tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post5628813273413071162..comments2024-03-27T21:23:40.339-04:00Comments on Chemjobber: ACS president-elect Marinda Wu on #chemjobsChemjobberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15932113680515602275noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-45168259984161259402013-01-09T16:17:10.896-05:002013-01-09T16:17:10.896-05:00How about they spend dues they receive on obtainin...How about they spend dues they receive on obtaining facts. For example they could obtain the annual wages and unemployment rate of all chemists, not just those that fill out the survey. This should be done by a non-affiliated, third-party group so the results can’t be manipulated. It seems odd to me that a science society doesn’t use well-established methods of polling ect. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-47159611514162736582012-05-11T15:57:36.672-04:002012-05-11T15:57:36.672-04:00But isn't the ACS's job just keep whining ...But isn't the ACS's job just keep whining for more STEM dollars and government funding to keep America Competitive? <br /><br />Maybe if the ACS were like the AMA it'd actually be beneficial to members. You know, control the supply of chemists etc. Anyone with a pulse can get a PhD. Obviously not at a top 10 school, but if you want to go to a school ranked #50, the bar isn't that high...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-24555172246915330562012-05-08T23:26:04.200-04:002012-05-08T23:26:04.200-04:00Realistically, I don't think there's much ...Realistically, I don't think there's much ACS can do to pressure corporations to hire or what not. They would probably have more success doing things to pressure the funding agencies if they so desired. Things like maybe a job-retraining postdoc program or something for imploding fields. I don't know.<br /><br />Frankly, I'd just be happy if they just tried to get some better information to inform future students but I would guess that won't ever happen since that survey might tell the universities things they might not want to hear.<br /><br /><br />For example surveying corporations on some tangible questions rather than just salary numbers...<br /><br />Are there any sub-disciplines or areas where your company see a shortage of qualified chemistry applicants or are all areas oversupplied?<br /><br />Pure chemistry jobs seem on the decline; what types of emerging jobs at your company would be appropriate for chemists and what types of non-chemistry skills and/or background do you see as necessary for those jobs that current chemistry students aren't getting?<br /><br />What chemistry methods are current students lacking in? What methods are they overtrained in that are becoming obsolete?<br /><br />etc...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-47388837795208245962012-05-08T13:42:18.732-04:002012-05-08T13:42:18.732-04:00Right, but this is more of a discussion of ACS pol...Right, but this is more of a discussion of ACS policy and leadership rather than individual career consultation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-25071537778953288952012-05-08T11:05:18.402-04:002012-05-08T11:05:18.402-04:00Career consultants are not the same as the executi...Career consultants are not the same as the executive board. Look up John Borchardt, a long-time ACS career consultant. I've met him on a few occasions, and he was a legitimate "regular" bench chemist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-67179469208071362382012-05-08T08:36:49.850-04:002012-05-08T08:36:49.850-04:00CJ for ACS president 2013!
Every year I see a l...CJ for ACS president 2013! <br /><br />Every year I see a list of candidates which are unconnected from the issues which are important to me and my immediate colleagues. I usually end up not voting, because none of the candidates seem appealing. <br /><br />CJ, you are very close to these issues. I would vote and tell others to vote for you CJ!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-41750132539239325062012-05-08T08:31:18.716-04:002012-05-08T08:31:18.716-04:00Anon1141. The career consultants are not really th...Anon1141. The career consultants are not really the ones to move ACS policy.<br /><br />President: Bassam Z. Shakhashiri is a chemistry professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.<br />President-elect: Marinda Li Wu is founder and president of Science is Fun!<br />Immediate Past President: Nancy B. Jackson is manager of the International Chemical Threat Reduction Department in the Global Security Center at Sandia National Laboratories. <br />Director-at-large: Bill Carroll is a vice president of Occidental Chemical Corp.<br /><br />Past that is professor, professor, professor, VP, professor, VP, etc.<br /><br />The only one who might be considered "regular" is the executive director: Previously serving as the Editor-in-Chief of Chemical and Engineering News (C&EN), 2004 marks Ms. Jacobs first year as Executive Director of the American Chemical Society. She worked for C&EN from 1969 until 1972 and returned again in 1993.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-1666319125395477462012-05-08T02:41:42.609-04:002012-05-08T02:41:42.609-04:00The ACS career consultants are mostly “regular che...The ACS career consultants are mostly “regular chemists,” not high-level executives and tenured professors.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-56983962973470354552012-05-08T01:44:52.570-04:002012-05-08T01:44:52.570-04:00I recall that circa 1985 Gorbachev came up with a ...I recall that circa 1985 Gorbachev came up with a program that was named "Housing: 2000" with the idea that by that date every family in the Soviet Union would have a separate apartment. Of course, as we all know by the year 2000 there were no Soviet Union and no Gorbachev. Not much new construction either, but population drop did take the edge of the demand to a degree.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-49498902857329084832012-05-07T23:35:39.307-04:002012-05-07T23:35:39.307-04:00Don't be ridiculous, after grad school and 2 p...Don't be ridiculous, after grad school and 2 postdocs you'll be "too specialized" to get a job outside of academia.Postdocnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-48441949345804932352012-05-07T21:15:17.733-04:002012-05-07T21:15:17.733-04:00Vision: 2025?
