careers in chemistry workshop session 1. workshop objectives provide perspective and awareness on:...

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?

• Job Search Process(Resume, Interviews)

• Skill Session 1

• Skill Session 2

Feb 11

Feb 25

Mar 11

Mar 25

Today’s Content


• 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 Individual’s Experience

• Mission of the Department• Mission of the University• Location• Applied Sciences Departments• Advisors Connective-ness• Consortiums

• 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 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

Science in Academia and Business

Education and Career

Education Career

Perception

Undergrad Grad Student Post DocAcademics

Industry


Education

Reality

Learning Accelerates and Diversifies

Learning


Industry

New Science

Skills

Interpersonal

Business

Patents


Career

Your Career Starts Earlier than You May Think…Need to be Career Minded Early

Understanding the Goal Allows you to take Action

Reality


Industry

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

What do Other Chemists do?What Kind of Chemistry?

Job Responsibilities

• B.S. Chem, Truman State Univ., Kirksville, MO (1994) • Ph.D. Organic, IU (1999) Total Synthesis of (+)-Amphidinolide K Professor David R. Williams

• Prepare Field Samples• Radiolabeling • Biochemistry (assays/metabolic fate)

• Formulation Chemists• Computational Chemists• Analytical Support

•Environmental fate/purity determination

• Natural Product derivatization • Heterocyclic chemistry

•new methodologies

• Field Sample Preparation •(100+ gram scale)

• Combinatorial chemistry

• Synthesize molecules • Interact with Biologists• Write/Provide Tech support

to Patents• Area Safety Focal Point


Surprises I Found in my Transition to DAS

• Emphasis on Safety•Company is liable•Peer review for larger scales•Bioactive Chemistry!!•Professional responsibility

•Meetings, meetings and, oh yeah, more meetings (time management)

• Realize you are looked as an expert in your field/area of chemistry by others

• 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


What Skills or Values does DAS Value

In a Professional Chemist

What Less Successful ChemistsGenerally Lack at DAS

A Skill I had to Learn

•Ability to work with others

•Decision making abilities

•Productivity

•Able to see ‘The Big Picture’

•Self-motivated

•Question dogma

• Interpersonal Skills• Motivation• Unable to make good, timely decisions

•Being a Team Player

•Looking out for #1


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.

• Time management—work on being organized.

• Emphasize communication skills—(writing/presenting work).

• Be more of a resource for the group to develop leadership skills.

What I would have done Differently to be better Prepared

Katherine Glasgow-GEAM Product Developer


“Non Chemistry” ResponsibilitiesChemistry I Currently Practice

Career Path

• B.S. Chem, UNC-Chapel Hill (1995) Oxidative cleavage of DNA by TM complexes Professor Holden Thorp

• Ph.D. Inorganic, IUB (2000) Organometallic synthesis, catalysis Professor Malcolm Chisholm

• Application Development • Implementation of New Products and Processes (scale-up)• Patent activities• Recruiting• Prioritizing work for others

• Polymer Chemistry

• Stabilization (hydrolysis, etc.)

• Biological interactions (proteins)

• BPA Process Chemist (2000-2001)

• Lexan Process Chemist (2001-2002)

• Lexan Product Developer (2002-)


Surprises I Found in my Transition to GEAM

• Scale increases the difficulty

• Your work depends much more on other peoples’ help

• 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.

• Problem solving is half anticipation

• Office work can still be data-based

Challenges I had to Overcome in My Transition to GEAM


What Skills or Values does GEAM Value

In a Professional Chemist

What Less Successful ChemistsGenerally Lack at GEAM


•Communication

•Analytical nature

•Decisiveness

•Creativity

•Productivity

• Initiative• Confidence • Ability to work in a team

• The right questions to ask



• 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.

• 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


“Non Chemistry” ResponsibilitiesChemistry I Currently Practice

Career Path• Ph.D. Organic, Indiana (2000) (Prof. David R. Williams) Efforts towards the total synthesis of Zoanthamine alkaloids

• Post-Doc., CSU (2000-01) (Prof. Lou S. Hegedus)

Chromium carbene photochemistry for the synthesis of dioxocyclams

• Managing Others• New Project Development• Organize Departmental Seminar Series• On-Campus Recruiting• Core Function Communication

• Multi-Step Organic Synthesis

• Heterocyclic Chemistry

• Peptide Chemistry

• Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry P&G Pharmaceuticals (2001-2003)

• Senior Scientist, Medicinal Chem P&G Pharmaceuticals (2003- )


Surprises I Found in my Transition to P&GP

• Medicinal chemistry very different from Natural Product chemistry

• Intellectual property drives project direction

• Turnover of final compounds, more important than efficiency of individual steps

• Balancing importance of maintaining corporate line with pursuit of scientific achievement

• Patents more important than publications

• Personal Conduct as important as scientific output

Challenges I had to Overcome in My Transition to P&GP


What Skills or Values doesP&G Value In a

Professional Chemist

What Less Successful ChemistsGenerally Lack at P&G


•Leadership

•Diversity/Collaboration

•Decisiveness

•Innovation

•Communication

•Technical Mastery

• Focus• Sense of Team• Ability to adapt to change

• Principles of Pharmaceutical Science Biological Assays Pharmacokinetics Efficacy



• 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

• 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

• 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

• Communication• Patents• Implications of Scale• Recruiting• Safety• Technical Mastery

Values Skills

Common Values/Skills for an Industrial Career

• 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

• Communication• Patents• Implications of Scale• Recruiting• Safety• Technical Mastery

Values Skills

What Holds People back is Their Values more thanTheir 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


• Job Search Process(Resume, Interviews)

• Skill Session 1

• Skill Session 2

Feb 11

Feb 25

Mar 11

Mar 25

careers in chemistry workshop session 1. workshop objectives provide perspective and awareness on:...

Documents

career career

business slide

career perspective

business science

ideas competition slide

chemistry workshop session

kind of chemistry

workshop roadmap careers