Ask CJ: What about working in the cannabis industry?

From the inbox, this question: 

Dear CJ: 

I would respectfully request an article on the upsides and perils of working in the cannabis industry. 

[redacted] 

I live in a THC legal state but am concerned about long term repercussions of having that on my resume. 

Amusingly, I have a prediction from 2014: 

Question: I have a BS in Chemistry and Plant Biology. I've recently been offered a position in Colorado extracting the psychoactive oils from legally grown marijuana plants (making hash oil, more or less). Could this have a significant negative affect on my career? Any professionals out there who might offer some guidance?

[My answer]: No one knows, because this is the first time in the history of chemistry that we have the possibility of that kind of transition.

I suspect that Colorado, California and Washington employers will be the most understanding, and that large corporate entities will be the largest repository of chemists-uncomfortable-with-cannabis.

It's almost nine years later, and I haven't heard stories about cannabis chemists being "locked out" of the regular chemical or pharmaceutical industry. That being said, this is something that we don't have data (anecdotal or otherwise) about. 

I think the the main peril about working in the cannabis industry is that it is an industry full of small employers, which means that you will have a wider variety of quality of employer. 

I'm not sure what the benefits might be, but it seems to me to be a growing field, with more opportunity to explore and be the first... Readers, do you have thoughts? 

Do tenured professors think about leaving?

From the inbox, a good question:

"Do tenured chemistry faculty consider leaving their positions, if so, why?"

I am most certainly not a tenured professor, but I have a few ideas as to why someone might leave such a position: 

• dissatisfaction with the money that their tenured position offers, or knowledge that they could earn significantly more in the private sector, or 
• a belief that their institution was no longer (or never was) meeting their ideals, and the knowledge that another position might be better aligned with their values, or 
• being lured away by an industrial or governmental position, or
• a belief that leaving their position would bring them more personal satisfaction with their job. 

Readers, what do you think? Are you a tenured professor? Are you thinking about the greener grass of industry? 

Ask CJ: your boss' friends and acquaintances

From the inbox, this good question: 

CJ, 

Say for example that one is looking at job openings at another company in the same sector. You find someone who would be great for an informational interview. You notice though, that this person is connected to your current boss, whom you have not told about looking for other opportunities. Do you still reach out for an informational interview? Why? 

Unsure reader

Well, UR, it really depends. Helpful answer, I know. If you think your boss and Potential Contact are still friends/acquaintances and you are determined to keep things under wraps, don't reach out. If you think that they are just vaguely acquainted and Potential Contact wouldn't be bothered to reach out to your boss, it might be worth the risk.

Here's the thing, though: if they are the type of person who will accept an informational interview (i.e. they have the generosity of spirit to talk to a potential job seeker), then I believe they are the type of person who might reach out to an old friend and say "just so you know..." So maybe I don't think that reaching out to this particular person is without risk.

Readers, what do you think?  

Were you ever asked to pay for broken laboratory equipment?

Credit

An interesting query from Twitter:

A friend post doc-ing in the US told me that they were going to have to fund some replacement glassware that they broke. Is this normal?

I have broken lots of glassware, and I was never once asked to pay for the broken items by a PI. I've never heard of this. Readers, have you ever had:

• a PI ask you to pay for 
• a broken piece of a equipment 
• when you were either an undergraduate, graduate student or a postdoc in an university research lab 
• in the United States? 
• If so, what were the circumstances? Did you pay up? 

(Is this illegal? I'm sure there are rules about this sort of thing, albeit poorly enforced ones. Also, there is the classic "is the postdoc an employee" question...)

Readers, please comment.

Ask CJ: steel-toed boots?

From the inbox, a good safety question:

Do most industrial labs require some sort of steel-toe or composite toe shoe to do routine synthesis lab work?  

Answer: not that I've seen. If you have a kilo-lab environmental or higher scales, I imagine that steel toed boots become more important. Readers, what have you seen?

(I should take this moment to note that for women readers, this is a nice Twitter thread with recommendations for steel-toed boots/shoes that work well.) 

Got a career dilemma?

