I was a lab chemist for 23 years, doing organic synthesis at a pharmaceutical company. While it lasted, it was seriously the best job in the world: I spent my days making new molecules for drug testing, working in a lab with great people making great money. It was intellectually stimulating and financially rewarding.
I had a Master’s degree, but many of my colleagues had a BS. They had no trouble finding jobs.
Unfortunately, the U.S. pharmaceutical industry has changed dramatically over the past thirty years. Between all the mergers and then outsourcing a lot of jobs to contract organizations in India and China, the demand for all kinds of pharma chemists (including analytical chemists) really contracted. It’s really tough to find a stable job at a large pharma company now; you can still find positions with biotechs and start-ups but you must be flexible and ready to move/change jobs often. (There’s a reason they’re called “start-ups.”)
I lost my job 8 years ago when my company closed a research site (3000 people lost their jobs overnight.) About half of my BS/MS friends found new chemistry jobs - the rest got out of chemistry all together. The ones that did find jobs are generally making less money now; the ones that did find pharma jobs (…still making good money…) have gone through several more waves of lay-offs and consolidations. Overall, the BS/MS people have found it easier to relocate and find new jobs than have the PhDs. I know a lot of very good PhD chemists - with degrees from Ivy League schools and postdocs with God - who are unemployed.
So, after reading my sad story, if you’re still interested in a chemistry career, my advice would be:
- Don’t get a PhD unless you really love what you’re doing. Don’t do it for the career opportunities.
- Get as much experience as possible - internships and even temp work are good. As @jjwinkle said - HPLC and GC/MS experience is useful for a wide variety of jobs
- As a BS chemist, you won’t be able to specialize (organic versus analytical versus inorganic) - so don’t pigeonhole yourself.
- Be flexible. You may be changing jobs frequently!
Good luck. Chemistry can be a lot of fun but it can also be heartbreaking…