Chemists get a doctorate
“Chemists get a doctorate! If you don’t like that, drop out!” First-year students are still greeted with such words. Is that still up to date? 25 years after the Bologna reform was signed, are Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees still not established as professional qualifications in chemistry?
Companies prepared to break with the traditions surrounding doctorates will probably compete more strongly with doctoral mothers for Master's graduates.
The doctorate rate in chemistry in Germany was 85 percent in 2023. Anyone looking to start a career with a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree is still swimming against the tide. Despite the stronger theoretical foundation, employers usually equate Bachelor’s graduates with chemical technical assistants.
The only jobs in the private sector where a doctorate is almost indispensable are responsible positions in research. Nevertheless, a doctorate in chemistry – in contrast to virtually all other disciplines – is often accepted as a God-given constant. With a Master’s degree and four years of experience in industry, you are at least as well qualified for most jobs as a doctorate-holding newcomer.
How do you get your foot in the door without a doctorate? A classic chicken-and-egg situation, you might think. However, the job market is currently shifting: the shortage of skilled workers that has long been lamented nationwide is only now impacting chemistry due to the high number of students. Companies prepared to break with the traditions surrounding doctorates will probably compete more strongly with doctoral mothers for Master’s graduates. First-year students will likely hear more and more: “We hope that you will stay with us after your studies to do a doctorate.”
If you want to start your career directly after your Bachelor’s degree, then let your boss know that you would like to perform tasks beyond everyday laboratory work and are prepared to train for this.
If you want to start your career directly after your Master’s degree, you should be aware that employers in Germany traditionally like to portray themselves as elitist in job advertisements. So don’t take everything literally. If you work out why you already have the necessary qualifications, you show that you have understood which attributes and characteristics are essential in everyday working life. This is a good showcase of your ability to research information.
This article was first published in Nachrichten aus der Chemie (issue 06-2024). See here the German original.