I'm always game for writing answer requests for advice in my column at Chemical and Engineering News. Please feel free to write me (chemjobber@gmail.com) if you have a career-oriented dilemma that you'd like me to write about in the magazine. Also, you can submit your questions with this handy web form. Thanks!

Got a career dilemma?

I'm always game for writing answer requests for advice in my column at Chemical and Engineering News. Please feel free to write me (chemjobber@gmail.com) if you have a career-oriented dilemma that you'd like me to write about in the magazine. Also, you can submit your questions with this handy web form. Thanks!

Got a career dilemma?

I'm always game for writing answer requests for advice in my column at Chemical and Engineering News. Please feel free to write me (chemjobber@gmail.com) if you have a career-oriented dilemma that you'd like me to write about in the magazine. Also, you can submit your questions with this handy web form. Thanks!

Got a career dilemma?

I'm always game for writing answer requests for advice in my column at Chemical and Engineering News. Please feel free to write me (chemjobber@gmail.com) if you have a career-oriented dilemma that you'd like me to write about in the magazine. Also, you can submit your questions with this handy web form. Thanks!

Got a career dilemma?

I'm always game for writing answer requests for advice in my column at Chemical and Engineering News. Please feel free to write me (chemjobber@gmail.com) if you have a career-oriented dilemma that you'd like me to write about in the magazine. Also, you can submit your questions with this handy web form. Thanks!

Got a career dilemma?

I'm always game for writing answer requests for advice in my column at Chemical and Engineering News. Please feel free to write me (chemjobber@gmail.com) if you have a career-oriented dilemma that you'd like me to write about in the magazine. Also, you can submit your questions with this handy web form. Thanks!

What was your company's patent award?

Via Twitter, a great question:

Hey @Chemjobber have you ever done an unofficial survey of what chemists get from their companies (if anything) for granted patents? Would be interesting to know how that varies by company

This was one of the typical responses:

Two of the three companies I was co-inventor I got nothing, the third gave us crisp dollar bills. 

I am also curious about which companies put associate/non-PhD level chemists as co-inventors - inventorship seems to vary by company. 

I particularly liked this response:

We got a silver dollar when patent was assigned. It was part of the IP contract that the company "bought" the rights for $1. There was also a plaque for the research hall and one for each inventor. All presented during quarterly award meetings. Peer recognition is a huge prize.

Readers, what's your favorite patent badge of honor?  

Question: is there data (or anecdata) around visiting assistant professors?

Via longtime reader and commenter VTJ, this good question:

...the question came up about what percentage of chemistry faculty hold a visiting position before getting their first tenure-track position. One fellow chemist stated confidently that it rarely happens but anecdotal evidence would suggest otherwise, at least for the SLAC/PUI environment.

I still remember this post from quite some time ago where the commentariat was, overall, not interested in VAPs. A respected friend thinks of these temporary positions as providing some data points as to "how will this persion be, as a teacher of undergraduates and a colleague in a department?" and was relatively warm to them. Another respected friend finds these positions have half-lives, i.e. two or three VAPs is about as many has any one candidate should take on.

So, some questions:

1. Is there any data around the percentage of assistant professors who have done stints as VAPs?
2. Is there any data around the percentage of visiting assistant professors who receive tenure-track assistan professor positions?  

Finally, a call for anecdata around this issue. Readers, have at. 

Anyone have a good suggestion of sites for contract synthesis work?

An anonymous person writes in, asking if there are any collaboration sites for freelance synthetic work. Does Science Exchange or any of these other sites have places for chemists to hang out their shingles? 

Ask CJ: What prior approvals are required for lab work at your company?

From the inbox, a good safety-related question:

We recently had a minor chemical exposure incident here at Random Chemicals Inc., and the safety analysis made its way up to corporate EHS. This prompted some reviews of our lab practices and the powers that be are considering implementation of some kind of approval process for any "new" synthesis procedure. 

They are allowing us to have some feedback into how that would look, so thats nice, but of course the worry is that a lot of red tape just for starting what could be a simple reaction. Do chemists at other companies have similar approval processes? What does it look like when you want to start something new in the lab, just order the chemicals and do it, or does someone have to sign off?  

