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I live in Memphis, TN. If you make over 30k, you're doing well. Per capita income around here is 21-25k. Average median household income is around 40k. Most graduates out of college will be making 35k and under. Those with better major, college, network, and luck, can make more than 40k. Cost of living around here is low too, probably the top 10 lowest in the country, not to mention the other neighboring cities with low CoL. If you make over 50k, you are doing real well. Anyone making over 70k is rich, 100k is super rich. Nice, big 2 stories houses are between 150-250k. You can buy mansions like houses for under 500k.
Seems low, I was a chem major from a very small college and my starting salary in 1988 was $30,000. I would sure hope it has gone up in 25+ years.
I would have liked it to but it hasn't, plus the fact temp agencies have taken over the profession so no benefits, no career development, you are just a disposible POS working in a lab for $15 and hour.
It is low. A competent recent grad in the field of Chemistry can make well into the 50s.
Not with just a BS and not without at least 5 years experience. A recent BS grad will be lucky to get a Kelly or Aerotek temp crap job for $15 an hour. Even an MS and experience might not do much to change that. Most of the chem grads who graduated with me left the field or went into teaching.
Not with just a BS and not without at least 5 years experience. A recent BS grad will be lucky to get a Kelly or Aerotek temp crap job for $15 an hour. Even an MS and experience might not do much to change that. Most of the chem grads who graduated with me left the field or went into teaching.
Dam, it is a bit of a shame, people are always pushing STEM, STEM and for good reason don't get me wrong, but to see this as a result is a bit of a shame.
I know not every bio or chem grad wants to go to med school, pharmacy school or wants to become a teacher, so that being said what does the chem grad do if he/she is not able to land the lab tech job and work his/her way up?
A good friend of mines graduated with a chem degree and was able to get a lab tech job because of connections through his father. He is now in nursing school and I assume that once he finishes RT school, he will be able to find work. Luckily for him nursing is what he wants to do (though as I side earlier not every bio major wants to become doctor, nurse etc...) Still I can't help but wonder if it was not for his father, what would he have done with the chem degree straight out of college?
Typical paths.. some manage to get an entry level job unrelated to their major possibly with internships, others go into teaching, Healthcare is a popular option as it uses many science classes, Or one can always get a MS in a major that is completely unrelated to chem/bio like accounting or transition to engineering.
I know my family was as shocked as I was when I graduated and starting getting appalling offers for $15 and hour or even less with my MSc and several years of laboratory research experience. I told them to go to h#ll and finally after 8 months got a half decent job for $48k 800 miles away. Then I got laid off 9 months later and had to move back home to take care of an ailing parent. I ended up at a crappy temp job with no benefits for ~$40k for nearly 3 years untill I finally found a decent company willing to pay a reasonable salary. My 3 years at the permatemp company were some of the worst in my life. I spent my 30th birthday taking my two chemistry diplomas and watching them burn in the grill. My current job is great and I started to regain a lot of the passion I had for the field that died a slow painful death at my last crapo job. I have vowed I will quit the field though before going back to Sh-T permatemp jobs again. I also would never let anyone in my family major in science again. I think temp agencies and their dirt bag clients have ruined the profession.
I just graduated from college and got offered a job in the nonprofit sector. I was wondering what's the typical starting pay for a recent college graduate? I'll be making something in the mid 30s (before taxes) with this new job. Is this a reasonable income or not?
Sounds about right for a non-profit but I made more than that coming out of school 13 years ago. Yikes.
Is there a difference in payscale for chemists working in the food industry vs industrial chemical company like Dow or DuPont
Food Scientists make decent money after a few years experience, recently saw a posting for a job in Boston 100-120k.
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