. When 2 out of the 4 ads in industry are for spots in China and a third is for positions in both New Jersey and China, life's a little tough for a chemist. Still not much doin' for government positions and a surprising fall in the number of academic positions as well. Small college of the week is International Christian University (Mitaka, Japan, student population 3141, SA-LUTE!), which is looking for a materials science prof.

Conversations with Chemjobber friends have indicated that the job market is pretty tough right now (duh!). Big Pharma appears to have stopped hiring* and academic hiring is either frozen or entirely withdrawn. Let's hope that things thaw soon.

*So why is Cephalon hiring two senior process chemists right now? Are they going to embark on a campaign pretty soon or is this a fishing expedition?

Chemjobber Working Chemist ACS Web Index: 1/17/09

This is a new measurement -- I'll have to work out the kinks, but here goes.

The Working Chemist ACS Web Index is a measurement of the openings posted on the ACS Careers website. This index is primarily for chemists (at all educational levels) who have been working for less than 10 years and are still 'at the bench.' Caveats below. 

Going through the ~160 odd positions listed on the ACS Careers website, there are 37 positions available to the working chemist. There are 20 connected to the pharmaceutical industry and 17 outside of pharma. This covers the time period including 1/17/09. 

It counts only jobs that are lab-oriented and non-managerial; obvious senior-level titles such as "Group Leader", "Research Fellow" or "Director" will not be counted. Academic jobs (professor positions at any level, any Ph.D.-level lecturer position, postdocs) are also not counted. Academic technician or staff positions are counted on a case-by-case basis. 

Chemjobber C&EN index: 1/12/09

Industrial (non-academic, non-governmental) positions:
Total number of ads: 1
- Postdocs: 0
- Permanent positions: 4 (all in Shanghai -- come home!)
- Area (square cm): 157

Governmental positions (US and others):
Total number of ads: 0
- Permanent positions: 0
- Postdocs: 0
- Area (square cm): 0

Academic positions:
Total number of ads: 20
- Postdocs: 4 (one pool-filler ad from University of Kansas)
- Tenure-track faculty: 13
- Temporary faculty: 1
- Lecturer positions: 1
- Staff positions: 1
- Area (square cm): 932

It's the dead of winter; the trees are bare and so is Chemical and Engineering News for the working chemist. No industrial ads in the US and no governmental ones, either. (Will the incoming adminstration spur hiring at the big federal agencies?) Small College of the Week has a really fun name: Ramapo College of New Jersey (student population: 5700, SA-LUTE!) , which is looking for a tenure-track organic professor. The lucky new faculty member will be working in the delightfully-named Mahwah, N.J.

When will the market for jobs pick back up? You'd think all the small companies are going to try to hoover* up some of the folks let go in the latest round of layoffs (God, I hope so), but that's probably not happening in the published job market.

*So maybe that's not the best word for it.

A chemist's hymn.

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Protect all those chemists brave,
Lord, on bended knee we ask
For white crystals in the flask;
O, hear us when we cry for good
For those who toil in the hood!

O Trinity of love and power!
Our scientists shield in layoff's hour;
From want and stress, and CEO,
Protect them whereso'er they go.
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee,
Glad praise from those who do chemistry!

by Chemjobber
With apologies to William Whiting.

Chemjobber C&EN index: 1/5/09

Industrial (non-academic, non-governmental) positions:
Total number of ads: 2
- Postdocs: 0
- Permanent positions: 2 (again, one in Shanghai!)
- Area (square cm): 60.5

Governmental positions (US and others):
Total number of ads: 0
- Permanent positions: 0
- Postdocs: 0
- Area (square cm): 0

Academic positions:
Total number of ads: 12
- Postdocs: 1 (looks like multiple positions)
- Tenure-track faculty: 6
- Temporary faculty: 4
- Lecturer positions: 0
- Staff positions: 2
- Area (square cm): 400

First issue of the year! Nothing doin' for government positions. Not much either for industrial positions, but a fun position doing quality control in Shanghai at a agricultural facility. Good luck with that! (Actually, this is what the PRC needs, all snark aside.) Small school of the week is Georgia Perimeter College (student population 21,473, SA-LUTE!), which is looking for a chemistry lab supervisor. Academica Sinica went crazy with the ads this week, with 2 faculty postings and 1 for postdocs. Also, a nice article on page 27.

One of my mentors told me that the dead of winter was the beginning of 'the search season' -- while I believe him, I ain't seein' it so far. We'll see.

Who and what is Chemjobber?

Who is Chemjobber?

Chemjobber is someone who just recently found a job doing chemistry. Chemjobber has a PhD in chemistry, not that it matters. Chemjobber spent about 8 painful months finding this position. He's a little chagrined by it all, but pleased as punch that someone will pay him to do organic chemistry. 

What does Chemjobber want to do with this blog? 

1. Help other chemists gets jobs, especially in this awful job market. 

2. Quantify exactly how bad the job market is for chemists. 

3. Talk to other chemists about the job market. 

4. Have a historical record so that in 2035, he can talk about the bad time that chemists had in ought-nine and how we survived it all. 

Why C&EN News?   

Chemjobber is weird -- he likes the printed word. Chemjobber is weird -- in grad school, he had a newspaper subscription. Chemjobber is weird -- he actually looks forward to the weekly arrival of Chemical and Engineering News. 

Serious answer: it's the official magazine of the American Chemical Society. It appears to be the place where people try to find chemists to hire. While the internet is growing in its ability to help chemists find jobs, printed advertisements are still being used and are relatively easy to quantify. 

Ultimately, Chemjobber would like to try to quantify chemistry jobs advertised on the internet, but that's really hard to do. 

Chemjobber C&EN index: 12/22/08

Industrial (non-academic, non-governmental) positions:

Total number of ads: 1
- Postdocs: 0
- Permanent positions: 1 (in Shanghai!)
- Area (square cm): 75

Governmental positions:

Total number of ads: 2
- Permanent positions: 1 (LANL)
- Postdocs: 1 (again, LANL, organic/biodefense)
- Area (square cm): 146

Academic positions:

Total number of ads: 10
- Postdocs: 0
- Tenure-track faculty: 10
- Temporary faculty: 0
- Lecturer positions: 0
- Staff positions: 1
- Area (square cm): 472

Not much interesting happening in the last issue of C&EN for the year, in terms of jobs. This week, though, our small college of the week is Armstrong Atlantic State University (student population 7067, SA-LUTE!), which is searching for a tenure-track biochemistry professor. Savannah, they say, is beautiful.