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Careers

Reaching Tomorrow's Chemists

Focus groups with 10- to 14-year-olds shed light on their attitudes about chemists and chemistry

by RON DAGANI, C&EN WASHINGTON
September 6, 2004 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 82, Issue 36

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Credit: PHOTODISC
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Credit: PHOTODISC

Are you socially awkward? Reclusive? Like to work alone? Nerdy? Then you must be a chemist!

That perception, shaped by the stereotypical portrayals of chemists in movies and TV shows, turns out to be shared by the "millennials," the generation of Americans born in 1982 or later. The next generation of chemists will come from the millennials. So the American Chemical Society has been interested in understanding how best to communicate to this generation the benefits of pursuing a career in chemistry and to foster a better appreciation of the role chemistry plays in their lives.

With that in mind, ACS contracted with Wirthlin Worldwide, a strategic opinion research and consulting firm, to learn what the millennials think about chemists and their profession (C&EN, July 21, 2003, page 35). The results of the opinion research were presented at the ACS national meeting in Philadelphia in a symposium sponsored by the Younger Chemists Committee (YCC). The presentation was given by Mark D. Frishberg, a former member and chairman of YCC and president of Seres Laboratories, Santa Rosa, Calif.

Wirthlin conducted a total of 12 focus groups in late 2001 in Baltimore; Cincinnati; and Orange County, Calif. Nine of the groups consisted of students between the ages of 10 and 14 who maintained a minimum of a B grade-point average. The other three groups consisted of parents of participating millennials. Each group had five to seven participants.

When asked what they aspired to be when they grow up, most of the millennials had a general idea of what they wanted to do with their lives, according to the study report. These young people mentioned a variety of career options that might be of interest to them, including scientist, astronomer, aerospace engineer, and archaeologist. But in six of the nine focus groups with youth, chemistry did not emerge as a potential career option. In the other three groups with youth, chemistry emerged only after extensive probing by the group moderator. "Clearly, chemistry is not a career millennials gravitate toward at a young age," the report notes.

THE STUDY also probed the millennials' perceptions of chemists. Many stereotypes emerged, such as that chemists are uninterested in their physical appearance and are awkward in social settings. Millennials also viewed chemists as being "passionate about their work, more interested in their work than any other interests, hard-working, focused, and preferring to work alone," according to the study.

When millennials were asked to describe the best things about being a chemist, the three main ideas that emerged were "the ability to discover new cures that help people, find out something new, and work on experiments." Millennials also mentioned making new medicines, getting rich by selling patents for new products, and traveling.

When asked what are the worst things about being a chemist, the youngsters most frequently mentioned the possibility of "getting hurt by your experiments" and "causing an explosion" that would hurt themselves and others. Other, less frequently mentioned concerns included "the fear of getting a disease, frustration of having to deal with repeated failure of experiments, having to work by yourself a lot, having to study a lot, lack of recognition, and the fear that you would work so much that life slips you by."

The young study participants also were asked for reasons why they would or would not become a chemist. Reasons they gave for becoming a chemist included the ability to find cures, make medicines, and improve products; experiment with different things or materials; make weapons to protect people; discover new ways to harness energy; make a decent salary; get recognition and awards; and do something that's challenging and fun.

When asked to give reasons why they might not want to become a chemist, the millennials mentioned many of the same things they identified as some of the worst aspects of being a chemist: "danger and fear of explosions, frustration of experiments not working properly," fear of making a mistake and hurting oneself, spending lots of time working alone, and doing work that's boring or too challenging.

From other studies, millennials are known to look to their parents for assistance with career decisions. Parents in the Wirthlin focus groups thought chemistry was a good career option, but their knowledge of the career and what it entails was mixed. Most of the parents did not think that their children would opt for a chemistry career for two primary reasons: lack of role models in the field and their children's desire to work in groups rather than alone.

How, then, could one make chemistry a more attractive career option for the millennial generation? The study report offers several recommendations:

◾ Make educational programs exciting and "provide fun experiments for millennials to personally experience chemistry."

◾ "Challenge the stereotypes." Remake the chemist's image as someone who is goal-oriented, outgoing, and a team player.

◾ Because millennials and their parents have minimal knowledge about chemistry, programs should engage and educate both groups about the possibilities of a chemistry career.

◾ Celebrate "the successes and accomplishments of ordinary chemists to remove the perception that chemists regularly encounter failure." Communicate the benefits that chemists bring to individuals and to society. And foster the notion (that millennials already have) of the chemist as a hero.

As part of his presentation, Frishberg showed an 11-minute video, prepared by the ACS Committee on Public Relations & Communications, that summarizes the Wirthlin research.

Frishberg, who first became interested in chemistry at age six after seeing a chemistry demonstration, believes that more chemists should go out and interact with the general public. Hopefully, he suggested, chemists who are knowledgeable, personable, and mindful of how they will be perceived by their audience will succeed in challenging the stereotypes.

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