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. . . Offers a host of career opportunities
Look around your home and you'll see many examples of consumer product
chemistry. These include products for washing clothes, dishes, windows,
floors, tile, and bathroom fixtures. There are waxes and polishes for
floors, furniture, shoes, and cars. Personal care products comprise hand
and body soaps, hair shampoos and conditioners, toothpastes, cosmetics,
and deodorants. Chemists and chemical engineers have a hand in developing
all of these products. They also design manufacturing processes for both
the ingredient chemicals and the final products you see on store shelves.
Many types of companies participate in developing consumer products-from
multi-billion dollar firms doing business on a global scale to very small
firms. Basic chemicals are usually manufactured by large chemical companies.
Specialty chemicals are produced by large, medium, and small-sized chemical
companies. Consumer products themselves are produced by formulating basic
and specialty chemicals.
The consumer products industry gives rise to a host of career opportunities
and chemical engineers at all degree levels. The focus on formulations
results in more laboratory product development opportunities for bachelor's
degree chemists than is the case in many other fields. There are also
opportunities for bachelor's and master's degree chemists in chemical
manufacturing plants and plants producing consumer products. Many bachelor's
and master's degree chemists also work in sales and may eventually move
into marketing and business management positions. Ph.D. chemists and chemical
engineers work largely in research positions developing new chemicals
and working towards an understanding of the chemical and physical processes
occurring when the consumer products are manufactured and used. Many also
work in formulation development. Some hold research or business management
positions.
Technical service work is another important employment area for many
chemists. Chemical companies often work in partnership with their customers,
developing new formulations and products. In common with many other chemists
in the consumer products industry, Witco Corporation applications group
manager James Fuller notes, "What I enjoy most about my job is working
with customers to solve their problems."
. . . Leverages multiple skills
Sound technical skills and familiarity with the end uses of their products
enable chemists and engineers to anticipate and meet their customers'
needs. However, teamwork, communication, and managerial skills are important
since chemists and engineers must work and communicate with other team
members who are not chemists or engineers. Many of the teams include business,
sales, and manufacturing personnel as well as environmental and toxicology
specialists, and specialists in other areas such as government regulations
and shipping. Joint customer-supplier teams are also common in the consumer
products industry.
Written communications skills are also very important. Consumer product
development chemists and engineers write corporate research reports, technical
service reports for customers, and articles that are published in conference
proceedings and trade magazines.
Research chemists and engineers often need management and supervisory
skills. Those working in labs sometimes supervise laboratory technicians
and those working in plants often supervise plant operators. Good interpersonal
and work planning skills are useful in these positions. Consumer product
chemists and engineers often work on more than one project at once. They
must organize their work to manage these multiple priorities. Hence, planning
and time management skills are important.
. . . Offers opportunities for advancement
A wider variety of advancement opportunities are available to chemists
and engineers in the consumer products industry as compared to other industries.
Many companies offer chemists the option of moving up research or management
promotion ladders or into sales or business management positions. These
choices, however, are not as prevalent today because companies are reducing
the number of management positions and tightly controlling the number
of research staff positions. This belt tightening has reduced traditional
advancement opportunities, but, chemists have been able to focus on strategic
lateral transfers that enhance both their job security and future employability
at other companies. Amway Corporation chemist Robert Faber comments, "Cross
training in various company departments will broaden your technical skills
and improve your employability."
Copyright 1997 American Chemical Society
Susan Youngquist, Chemical Engineer
While attending the University of Michigan, Susan Youngquist worked at
Dow Chemical Company as a co-op student. First, she worked in production
and then in research and development (R&D). From this experience,
she decided that she preferred working in R&D. After graduating with
a B.S. degree, Youngquist began working for Amway Corporation in R&D.
