What are the prospects for working in the chemical industry? (Everyone, come in and talk.)
Thread Content
The last edit to this post was made by samuel_225 on 2009-8-17 at 13:11. Let me talk about myself first: I graduated from a renowned university in the field of chemistry, majoring in applied chemistry, and I have two years of work experience. I have a few things to say about the chemical industry as well. There are basically three types of jobs available after graduating in chemistry: 1. Blue-collar workers in laboratories (conducting experiments day after day with little opportunity for interaction with others); 2. Process engineers working in production facilities. In my opinion, experience is the most important factor here, and the most skilled technicians in our factory are those with a secondary vocational education background. 3. Changing careers (there are 30 people in our class, and about one-third of them work in the chemical industry); it seems that 80% of those who change careers do so to work in sales, as it’s really difficult to switch to other industries. Compared to the automotive or electronics industry. With 3-5 years of experience, those with good foreign language skills generally earn 5000+ yuan. There are tons of people looking to change jobs. What about the chemical industry? How many people insist on staying in the lab? What can you do once you’re out? I am now transitioning from a chemical process engineer to a laboratory role. . . . But it can’t tell the direction of rotation anymore. . Complaint post. . . Please give me some guidance, seniors
No prospects or future; most work shift work, few are in management positions
What prestigious schools? I admire them. . . I didn’t even finish elementary school. . .
Working in design engineering is very promising; money keeps coming in easily
I want to pursue the second path that LZ mentioned. I have been working for two years. Previously, at the company I was mainly involved in a pilot plant project, handling everything from design and construction to pilot tests; later on, I also worked on the process software package. I find it quite interesting. But this year the company has made changes and plans to assign me to work in the laboratory. That’s why I want to resign. But I’ve submitted my resume for over a month now, and still haven’t received any interview invitation. Ugh... it’s frustrating
Rather than thinking about what career to switch to, it’s better to consider why, doing the same job, some people can advance rapidly while others are forced to keep changing jobs Many times, it’s not that the industry is bad; it’s that there are areas where one needs to improve. If the root of the problem isn’t addressed, one will still struggle to adapt no matter which industry they move into, and will continue to have to consider what to do next
Do one thing and love it; but in the chemical industry, what really matters is not whether you graduated from a prestigious university, but rather your experience and ability to solve problems, as well as your capacity to create value. The skilled technicians in our unit are mostly senior engineers who graduated from high school or vocational schools; for example, the head of the laboratory also has a vocational school education, while college graduates generally work under them.
I majored in chemical engineering. After graduating, I started working at a private company, beginning with the most basic laboratory tasks (helping out with various chores like washing bottles), which was quite frustrating. After persisting for some time, I began to work on research and development; it was interesting, but I felt that I couldn’t continue doing this job for the rest of my life. When the contract expired, I left and started working in a state-owned enterprise in a production role. At first, things seemed fine; I thought there might be opportunities for promotion. But I realized I was wrong, just as one internet user posted a few days ago: those who work in academia can never surpass those who are skilled in political tactics. So I resigned. After several months of searching, I finally found a private company where I became a production supervisor, and I am full of expectations for the future. . . .
My husband and I both studied chemical engineering; we were classmates. After graduation, I went to work at a school while he took a job in an enterprise. His salary was always very low, and with the heavy financial burdens on his family, our living conditions were tough. Things improved only after we started working in sales, but it wasn’t as good as people might think. We’ve been working for almost twenty years now, yet we still need to take out loans to buy a house. Working in sales is really hard – there are no days off except on the first and second days of each month. We have to drink for business meetings, and once one meeting ends, another starts right away; we’re on duty 24/7, with our nerves constantly under strain. We’re also worried about accumulating debts. In short, it’s a stressful job that requires constant travel, leaving us with no time to take care of anything at home.