Employment woes

As a 59-year member of ACS, I have watched with trepidation as the number of positions for chemists has dwindled (C&EN, Nov. 7, 2005, page 4) and as the calls for increased technological advances by our nation have increased. With only 2,000 new Ph.D. graduates per year in chemistry, it does not bode well for the future of science in our nation when even this small number cannot be employed in their field of knowledge.

At least at the lower degree level, graduates can choose alternative fields for employment, but with an advanced degree obtained at much cost of time and study, the opportunities become more limited. Certainly if we continue to have the dichotomy between the employability of chemists and the need of the U.S. to maintain its technological advantage in the world, the result will be fewer science graduates and an abdication of our world leadership in technology.

Nelson Marans
Silver Spring, Md.