Currently, she is associate group leader of the Home Care Process Development
Group. There, she supervises four chemical engineers and four technicians
who do process development and manufacturing support R&D. Her responsibilities
include laundry products, other household cleaning products (porcelain
and tile cleaners, floor cleaners, etc.) and automotive products (waxes,
polishes, upholstery cleaners, etc.). Youngquist comments that the most
rewarding part of her job is being part of the process of developing a
successful new product and getting it into the hands of customers. She
adds that this is becoming more difficult to do since the consumer product
market is becoming increasingly competitive.
Marena Brown, Procter and Gamble
Marena Brown works in the area of antimicrobial technology. Her job is
to make sure that germ-killing properties are maintained when other scientists
alter formulas for laundry products to enhance cleaning capabilities.
Brown, who has a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in chemical engineering, says,
"I look at what we can incorporate in a product to make it better."
She adds, "I enjoy doing research and the problem-solving aspect
of my job."
Robert D. Faber
Before receiving his B.S. in chemistry from Calvin College, Bob Faber
worked as a summer intern for Upjohn Corporation. He notes, "The
most important thing I learned was how to apply academic knowledge to
real world problems where business factors are important."
After graduating, Faber went to work for Amway Corporation. He has worked
on the development of a variety of household and automotive cleaning products.
Most recently, he was on the team that developed SCRUB BRITER kitchen/bathroom
cleaner, a cleaning product designed to be effective, mild to hands, and
non-abrasive. SCRUB BRITE cleaner illustrates that many properties besides
effectiveness in the end use must be designed into consumer products.
What Faber likes most about his job is the freedom he has in project
design and direction. An increasing amount of time is spent, he explains,
complying with federal, state, and foreign country environmental. However,
Faber notes that the research necessary to comply with these regulations
is a vital part of the product development process.
Kirk Raney, Consumer Products/Research Engineer
Washing machine manufacturers are redesigning their machines to use less
water and energy. As a result, a new round of laundry detergent is being
developed by researchers such as Kirk Raney, senior research engineer
at Shell Chemical Company . He comments, "New detergent chemicals
have to be more effective than before in preventing redeposition of soils
on clothes, and foam less in this new washing environment."
He performs laundering tests in washing machines of various designs and
also studies surfactant chemical properties such as foaming, surface tension,
and solubility behavior. Raney notes that he works with technicians and
often visits laundry detergent manufacturer's laboratories to discuss
his findings. Despite it being early in his career, he has presented papers
and visited customers in Japan, India, Korea, China, and several European
countries as well as traveled extensively in the United States.
Judith Zweig
In mid-career, Judith Zweig is an example of the many professional opportunities
available to consumer products chemists. She began her industrial research
career as a polymer research chemist at Shell Chemical Company. After
several years, she was promoted to research manager of the Surfactant
Applications Group. (Surfactants are the active cleaning agents in detergents
and many other cleaning products.) A few years later, she became a business
development manager supervising commercialization of new surfactants.
Then for family reasons, she moved to Connecticut and began working for
Olin Corp. as a surfactants research manager. She capitalized on her business
skills to become a liaison between the research and business groups. In
this assignment, she helped researchers focus on commercially viable opportunities
and minimize product development time while providing sales and marketing
personnel with the information they needed for successful product commercialization.
Currently, Zweig is a consultant with the firm Werner-Gershon Associates.
Her primary assignment is preparing technical literature for clients,
primarily smaller chemical firms supplying products to consumer products
companies. She is very active in an industry-oriented professional association,
the Surfactants and Detergents Division of the American Oil Chemists'
Society, where she has held a number offices.
WORK DESCRIPTION
Researchers develop tests that model the end use of the product they are
trying to develop. They then use the tests to relate chemical structure
and formulation composition to product performance. They also use these
tests in technical service work to determine how well a product will work
in a customer's formulation. Statistical design of experiments can reduce
the number of tests run and allow better understanding of the effects
of chemical structure and formulation composition on performance. Another
means of obtaining this understanding is to relate basic chemical and
physical properties of chemicals with their performance in the desired
application. Such correlations can decrease new product development time
since these properties can often be determined in less time than it takes
to perform applications tests. Researchers often work on more than one
project at once. These are often a mix of research and technical service
projects. Many researchers report they work considerably more than 40
hours per week.
