These figures, too, are in line with the results from last year's ACS survey. Recently Starting Salaries Salaries offered to chemistry graduates in the class of 1998 were up, if only modestly, from starting salaries obtained by the class of '97. Graduates who had a year or more of work experience before being awarded their degrees generally garnered higher salaries than those with little or no work experience. That is a considerably more favorable record than earlier in the 1990s. Between 1990 and 1996, starting salaries earned by new chemists actually lost ground when measured against changes in the cost of living.
Chemical engineers earn more, as a rule, than chemists.
Although most of last year's graduates who went looking for employment found it, the job market seemed less than robust. The typical chemist or chemical engineer had only one to two offers, although those with doctorates did slightly better. Chemists and chemical engineers with a doctorate had to search a bit longer, typically taking five to six months to find a suitable position. ACS Survey Results from the most recent ACS survey are based on responses from nearly 5000 chemists and more than 1000 chemical engineers living in the United States. The survey was conducted by Mary W. Jordan, senior research analyst in the ACS Department of Career Services for the Society's Committee on Economic and Professional Affairs.