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Chemistry degree

Attack Fader

Attack Fader

Bluelighter
Joined
Sep 14, 2011
Messages
180
Location
Utah
Hi there I was recently debating switching my major to chemistry since this is really the only thing that interests me right now. I was wondering how hard it would be to achieve and if you guys would recommend it.
Oh and my previous major was originally computer science
 
I can't help answer you're question, but I'm also interested in a Chemistry Degree. Out of curiosity, what's you're background in Chemistry and Science? I'm a little concerned because I never did exceedingly well in my Science classes during High School, so I'm a little worried it might overwhelmed me. Though I'm not at all worried about studying, if it interests me then I have all the time in the world to study without frustration.
 
I have never taken a chemistry class but I did great in science and biology classes. And the main problem for school for me has always been a lack of motivation since I never have really been interested in anything until now. But I feel like being a chemist is the only thing I have really felt like I would want to do. Anybody out there have a degree in chemistry care to chip in?
 
I got my bachelor's degree in chemistry this May and have started on a PhD program this fall. If you're really interested in it, don't worry about whether you had chemistry classes in high school or if you did well in them. Everything in a chemistry bachelor's (or even associate's) degree program is going to start off at the ground floor anyway. You'll have to take general chemistry 1 and 2, and unless you are at a very, very high end school or in an honor's program, they will assume that many students have had no prior chemistry experience whatsoever, and teach accordingly. So you won't get left behind due to them expecting you to know things you don't.

However, the class generally does move pretty fast, and it is very easy to fall behind if you don't start working right away, and most of the material builds on itself so if you're lost at the start, you aren't going to find yourself later. All in all, general chemistry is not extremely hard, though, and if you've done well in other science and/or math courses, you'll probably do fine in general chemistry. Next up is organic chemistry, which most people either love or hate (its what my PhD is concentration is, so I'm one of the ones that love it). It is very different from general chemistry and has almost no math focus - it is entirely about logic, reasoning and spatial reasoning, with a fair amount of memorization thrown in for good measure.

You say you'd be interested in being a chemist - what sort of work do you imagine yourself doing once you finish your degree? And would you intend to stop at an associate's, bachelors, or go on past either of those? Those are important questions to have an idea of an answer to before you make such a major change to your degree plans.
 
Certainly focus a lot of attention to getting a solid foundation in math before attempting a chemistry degree. The rest is up to how motivated you are to learn the subject.
 
I've taken Chemistry at the university level (year 1) and I found it very challenging, and definitely built on knowledge they expected you to have from HS Chem. This is in Canada though, and it is at a major research university, so the level of difficulty is generally quite high.

I found it very interesting, but also very, very time-consuming. I'm sort of mathematically challenged to begin with, so learning a lot of the algebraic concepts were a struggle on top of learning the material. Although, I definitely feel it helped me brush up on a skill that was sorely lacking. Overall, it was one of the most frustrating and rewarding experiences in my academic life. I briefly considered continuing on in the field, and the dept. even offered me a spot in the program, but in the end I decided against it, as I felt the rigidity of the program would eventually wear me down.
 
@ Cyc, Could you expand on the rigidity of the program?

I myself recently started on an Associates of Chem at a community college but plan on transferring to a University in 1-2 years to a bachelors program. After I attain that, I plan on going further, hopefully a Phd.
 
I just mean that it was quite modular for an honours program. Not many electives, and all of the courses were difficult. But once you have the basics down, and if you have a genuine interest for the material, I think you'd be able to do fine.

I copped out and went for a double-minor that was less mathematically intensive.
 
oh damn thats why i wanted to get more into the research area than the engineering. i guess if all else fails i could just teach chemistry right? ;)
 
In the U.S. it is not easy to get a job with only a bachelor's in chemistry, and the pay is only in the 30-40k range starting if you can find one. With a master's or PhD the prospects are a lot better, and so is the pay, in the 70k starting range for a master's and 90k for a PhD. That all fluctuates depending on the region's cost of living and size of the company, of course, but those are averages drawn from the whole nation.

Most programs pay their graduate students in chemistry through a teaching assistantship and/or a research assistantship. That means while you work on your master's or PhD, you work by being a teaching assistant for chemistry courses at the university, or by doing research in addition to your own (your boss's project, rather than your own) and earn a stipend that ends up being around $24,000 a year and makes your tuition free.
 
Chemistry is very rewarding, but its a HUGELY varied area. Biochemistry is very different from physical chemistry for example. Lots of jobs in industry are biochemistry jobs (at biotech jobs) or analytical chemistry (analysis/environmental jobs). All areas of chemistry can go on to be teachers at community colleges, but getting a tenure-track faculty position at even a small 4-year college requires a PhD(and the jobs are very competitive). Getting a good job in industry also requires a PhD, otherwise you will always be the "lab monkey", doing someone elses bidding.
 
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