Discovering my aptitudes post-graduation

[Camisotro]

So I just finished my M.Sc. in Chemistry and I live in Vancouver, BC. My project involved SPE and LC-MS methods, and I also got to work with a few different ion sources on two different MS machines.

I'm taking a few months off before considering full-time work. I know that I'm a very analytical personality and delving into a problem really gets me going; but I also find I'm very driven by feedback. So if I'm working on short, defined tasks that produce results and frequent feedback, I thrive better than working on a long, solitary, loosely defined project. This is one of several reasons I decided to stop at my Masters rather than stick around for a Ph.D.

I've also got decent computer skills - I find I'm often the one helping other people fix their computers in any work or volunteer environment, or diving into a user interface to find the options that someone else can't locate.

What I just don't know right now is, when it's time to apply for a job, what do I even want to do? What do I have an aptitude for? And I know that many of you here probably found yourselves in similar positions when you first went looking for a start to your career. Any tips?

[tom jupille]

Instrument company applications/tech support.

[Camisotro]

Instrument company applications/tech support.

The idea has occurred to me =)

If that were to be my career path, how would I navigate towards it? I'm coming out of a degree where I got some practical experience from my research, but I have very little non-academic employment experience.

[skunked_once]

Another option to consider is a position in a service lab in a university setting. You will have lots of opportunity for troubleshooting and maintaining instruments as well as deciphering a large variety of analytical problems. These jobs are usually less stressful than those in industry. The pay, however, may be significantly lower

[JGK]

Consider looking at a contract research company. Although it is quite a high pressure environment, you'll get the variety and garner experiience faster than most other places

[tom jupille]

How to actually *find* a job can be summarized in three words:
networking, networking, networking.

For instrument company jobs, attend any sales seminars that come through town and chat up the sales people, then ask them what's available in their company.

skunked_once's suggestion about a university job is a good one, even as a stepping-stone.

Talk to your prior profs and see if they have any contacts.

[Camisotro]

All of these are great ideas. I've also created a LinkedIn account in case any of my networking contacts are on there.

I've gone to a few of those seminars that were announced on my university listserv, but I'll be falling off that list soon. Is there any sort of mailing list or RSS feed where these seminars in my area would be regularly posted?

[AICMM]

For what it is worth, other than the applications/tech support idea, I would look to smaller companies where you will probably be given a wider diversity of challenges simply because they cannot afford to hire highly specialized personnel.

I tell everyone that I talk to that I really only figured out what I wanted to do in my late 30's...

Best of luck,

AICMM

[tom jupille]

I really only figured out what I wanted to do in my late 30's...

I haven't gotten there yet . Maybe when I hit my 70's?

[lmh]

ah, but that's a loooong way off, isn't it Tom??

To the original poster: don't be shy about contacting any organisation you think you might enjoy working for, but make sure whatever contact you have with them is personalised to them, and shows individual interest in their company. I feel all flattered when I get e-mails with cv's attached from people who have clearly bothered to find out what our lab does, and who include the organisation's name in their covering letter. Generic mails obviously sent to multiple labs just get binned.

[tom jupille]

ah, but that's a loooong way off, isn't it Tom??

Only 11% more

More seriously, I certainly second the comment about "personalizing" inquiries!

[Don_Hilton]

Other consideration. Find a job that seems to be a pretty good fit - and as you develop, your assignments will change. And as you show strengths, assignments that require your strengths will come your way. (Also be advised that there are some days, months, and even years that the proejcts are long and not much fun. About everybody hits that streak every now and again.)

[Camisotro]

Thanks everyone. The career world still feels quite daunting to me. One step at a time.

[Camisotro]

So... it's May and I'm a few more months beyond the initial experience of graduation. I got a job in the learning centre of a local community college doing math/science tutoring, but it's on-call hours and it turns out they don't need me very often. So back to the drawing board.

I still feel a bit of a "burnout" from the sciences, and I think that's why I haven't really submitted a lot of applications. I did just meet with a temp agency though, to get me by with some data entry work while I work on getting myself ready to give chemistry work a try.

Does anyone think it'll be a big problem for future Chem employability if I'm taking some time off from hands-on lab work?

[Kostas Petritis]

If you feel "burnout" from the sciences so early in your career, probably chemistry is not the way to go... Due to the economy, the environment is currently highly competitive so hiring managers are looking at everything, including potentially "rusty" laboratory skills...