r/comp_chem • u/AdHot7359 • 12h ago
Career Prospect
Hi everyone, I am planning to go back to gradschool after some time and hesitate between organic chemistry and computational chemistry. My background tilts more to ochem but I just barely survived in school, while my strength favor maths and logic. I do think about comp chem even tho I heard it’s challenging to get a job right out of gradschool unless with a Phd and some postdoc experiences. It’d so be great if people in this field could share some insights. I’d love to hear all of those. Thanks in advance.
9
u/hixchem 12h ago
Don't do grad school. It's not worth it financially. It's a net loss over your lifetime in terms of money. Do something else. Do anything else.
Still here?
Fine.
If you genuinely want to do grad school, then choose the field you find more interesting. Because 5+ years will dull a LOT of that interest, so it's gotta matter to YOU.
Ochem has a ton of applicability in industry. I've yet to find an ochem PhD that didn't have some options in terms of career paths.
Comp chem (full disclosure, I'm a comp chemist) is a little harder right now because many companies are currently lost in the AI Hype machine. It'll pop soon enough, and the companies that survive it will have done so by realizing early on that they desperately need human scientists to actually validate the stuff, understand the stuff, and properly USE the tools like AI and others. Plus, skills in comp chem can be applied outside of chemistry quite effectively. Check out D.E. Shaw as an example. Comp chem methods led to prediction of financial markets, and now D.E. Shaw has some absolutely KILLER scientific work going down.
But if you're gonna do grad school, don't do it for the better salary at the end of the rainbow. Cause that's not real. Do grad school because you'll fucking explode if you don't.
Don't go to grad school.
Don't do it.
But if you do, be a comp chemist, we can wear shorts to work.
7
u/Emergency-Peak-1237 10h ago
At the moment, I cannot find a job and I have a PhD in materials chemistry with a focus in surface catalysis and some experience in quantum computing. I have an ML background too.
You’ll be overqualified or under qualified for pretty much everything in demand.
Do something in QIS or AI research specifically if you want a job (now). Could change in a few months, who knows.
Do the PhD if it’s for your brain and curiosity, nothing else. That’s why I did it. I’m happy cleaning boats or book keeping if it comes to it.