Monday, March 29, 2010

Job fair numbers from 2010 ACS Spring Conference

This past week, the 2010 ACS spring conference took place in San Francisco. The numbers reported to the ACS Council about the associated job fair were as follows:

40 employers seeking applicants
116 positions available 
1018 job seekers

As nasty as those numbers sound, I'll bet that's not more than a standard deviation or two above the mean. Then again, I don't have much to compare with, other than last year's spring numbers (32 employers, 176 positions, 524 applicants.) I suspect the geographical location (SF vs. Salt Lake City) has much to do with the increased number of employers and job seekers.

Good luck out there!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Come on, come on, get better: March unemployment numbers

The latest unemployment numbers from BLS came out about a week ago and there wasn't much to celebrate. The official unemployment rate (U3) was unchanged at 9.7% and the broadest measure of unemployment (U6, including those who are part-time but wish to be full-time, the discouraged, etc.) actually crept up to 16.8% from 16.5%.

In other tough signs, the number of workers who have been unemployed for over 26 weeks remains extraordinarily high. Let's hope this all changes.

(Once again, thanks to the indispensable Calculated Risk.)

Daily (?) Pump Trap: 3/16/10 edition

Good evening! There have been 140 new positions posted from March 2 until March 16 on the ACS Careers website. Of these positions, 34 (25%) are academically connected and none are from our friends at Kelly Scientific. (Did we scare them off?)

Super Top Secret Chemist/Engineer needed: Boeing needs a engineer to work on lithium-ion battery systems. You need all sorts of clearance. Good luck, scientist 007.

And the mountains!: SensoPath Technologies is looking for B.S./M.S. synthetic organic chemists to work on sensory technologies in beautiful Bozeman, Montana.

A purifying position: Pall Corporation is looking for a Ph.D. analytical chemist (~1 year of experience) to work on their ultrapure filtration systems.

Gilead: Gilead Sciences is looking for multiple positions (including lots of B.S./M.S. organic chemists). Good news, even though they've been hiring like crazy over the past 2 years, it seems.

Chemjobber C&EN Index: 3/8/10

Industrial positions (non-academic, non-governmental):
Total number of ads: 3
- Postdocs: 0
- Permanent positions: 3

- Ratio of US/non-US: 3/0
Area: 68
Week to week Index trend: Down.


Governmental positions (US, international):
Total number of ads: 1

- Postdocs: 0
- Permanent positions: 1

- Ratio of US/non-US: 1/0
Area: 53
Week to week Index trend: Down.

  
Academic positions:

Total number of ads: 10
- Postdocs: 1+
- Tenure-track faculty: 4

- Temporary faculty: 3
- Lecturer positions: 1
- Staff positions: 1
- Ratio of US/non-US positions: 10+/0

- Area (square cm): 393
Week to week Index trend: Down.

Nope: 3 ads this week. If there's a spring thaw coming (and I actually suspect there might be), it's not showing up in the pages of C&E News. 


Small college of the week: Missouri Southern State University (Joplin, MO, student population: 4,861 - SA-LUTE!) is looking for a tenure track professor of organic chemistry. Other subjects to be taught include gen. chem., organic, biochemistry and solid state structural engineering (okay, kidding about that last.) Looks like they'll accept degreed candidates or ABDs; best of luck, folks! 

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Chemjobber C&EN Index: 3/1/10

Industrial positions (non-academic, non-governmental):
Total number of ads: 4
- Postdocs: 1
- Permanent positions: 10

- Ratio of US/non-US: 11/0
Area: 301
Week to week Index trend: Down.


Governmental positions (US, international):
Total number of ads: 2

- Postdocs: 0
- Permanent positions: 2+

- Ratio of US/non-US: 2+/0
Area: 348
Week to week Index trend: Up.

  
Academic positions:

Total number of ads: 9
- Postdocs: 2
- Tenure-track faculty: 5

- Temporary faculty: 1
- Lecturer positions: 1
- Staff positions: 0
- Ratio of US/non-US positions: 8/1

- Area (square cm): 581
Week to week Index trend: Up,.

Does Millenium count?: If no, then there's 3 ads. If yes, there are plenty of positions there. Hmmm.


What's that about?: Sharp-eyed reader T.E. notes that the industrial postdoc with Cytec (that is located in Stamford, CT) desires fluency in Mandarin Chinese ("preferred, but not essential.") What does that say about a company, huh?

Small college of the week: Gordon College (Wenham, MA, student population:1,648 - SA-LUTE!) is looking for a tenure-track position in physical chemistry. The college is a member of the "elite Annapolis Group" -- sounds like a good position for someone...

Chemjobber C&EN Index: 2/22/10

Industrial positions (non-academic, non-governmental):
Total number of ads: 6
- Postdocs: 1
- Permanent positions: 7

- Ratio of US/non-US: 7/1
Area: 163
Week to week Index trend: Down.


Governmental positions (US, international):
Total number of ads: 0

- Postdocs: 0
- Permanent positions: 0

- Ratio of US/non-US: 0/0
Area: 0
Week to week Index trend: Flat.

  
Academic positions:

Total number of ads: 10
- Postdocs: 2++
- Tenure-track faculty: 6+

- Temporary faculty: 3
- Lecturer positions: 0
- Staff positions: 0
- Ratio of US/non-US positions: 10++/1+

- Area (square cm): 446
Week to week Index trend: Up, slightly.

Nope, nada: Okay, there are a couple few ads, but nothing much, unless you count XEUS!


Bubble, anyone?: So what's the deal with all of these Chinese universities? I really get the feeling that they're just hiring people willy-nilly. Check out this ad from "East China University of Science and Technology" -- they're hiring folks for "biomolecular, bioprocess, bioproduct and biosystems engineering" for the State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering. I have no idea what that means, but it smells awfully "omics" to me. 

Small college of the week: Fort Hays State University (Hays, KS, student population: 8,500 - SA-LUTE!)    is looking for a tenure-track position in physical, general education and entry-level chemistry courses. Sounds like fun to me, especially if you'd like to spend some time in (as it's called) Hays, America.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Daily Pump Trap: 3/1/10 edition

Good morning and happy March! Between February 25 and March 1st, there have been 24 new positions posted on the ACS Careers website. Of these, 13 (54%) are academically connected and 0 are from Kelly Scientific Resources.

OK Chemist needed: ConocoPhillips needs an analytical R&D manager (PhD preferred + 5 years exp.) for its Bartlesville, OK facility.

MN Chemist needed, too: 3M is looking (at ACS San Fransisco!) for a Ph.D. polymer/organic chemist. Looks to be a good position for someone. Difficult to tell if they're looking for one or more. 

Connecticut: Cytec is looking for an industrial postdoc with an emphasis in "Physical Chemistry/Mineral Processing/ Colloid and Interface Science. Basic knowledge of Colloid and Interface Science, Analytical, Organic and Polymer Chemistry." This is to be in the Mining and Phosphine Chemicals Department.

And, finally, India: Nalco is hiring a Ph.D. scientist to work in Pune, India on polymer research. Looks/sounds fun!