To any of the chem kids out there: Do you guys know how necessary it is to do grad school after going through Honours Chem? I'm kinda getting mixed opinions on it. Obviously you don't need to do grad school for anything, but how viable is it to go out into the workforce and get a decent job with just a B.Sc? Thanks as always guys. :p

Originally Posted by Zimonada

To any of the chem kids out there: Do you guys know how necessary it is to do grad school after going through Honours Chem? I'm kinda getting mixed opinions on it. Obviously you don't need to do grad school for anything, but how viable is it to go out into the workforce and get a decent job with just a B.Sc? Thanks as always guys. :p

From my limited knowledge of any of this, which again is probably quite limited, I would say a MSc or PhD will let rank up higher and all that sort of stuff, plus if you enjoy what you are doing, it cant really hurt to go to grad school

From what I've heard, chemistry majors generally make quite less than chemical engineers and graduate school is really emphasized if you are planning on a chemistry degree. I'm not really sure though, just what I've picked up.

It makes sense to go to a graduate level, because usually spots for chemistry-related fields are filled by engineers, and a B.Eng. is probably ranked higher than a B.Sc.

Originally Posted by Faer

B.Eng. is probably ranked higher than a B.Sc.

That's debatable as well, since only specific streams of both B. Eng and B.Sc. are more in demand than others..
But anyway, grad school is not necessary, for anyone. Getting a job after undergrad depends on a lot of things, where you're aiming to work, skills, grades, and most importantly, networking. Sure, your degree matters, but there are a lot of other things to consider as well. Honours Chem degrees aren't as popular as say, Honours Bio, or Psych. However, that also depends on what environment you want to work on. Also, keep in mind that anyone with a Master's would probably get a better job than someone with merely a BSc, just because of the fact that you'd be more experiences in your field after having done a 2-year degree on top of the 4 years that everyone else has.
Here's something you might want to look at. This too and note the different education levels in comparison to the job itself .

From what I've heard, it's fairly hard to get a job with just a B Sc. of Chem. If you don't have anything else that separates you from the crowd, you don't really have a chance to get a good job unless you have a graduate degree. It's more common in Chemistry to get a masters, as opposed to physics where you have to have a PH.D to get anywhere :s.

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

That's debatable as well, since only specific streams of both B. Eng and B.Sc. are more in demand than others..

I should have clarified - I meant, if a B.Eng in Chemical Engineering was applying to the same post as an B.Sc. Chemistry, the former might be given preference. It's just my opinion, though, I really have no experience or proof to back it up!

Originally Posted by Sheikia

From what I've heard, it's fairly hard to get a job with just a B Sc. of Chem. If you don't have anything else that separates you from the crowd, you don't really have a chance to get a good job unless you have a graduate degree. It's more common in Chemistry to get a masters, as opposed to physics where you have to have a PH.D to get anywhere :s.

It's interesting you say this for physics. My friend had told me that the Honours Physics program boasted a 99% employment rate after graduation.

Originally Posted by particle

It's interesting you say this for physics. My friend had told me that the Honours Physics program boasted a 99% employment rate after graduation.

nvm then lol.

Originally Posted by particle

It's interesting you say this for physics. My friend had told me that the Honours Physics program boasted a 99% employment rate after graduation.

maybe it's just that you need to have a PH.D in physics to be well respected in the field.



Or maybe I'm just watching too much Big Bang Theory...

Thanks guys, as usual. For anyone who's interested, I went to the Student Success Centre (I think, whatever the career services place is) and they pretty much said the same thing. A B.Sc. will suffice, but it significantly depends on where you're headed after you get out of school. So, it's back to researching I guess.

I'll change the question then, does anyone know anything about getting into forensics? My very limited knowledge tells me that there's a program at U of T and that the field is really difficult to get into, but besides that, I've got nothing.

Originally Posted by Zimonada

Thanks guys, as usual. For anyone who's interested, I went to the Student Success Centre (I think, whatever the career services place is) and they pretty much said the same thing. A B.Sc. will suffice, but it significantly depends on where you're headed after you get out of school. So, it's back to researching I guess.

I'll change the question then, does anyone know anything about getting into forensics? My very limited knowledge tells me that there's a program at U of T and that the field is really difficult to get into, but besides that, I've got nothing.

Haha that's exactly what I have been looking at doing. From the extensive research I've done on the subject, you only need a Hons. B Sc.(4 years) in any scientific area (ie. Bio, Chem, Physics etc.) for forensics. The most important thing for a job like that is experience and shadowing/training.

I applied for the special forensics program at U of T and got in, but after reading that you really only need a Hons B Sc. (and I even read something that discouraged doing any forensics specific programs because they said it was important to get the basic science knowledge and the employers really don't care about forensics programs) I decided I would much rather come to mac than go to Scarborough (it's at the scarborough campus, not st. George.) They said where you really learn the "forensics" techniques are through doing the actual work, and not at school.

From what I've read, the best bet in Canada for a forensics job is the RCMP. They are the ones that handle that kind of forensic work. In Canada it seems to be an almost strictly federal thing. In the states it tends to be more municipal (ie what you see on the TV shows like New York and LA)

Hope that helps

Originally Posted by particle

It's interesting you say this for physics. My friend had told me that the Honours Physics program boasted a 99% employment rate after graduation.

thats because theres only like 10 or so students, and they are all stellar students with excellent grades.

no one in their right mind would go into honors physics unless they were pretty good at it!

Originally Posted by jordan19

thats because theres only like 10 or so students, and they are all stellar students with excellent grades.

no one in their right mind would go into honors physics unless they were pretty good at it!

this is true