Advertisement

If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)

ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCES TO C&EN

Education

Chemical Workforce

April 9, 2012 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 90, Issue 15

I would like to add to the situation presented in Attila Pavlath’s thought-provoking letter (C&EN, Feb. 27, page 2). I entered the workforce in 1945 and soon found a roughly four-year cycle regarding employment in the chemical industry. At one point, demand for chemists would be high, and chemical engineers were loudly proclaimed by industry. This resulted in large numbers of students electing to major in those fields. In approximately four years, this would result in an oversupply of professionals and a paucity of jobs. Then, students would major in other fields, resulting in a shortage of chemists and chemical engineers. Then the cycle would repeat.

Another point by Pavlath is that universities do not prepare students for industry. The one factor he does not mention is that the subject matter presented in chemistry courses is highly academic, beginning with high school chemistry courses. They deal with what I call chemical physics and very little chemistry. They deal with chemical kinetics, reaction mechanisms, and the nucleus, but little attention is paid to actual chemical reactions. I was fortunate to graduate when this was not quite so, but by the time my kids went to college, the subject of chemistry had been made uninteresting and not one of them chose to enter the field.

By Peter R. Lantos
Erdenheim, Pa

Article:

This article has been sent to the following recipient:

0 /1 FREE ARTICLES LEFT THIS MONTH Remaining
Chemistry matters. Join us to get the news you need.