Recently, there has been an increased emphasis on boosting STEM participation in the United States, including in chemistry. With a link between choice of major and career choice, it is crucial to understand how students perceive careers in chemistry if we are to encourage students to pursue careers in the chemistry field. In this study, qualitative methodology was utilized to explore the experiences of six undergraduate, senior-status chemistry, or biochemistry majors related to their understanding of chemistry careers. These participants engaged in semi-structured interviews and were asked questions pertaining to careers available to one with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry or biochemistry, what the day-to-day activities of those careers consisted of, and what resources they utilized to develop those perceptions. The theoretical frameworks of narrative inquiry and case study analysis were utilized. From interview transcripts, emergent coding techniques were utilized to develop narratives for each participant. From there, each narrative was used as a case study to find commonalities and differences in participant experiences. It was found that the participants were limited in their knowledge of what careers were available to someone with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and what those careers were like. Additionally, it was found that the participants did not have equal access to career resources. Suggestions are provided for chemistry departments to alleviate some of the mystery surrounding careers in chemistry. Limitations of the study and ideas for future work are also discussed.

Undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry majors’ perceptions of careers in chemistry

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.