What is graduate school for chemistry like

In My Humble Opinion
1

I don’t know if i’m smart or dedicated enough to get into grad school (i’d only go in for a masters, not a doctorate. And I might do it part time and take 3-4 years total to do it). I love chemistry mind you, its a fun, useful subject. Not that it matters since I wont graduate for 2 years or so. I don’t know, in some classes I excel and am in the top 20%, some i’m in the median, some i’m a little above the median, etc. So far I haven’t fallen below the median in any of the chemistry courses i’ve taken, but that may change over the years. I don’t know if i’m smart or dedicated enough I assumed you’d need to be in the top 30% consistently to be able to handle grad school. Then again I don’t know, this website says alot of chemistry majors are either pre-med or want to try for a doctorate. http://pubs.acs.org/cen/education/8047/8047education2.html

“According to the American Chemical Society 2001 Starting Salary Survey, almost half (47%) of bachelor’s graduates say they will continue with full-time studies. Taking away the number of chemistry majors who go to medical school, a very large proportion of chemistry grads head right into a chemistry Ph.D. program.”

If that is the case I don’t feel as stupid for being the median in my inorganic class. I just have little self confidence, I normally excel in academics but in chemistry I am either average or only somewhat above average, i’m not outstanding academically. If I study harder and smarter I can probably more or less consistenly be in the top 1/3 of the class, but I don’t know if I can get a B or higher in all 20 chemistry courses (I’ve only done 5 so far and am doing 2 right now, I got an A, A, A-, A-, B in those 5 but now that i’m in higher courses my grades will probably go down) requires for a BS in chem. If I did go in my limited chemistry experience I’d probably pick biochem or organic chem.

But what is grad school for chemistry like? Is the material harder than undergrad or just more copious? Do you need at least a B in all your undergrad classes to get in or just the courses that relate to the subject you want your graduate degree in? It sounds like a good way to weed out those who can’t handle grad school, but I don’t know if they go on CGPA or grades in your chemistry courses. Do other courses other than chemistry factor into getting into grad school?

Hmm, that website listed above says

“Almost 40% of chemists with doctorates are very satisfied with their educational experience, whereas only 22.6% of chemists with master’s degrees and 28.3% of chemists with bachelor’s degrees are very satisfied.” Boiling a complex issue down to satisfaction and money may not be graceful, but, nevertheless, it seems to work."
Job satisfaction is very important to me, and making an extra 10k a year with a M.S. degree over a B.S. degree (which is only 7k a year after taxes) in exchange for a lower job satisfaction rating doesn’t sound like a good deal. Most income increases for a lower job satisfaction rating aren’t worth it IMO, but thats just me.

I’m more or less rambling at this point. What my major points are that i’m not sure if i’m smart enough, dedicated enough, or want to try grad school for a MS in chemistry someday. I want to hear from people who have been there on what they think on the subject.

2

Hmm. well if a M.S. takes 2 years and a Doctorate takes 5 years maybe a doctorate is a good idea. Not back to back mind you, but a MS then go back for a PhD a few years later. My current inorganic professor took 8 years to get his Ph.D., 3 years for this MS and 5 years for his doctorate.

Honestly what is important to me is job satisfaction. I want to either like my job or not hate it. The world can be a really nice, beautiful place but if your job kills you inside then it can be really hard to enjoy it. I don’t know if graduate school will improve or lower my job satisfaction, and that is very important to me, even more important than income.

3

The only thing I can tell you for sure is that graduate students in science at my university (a Big 10) are tortured by their professors and, more often than not, give up without getting a degree. Graduate school for them is much, much more difficult than college was.

The opposite holds true for the school of humanities. In graduate school there, you have already made it through the weed-outs, and it’s time to learn something.

4

I’ve just finished applying to grad school in chemistry and will hopefully start next fall. My brother’s at MIT in a chem grad program and he seems to like it, although it is a lot of work. I’m not sure that an MS in chemistry is worth it, though. Most people have a BS or a PhD. I want a PhD, badly, although right about now, I’d just like my BS and to not have to finish taking Biochem, but well, you know.

5

What is wrong with an M.S.? I know alot of people just use it as a stepping stone to a Ph.D. but you’d assume it gives you some expertise and freedom in the chemical world.

The ACS website I listed said that the students weren’t too satisfied with the schooling and that an MS chem degree doesn’t pay much better . So you may be right on some levels.

I remember reading in my schools newspaper that about 1/2 of science MS degrees are people who started on PhD programs but either burnt out or couldn’t handle the workload and got out early with a MS.