Careers in Chemistry and Physics
Here are some thoughts, suggestions and links to useful web pages on career guidance information.
Register with a Career Planning and Placement Office.
SBU and most other universities have a career planning and placement office which advises students about finding a job. Generally, a career planning and placement office will give you information about resume preparation, preparing for job interviews, lists of potential employers, current job openings, etc. These offices also frequently sponsor job fairs, where companies are invited to come in and interview prospective employees. Using the advice of the career planning and placement office, prepare a good resume that can be sent to anyone and everyone who will accept it.
Read the Chemical Literature.
In the back of each issue of Science magazine, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and C&E News (Chemical and Engineering News) are job advertisements for both industry and academics. These will be read religiously by the serious job hunter.
Read the Newspapers.
The "Help Wanted" sections of major newspapers are still valuable information sources - especially the Sunday editions. It would be wise to subscribe to the Sunday edition of a newspaper in the town or region in which you would like to live. Most major newspapers will have listing of jobs in both industry and education. Be sure to check all sections of the "Help Wanted" ads on a regular basis. Also, many newspapers are now available over the Internet. Logon and go cruising!!
Contact Companies Directly.
Often companies only list jobs in-house. The only way to find out about an open position may be to contact the company directly. Companies of particular interest are those that have hired SBU graduates in the past and know the high quality of our students. Names, addresses and phone numbers of these companies can be obtained from career planning and placement offices, from faculty within the department of chemistry and physics or from the Internet sites listed below.
Keep In Touch with the Department's Faculty.
The chairman of any academic department is usually the person contacted by people looking to employee chemists. The department's faculty may also know of job openings by word of mouth. You should let your department chairman and faculty know that you are looking for a job and what kind of work you want. In my own experience, every good job I have ever had (except one) has come to me by word of mouth through faculty contacts.
Search the Internet.
There is an almost unlimited volume of information for job hunters on the Internet. All you have to know is where to look. I would suggest you try--
Miscellaneous Job Banks, Job Search Engines, Newspapers, etc.
The Chronicle of Higher Education - Career Network, a listing of current positions in higher education and related fields
Academic Position Network - maintained by the University of Minnesota
America's Job Bank
The Best Jobs In The USA Today
Careercity
CareerBuilder - a searchable database of classified ads from some of the nation's largest newspapers
Faculty Job Openings - list maintained by the CCCU
FedWorld - federal government job listings
Helpwanted
Internet Professional Association/Recruiters Online Network - over 1,500 executive recruiters, job posting, search firms, etc.
JobHunt - an excellent searchable database
HigherEdJobs.com
MonsterTrak.com - an online job listing service
JobWeb - site for the National Association of Colleges and Employers
Monster Healthcare - jobs in healthcare
Monster.Com - high-tech, mainly computer industry
Science - classified ads for faculty, research and postdoctoral positions from Science magazine
USAJobs - job opportunities with all departments of the U.S. government
University Career Planning and Placement Offices on the Internet
SBU Career Services
Brandeis Hiatt Career Services
Jamestown College Job Page
The University of North Texas Career Planning and Placement Service
The American Chemical Society Career Services. This site has a job bank for searching, but is available only to ACS members.
Home Pages for Companies Who Hire Chemists, Chemical Engineers, Physicists, etc. Pick the company you would like to work for and check out their home page. I would suggest you try-
Aspen Technology, Inc.
AT&T - use the search engine on the home page and look for "employment"
Dow Chemical Company - select "Search" and look for "employment"
Eastman Chemical Company
Eli Lilly and Company
Genentech, Inc.
General Electric
Hitachi Instruments, Inc.
Hoechst Internet Forum
Hewlett Packard
IBM Corp.
Millipore
Sigma-Aldrich
