<p>i always wanted to be a astronomer/astrophysicists but in the real world, that isnt demanding, and wont pay off financially, not to mention requires a phd but then i have 3 other reasonable majors but i cant choose one, so i need some help</p>
<p>physics ( which would be required as a astronomer )</p>
<p>chemistry</p>
<p>chemical engineering</p>
<p>pharmaceutical chemistry </p>
<p>out of these 4 i need helping picking something that is a financially stable and has room for improvement within the field, like so i wont be stuck in the same spot forever, and i would like a major that has a little more flexibility where i can alpply to a range of jobs, but job availability and demand is a must, because thats basically the reason why i have to abandon my dream</p>
<p>so let me know out of those 4 which is the most profitable and demanding in the job market</p>
<p>sschoe2 recommended against Pharm Chem, it’s quite narrow and the pharmaceutical industry is permanently downsizing. Insiders say theres no new drugs in the pipeline, and since drug development cycles are 1 decade, it means that no work opportunities will arise for a while.</p>
<p>between chemistry, chemE and physics: do you imagine yourself at a lab for 8 hours a day or programming for 8 hours a day?</p>
<p>Right now none of them can guarantee employment since chemical jobs are disappearing according to this article: [Chemical</a> Jobs Disappear | Latest News | Chemical & Engineering News](<a href=“http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/87/i15/8715news1.html]Chemical”>http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/87/i15/8715news1.html)
I think Chemical Engineering is the most versatile among them. Also when comparing ChemE and Chemistry at B.S level, ChemE’s average starting salary is about 20k higher.</p>
<p>And a Physics degree isn’t really marketable unless you make yourself so by taking engineering/computer classes or go to grad school</p>
<p>The only profit to be had in the sciences is med, pharm, or dental school. Otherwise, for heavens sake do accounting, or something computer related that isn’t likely to be outsourced or H1-b’ed to death. It has reached the point where a science degree has no return on investment given the amount of tuition, hard work, length of study versus the sub-blue collar salaries companies are offering graduates if you can get a job at all.</p>
<p>Yes but chemical engineers are more engineers than chemists. They deal with process design and optimization and manufacturing. They do have a background of chemistry classes.</p>
<p>Engineering is usually pretty solid though I’ve heard outsourcing has taken a toll on engineering too.</p>
<p>if you only care about money, ChemE may not be a good path. there are only 30000 straight ChemE positions in the US. 40 1 million USD plants are closing in the US every year. Most positions need 3-5 years of experience, minimum, and with so many unemployed experienced engineers in the pool, you’re looking at lab serf jobs for even ChemE graduates.</p>
<p>if you’re not american you can take your ChemE skills elsewhere though. The US doesn’t need chemistry, it just needs real estate agents, Wall Street alligators, janitors, overpaid pharmacists and drug pushing doctors.</p>