I suspect that there are bands of chemicals and types of reactions (and sizes) and someone who plans on running a 20 L fluorination probably gets a lot more attention and needs a lot more upper-management approval than someone who is planning on running a 50 mL reaction with some nBuLi. All the Dow items that came post-Sangji seem to have indicated that (for example) large companies require a lot more written procedures and warnings and checks than, say, a typical academic synthesis laboratory.

Readers, what do you think? 

Ask CJ: odd interview styles

From the inbox, a darn good question:

I have an interview coming up for a job with [redacted government research organization]. They have advised me that the interview will be for an hour, where in the first 15 minutes I'll be given the interview questions and time to prepare answers. Have you come across this style of interviewing before? Do you think it says anything about the type of questions to expect? 

I've never heard of such a style, although I do remember the campus interview I had with a top 50 chemical company where someone asked me what my proudest accomplishment of 6th grade was - I was given a few minutes to think on that one. (didn't help.)

Readers, what say you?   

Ask CJ: how to get industry internships?

From the inbox, a good question: 

Hi Chemjobber, 

I am a [redacted] year graduate student working towards a PhD in [redacted chemistry field]. [redacted] I was pondering the idea of doing summer internships during grad school to get experience and hopefully make connections. My PI is fully supportive. Do you have any feedback/recommendations/or any general input? 

Thanks,
PD

My response:

Dear PD:  

Thanks for your message - it's a good question. Before you begin, make sure to have a resume and a cover letter and an introductory e-mail/phone message. 

• Network your way into a summer internship through your PI/your institutions' connections.
• Find summer internships through online postings, either through general websites (such as C&EN Jobs) or through the companies themselves. 

Both are difficult, but #1 may prove to be somewhat more fruitful. Cheers, CJ

Readers, did you do an industrial internship during graduate school? How did you apply? Let's hear it.  

How best to evaluate a medicinal chemist?

From the inbox, an interesting request from a small company as to how best to evaluate potential medicinal chemists. They're looking for an experience chemist to perform lead development.

I'm not a medicinal chemist, so I don't feel qualified to answer this. I presume that more than 5-10 years experience in medicinal chemistry is important, as well as a track record of successfully shepherding compounds from hit-to-lead and from lead to pre-clinical candidate.

That's about all I have. Readers, surely you have some better advice than mine? 

Ask CJ: opportunities for an experienced M.S.-level chemist?

From the inbox, a good question (lightly redacted for privacy) from someone we'll call LS: 

I have a [master's] in organic chemistry, and I am currently employed as a R&D chemist doing organic synthesis, and I like what I do.  However, [redacted] lead me to believe that it is time to look for something new.  Considering how much time and effort it took to find this job, I was wondering if anyone else has experience with job searches and employment with a [master's] degree. 

Specifically, how do you deal with the fact that you are a “failed PhD” on a resume and during interviews?  What kinds of companies (size, industry, location) will and will not hire you?  What career options are open to someone with a [master's] degree?  Are there any roadblocks that you hit during your career, and how do you overcome them?  Is it feasible to remain a synthetic chemist throughout your career?  

I don't really have a huge amount of experience with this question, other than a couple of thoughts. First, I don't think that anyone really cares whether or not you're a "failed Ph.D." (which is a premise that I fundamentally reject) after a couple of years in industry. Once you have a year or two of the fabled "industrial experience", I think employers are much more interested in what you have done in industry (and what you could do) rather than the details of how you left school.

I suspect the biggest roadblocks for M.S. chemists are for management on the research side. It is there that you will have the stiffest competition from Ph.D.s.

Readers, there's a lot more questions from LS - any ideas? 

Ask CJ: What should a new employee do about layoffs?

From the inbox, a question about what new graduates should do about layoffs, especially when they fall within a year or two of your hire date?

First, there's not much you can do about it - you can prepare your resume, you can work on your resume and your research summary. You can try to find people to act as your references, and start networking and brushing up your LinkedIn profile.

Other than that, I can't think of anything that you can do. The ax is gonna fall (or not), and there's not a lot that you can do to control that. Readers, any advice? I'd like to hear from people who have been through layoffs, especially those for whom the layoffs came early in their time at the relevant company.