EVERY chemist has different daydreams about the pinnacle of their career. Perhaps you aspire to getting your work published in a high-profile journal. You might picture yourself leading a world-class lab or making millions transforming your research into a business. Or maybe you dream on a grander scale and imagine changing the way we think about the world.
Back in reality, you are in the foothills of a career in chemistry or simply fancy a change, and are probably wondering how to get to where you鈥檇 like to be. You鈥檝e spent three years bagging your degree and maybe another few slogging for a PhD. Since then, perhaps you鈥檝e taken a couple of short-lived postdoc stints or a ground-floor role in industry. No doubt some of your friends have high-paid jobs in the City, and you鈥檙e tempted to leave science altogether.
If you stick with chemistry, you want to make it big, but how? What stones should you turn over to maximise your chances of making a major discovery? What abilities do you need to succeed in modern chemistry?
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New 杏吧原创 asked some top chemists for their tips. Obviously there鈥檚 no blueprint for changing the world, but their answers can at least point you in the right direction.
Start by picking the right field. Some areas of chemistry will have a higher profile than others, attracting the most kudos 鈥� and money. 鈥淔unding does go in fashions,鈥� says Tim Gallagher, head of the school of chemistry at the University of Bristol.
Today, protecting the environment is one of the more fashionable areas. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one where chemistry makes a direct and topical impact,鈥� says Gallagher. 鈥淚t has been around a long time but it鈥檚 growing in terms of the perceived importance within society.鈥� Chemists help clean up pollution today and minimise pollution tomorrow, for example by finding cleaner ways to make chemicals and their products. Often a simple idea can make a big difference. For instance, researchers at Oregon State University in Corvallis developed an environmentally friendly soya-based glue for the wood industry. In doing so, they have given manufacturers an alternative to the carcinogenic formaldehyde used to bind materials such as plywood.
Chemists are also in demand to help wean the world off fossil fuels. 鈥淔or me the big question is, what happens when all the oil runs out?鈥� Gallagher says. 鈥淎ll the chemicals we use come from broadly petrochemical sources, including drugs and materials.鈥� Chemists can help by developing technology to store hydrogen for fuel cells, for example, designing materials for solar cells or creating alternatives to the plastics and drugs that come from petrochemical sources.
Right now one field that鈥檚 as trendy as they come is chemical biology, which addresses problems in biology using the tools of chemistry, often in the form of small molecules created by synthetic chemistry. Nicholas Westwood, a chemist in the Centre for Biomolecular Sciences at the University of St Andrews, works in a part of this field known as chemical genetics, which he says is just taking root in the UK. 鈥淚f you wanted to figure out how the car works, you might take out the spark plugs and see what happens,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he same applies to the cell, but you don鈥檛 use a spanner.鈥� Instead, chemical geneticists create compounds to block the function of a specific protein in a cell.
Once you have picked a fertile research field, the next step is to develop qualities that will help you stand out. One increasingly important facet of the modern chemist鈥檚 work is collaboration with physicists, biologists or engineers. 鈥淭he multidisciplinary theme pervades science at universities,鈥� says Mark Searle, head of chemistry at the University of Nottingham and a professor of chemical biology. 鈥淐hemistry is the hub of the wheel, with spokes going out to all other subjects.鈥�
聯Chemistry is the hub of the wheel, with spokes to all other subjects聰
Networking outside chemistry could do wonders for your career. 鈥淭here is no certainty that these types of interactions will pay off,鈥� says Westwood, 鈥渂ut in my experience they do more times than they do not.鈥� A lot of universities have invested heavily in bringing together scientists from different disciplines, Searle says. 鈥淚 have a pharmacist next door to my office and a molecular biologist two doors down. You can strike up conversations and potential collaborations just by bumping into someone in the corridor,鈥� he says. 鈥淐hemists used to work in their own castles and never step outside. Those days are gone.鈥�
A blurring of the traditional boundaries is occurring in industry, too. For example, chemists working in drug discovery are expected to interact with scientists from other disciplines. The ability to explain and exchange ideas has become more valuable, says David Hollinshead, associate director of research and development at AstraZeneca UK. 鈥淚n the past communication skills were not so important,鈥� he says. 鈥淣ow we look for more rounded people.鈥�
Before you strike out for the far reaches of chemistry, however, your first priority should be to get a solid grounding in core chemistry, Westwood says. 鈥淭he principles must be secure before you can branch out,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou must love and understand chemistry, and then with time you become interested in applying it.鈥� You also have to be flexible enough to make compromises in your own group鈥檚 projects for the good of the multidisciplinary team鈥檚 work as a whole. 鈥淚t really helps if you have a broad range of scientific interests.鈥�
Of course, you don鈥檛 have to branch out. With so much research going on where chemistry meets biology, physics or engineering, it can be easy to forget that you can still make a career in traditional synthetic chemistry. If you have the right skills, industry will snap you up. As in academia, a sound grounding in basic chemistry is paramount, says Hollinshead. 鈥淪ynthetic prowess is key,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the bread and butter of what we do. The more you can contribute on top of that, the more valuable you are.鈥�
Working in industry can be just as glamorous as making discoveries in academia. For example, with your knowledge of small molecules you could be part of the team behind a life-saving blockbuster drug. 鈥淧eople think it鈥檚 doctors that deliver medicines and chemists that contribute to pollution and North Sea oil disasters,鈥� says Hollinshead 鈥� but chemists make crucial contributions to many things, like healthcare, on which we rely in day-to-day life.
Ironically, if you demonstrate additional talents 鈥� such as interpersonal skills 鈥� you may find your career as a chemist is short-lived, Hollinshead says. 鈥淐hemistry is a passport into practically any career,鈥� he says. 鈥淧eople come in as chemists and end up in human resources, marketing or finance. Our last CEO was a medicinal chemist.鈥�
If you are tempted to turn your back on chemistry, don鈥檛 forget that your work could prove invaluable to society, says Jim Feast, president of the Royal Society of Chemistry. 鈥淐hemistry is central to a lot of major challenges facing society at the moment: water, energy, climate change and health, for example,鈥� he says. 鈥淲ithout solutions to these challenges we鈥檙e due for a pretty grim time. And without the impact of chemistry, there is no way forward.鈥� Maybe changing the world isn鈥檛 just a daydream after all.