Chemists and engineers also work in manufacturing plants and in office
environments as sales representatives, marketing specialists, and business
managers. An increasing number of sales representatives work out of home
offices. Sales representatives travel frequently on business.
WORKING CONDITIONS
Researchers work in laboratories that often contain highly specialized
testing equipment. Since researchers often work on several projects at
once, prepare applications literature, and travel with sales representatives
to visit customers, their work environment is not an academic one. Team
work is a vital part of the product development effort as chemists and
engineers often share projects and work with technicians, sales representatives,
manufacturing plant personnel, and other specialists. Some chemists and
engineers work in manufacturing facilities. Others in sales or business
positions work in offices.
PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT
Chemists and chemical engineers are employed in research labs, manufacturing
facilities, and business offices of small, medium, and large consumer
product, specialty chemical, and basic chemical manufacturing and development
companies.
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
Consumer product chemists and engineers have a broad range of concerns:
the effect of a chemical structure on product performance and behavior,
the basic chemistry and physics of processes that occur in the end use
application, chemical synthesis, and the effect of consumer products on
the environment and human health. Their varied activities and responsibilities
require good time management and interpersonal skills.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
For those wanting to work in chemical sales or in a chemical plant, a
bachelor's or master's degree in chemistry or chemical engineering is
needed. A minor in a business field is a real career asset, especially
in landing your first job. These same degrees are needed for manufacturing
plant jobs. The chemist will benefit from taking chemical engineering
courses. Chemical engineers, particularly those working in plants formulating
and packaging consumer products, will benefit from courses in other fields-particularly
mechanical and industrial engineering. These courses can be particularly
helpful when hunting for your first job.
Compared to other industries, a chemist with a bachelor's or master's
degree has an easier time advancing in a research career because while
not the most sophisticated area of chemical technology, formulation chemistry
is often very important in consumer product development. Oral and written
communication skills and teamwork skills also enhance chemists' opportunities
for advancement . A Ph.D. helps advance a research career, but Ph.D.s
without these other skills will see chemists with other degrees attain
equal and higher level positions. Courses in chemical engineering, environmental
chemistry, and statistics will prove helpful to researchers.
Whatever your degree level and career goals, business courses and courses
in business writing or journalism will be very useful in achieving professional
success.
JOB OUTLOOK
Sales of consumer products, and therefore the need to consumer product
development chemists in industry, tend to be less affected by the business
cycle than many other industries using chemicals such as homes, home furnishings,
and automobiles. However, some employment opportunities have been reduced
at many companies due to reengineering.
SALARY RANGE
Consumer product development chemists and chemical engineers at all degree
levels work in a variety of career areas within the consumer products
industry, and pay scales may reflect averages of all chemists industry-wide.
According to a 1996 ACS survey, the median starting salary for chemists
with a bachelor's degree is $25,000-per-year; $31,000-per-year for those
with a master's degree; and $45,600-per-year for Ph.D.s. Median starting
salary for a bachelor's-level chemical engineer is $42,000-per-year; $45,000-per-year
for a master's chemical engineer; and $57,800-per-year for a Ph.D. chemical
engineer. Median salaries are higher for experienced chemists and chemical
engineers.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Soap and Detergent Association
745 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
(212) 725-1262
Chemical Specialties Manufacturers Association
1913 Eye Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 872-8110
American Oil Chemists' Society
P.O. Box 3489
Champaign, IL 61826-3489
(217) 359-2344
WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW
Consumer product manufacturers employ chemists at all degree levels in
a variety of areas-for example, polymer chemistry, analytical chemistry,
organic chemistry, and pharmaceutical chemistry-to work on a variety of
products. Internships and summer jobs at consumer product development
companies are useful in deciding what types of developmental activities
interest you.
American Chemical Society, Education Division, 1155 Sixteenth Street,
NW, Washington, DC 20036; (202) 452-2113. Production of career material
was funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
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