Training more chemists

After hearing so much these days about the importance of training more chemists and seeing in C&EN that industry sales and profits are generally increasing, it seems ironic that we now see the ACS salary and employment data showing disheartening news that salaries in constant dollars generally are trending downward and the unemployment figures are trending upward (C&EN, Aug. 7, page 57).

It's hard to convince today's college students that chemistry is a hot major when it's evident that the job market has decidedly cooled off. One of the few glimmers of hope is the fact that my students can make more as high school teachers in many communities than they can as chemists in other types of jobs.

It's clear that we need to avoid getting defensive and recognize that our priorities, and our focus, need some adjusting. If we paid more attention to educating future businesspeople, lawyers, and politicians in science, maybe that would help to brighten the employment picture in the sciences. Lots of problems need solving.

William H. Flank
Chappaqua, N.Y.