And what of the tens of thousands o...Vision: 2025?<br /><br />And what of the tens of thousands of young chemistry majors being degreed yearly with 15% unemployment?<br /><br />I suppose they can just go to graduate school, so that they become unemployed Ph.D. chemists in five years, and then do a couple postdocs to wait out that job in 2025.TBWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-37687860441799068332012-05-07T19:16:25.201-04:002012-05-07T19:16:25.201-04:00In the past we got lectures about how chemists hav...In the past we got lectures about how chemists have no devine rights to jobs from ACS presidents who were in tenued jobs, so you could say lamely acknowledging there is a employment problem for new grads and industrial chemists, especially older chemists, is an improvement, kind of.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-11961753482259217742012-05-07T17:19:02.075-04:002012-05-07T17:19:02.075-04:00Maybe iam just cynical, but her statements/plan is...Maybe iam just cynical, but her statements/plan is the same as all the other previous ACS presidents. Always say they will help unemployed chemists find jobs but nothing ever happened.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-44465046952787601202012-05-07T15:21:09.036-04:002012-05-07T15:21:09.036-04:00@4.6% ACS unemployed: Why do I think that dispropo...@4.6% ACS unemployed: Why do I think that disproportionate number of unemployed chemists does not give a hoot about answering the ACS surveys or renewing the ACS membership...milkshakehttp://orgprepdaily.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-88627371986671510592012-05-07T14:28:15.083-04:002012-05-07T14:28:15.083-04:00I would like to see some concentration on trying t...I would like to see some concentration on trying to quantify underemployment for chemists. I feel that 4.6% number is really misleading. Could ACS do some concentrated work looking at senior grad students and post docs and tracing what happens to them?<br /><br />Another thing I'd like to see ACS do is to get a board of advisors of "regular" chemists, not high level professors and managers. I'd love to see a board consisting of unemployed chemists, students, corporate scientists, bench chemists, older chemists, etc.Unstable Isotopenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-49576259206481660312012-05-07T13:53:38.067-04:002012-05-07T13:53:38.067-04:00My first reaction was to yawn, but in the end, aft...My first reaction was to yawn, but in the end, after looking at the results of Google image search for "Captain Irrelevant" I have concluded that reading Ms. Wu's statement was not a complete loss of time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-51775051658998868622012-05-07T13:24:06.647-04:002012-05-07T13:24:06.647-04:00By the way, I hope that your portion of the post a...By the way, I hope that your portion of the post also gets sent to CEN.Matthttp://sciencegeist.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-63342298115337802082012-05-07T13:23:06.274-04:002012-05-07T13:23:06.274-04:00What incentives do chemical companies have for acq...What incentives do chemical companies have for acquiescing to the ACS? What specific power can the ACS wield? If the ACS were to ask chemical employers questions, is there anything other than "out of the goodness of their chemical hearts" compelling them to answer those questions?<br /><br />I'm not trying to be pessimistic to anything. I am honestly just curious about the above questions.Matthttp://sciencegeist.netnoreply@blogger.com