The chemical industry has long been known as one of the most worker friendly of the manufacturing industries. While workers in many factories toiled at repetitive tasks under often noisy, hot, and dirty conditions, chemical workers enjoyed more challenging jobs with higher interest levels in cleaner environments. Chemical workers have been among the most highly skilled and educated of the technicians. These trends have continued, making jobs in the chemical industry among the most lucrative and sought after.
The chemical industry is large and very complex. Although most of us think of chemicals in the context of household chemicals or pharmaceuticals, the chemical industry consists of a wide range of consumer products and a wide range of industrial products used in manufacturing everything from the outer coatings that protect spaceships to the miniaturized computer components that direct the course of a submarine.
The Department of Labor divides the chemical industry into seven categories. The statistics it collects describe the number and size of companies, current employment picture, and employment outlook in the chemical industry within each of these categories. They are:
Soaps, detergents and cleaning preparations: These are end products used by consumers and businesses.
Industrial inorganic chemicals: These chemicals are used in the manufacturing process. Most often they are used to quicken, regulate the temperature of, or in some other way alter a necessary chemical action that is part of the industrial process. As such, they are not a component of the manufactured product but are manufacturing tools, the equivalent of a megawatt Bunsen burner, a refrigerator or hammer, or anything that is used in the manufacturing process that does not become part of the product. These chemicals are largely minerals, salts, or metals.
Paints, varnishes, lacquers and allied products: These chemicals are end products and are used by and sold to consumers, manufacturers, and businesses.
Agricultural chemicals: Agriculture uses a wide range of chemicals from pesticides to fertilizers to feed enhancers. These are supplied as final products to farmers and ranchers, landscapers, and homeowners.
Industrial organic chemicals: Organic chemicals are those that are primarily made of carbon, coming from a once living organism. These include the forms of fossil fuels like petroleum and natural gas. These chemicals become part of manufactured products such as plastics, dyes, and pharmaceuticals.
Plastics, materials, and synthetics: These materials make products to be used in the manufacturing process.
Miscellaneous chemical products: This conglomerate category includes a variety of consumer and manufacturing products; anything not covered by the categories listed above.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
The chemical industry employed about 827,000 people in 1992. These positions can be located in any part of the country. However, about half of the chemical manufacturing facilities are concentrated in the regions of heaviest manufacturing and industrial port activity: the Great Lakes, near automotive industries, near electronics industries in the West, and near natural gas production in the South. California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, and New York had the heaviest concentrations of chemical manufacturing.
Over one-fourth of chemical manufacturing positions are with large companies that employ more than 1,000 people. The majority of positions are found in smaller firms, but this pattern varies depending on the category of the chemical industry. Statistics from the Department of Labor detailing the size of establishments in the chemical industry are listed below.
Interpreting these statistics shows that soaps and cleansers had the largest number of establishments, other than miscellaneous. However, they employed only 62 employees on average. Plastics, with the smallest number of establishments, employed the largest number of people on average, 169 per establishment.
THE CHEMICAL TECHNICIAN
The sophistication of chemical products and the increasing sophistication of what were always complex manufacturing processes call for a higher level of worker skill than found in most manufacturing industries. They also mean generally better working conditions and higher salaries.
The responsibilities of the chemical science technician require knowledge of laboratory instrumentation and techniques and computers. The technician might work in industrial research developing or testing new products, helping to put new products to use, or evaluating their performance in the field. Chemical technicians work in manufacturing ensuring the quality of chemical products or maintaining the instruments and machines used in the production process. Technicians are expected to be knowledgeable and well trained, working with little supervision or direction from supervisors.
Skills Required of the Chemistry Technician
Jobs for the chemistry lab technician will vary according to the exact position and the industry. However, there is a body of skills that are common to most jobs:
- Conducts chemical and physical laboratory tests on products or materials
- Analyzes test data
- Sets up laboratory equipment and instrumentation required for tests
- Documents results of tests and analysis
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania State
Civil Service Commission
Employees conduct standardized chemical tests on materials such as food, sewage, water, air, fertilizers, and similar materials to identify and analyze chemical compounds; participate in field studies to collect and preserve test samples; and prepare various solutions and reagents and samples for chemical testing. Work is assigned by a professional supervisor who provides guidance and reviews work for quality and accuracy.
Within the Pennsylvania state civil service, chemical technician jobs are found in the Departments of Environmental Resources, Agriculture, and Transportation and with the State Police.
A classified advertisement also outlines what is expected for applicants seeking a chemical technician position. A typical advertisement might read:
Company X is the largest supplier of safety equipment in the world, working on leading edge technologies for trace gas detection. Currently, we seek a Senior Tech, and Applications Chem Tech. Performing hands-on work for applications engineers in a lab environment, you'll set up, conduct, and analyze experiments. We require a 2-year degree in chemistry or equivalent; working knowledge of microcomputers; background in analytical or physical chemistry; and lab work related to qualifying instruments and gas sensing applications. We prefer familiarity with gas sensing devices and gas handling as well as solid lab experience.
Work Environment
Although working with certain chemicals may pose health hazards, chemical manufacturing is among the safest of the manufacturing industries. The potential danger involved keeps everyone in the industry on their toes and conscious of maintaining a safe environment and procedure. The rigorous regulations to which chemical manufacturers must comply virtually ensure that work environments in the industry are notably clean and particularly safe.
Chemical technicians may be employed as quality control experts in factories. Here they may supervise manufacturing processes to ensure that the optimal conditions for the manufactured chemical product are consistently maintained. Consistent quality checking of the final product may also be the responsibility of the chemical technician.
Industries that use chemical reactions in their manufacturing process or produce a chemical byproduct may also employ chemical technicians in quality control or environmental safety positions. They would maintain responsibility for monitoring and evaluating the chemical components of the process.
Most chemical technician work is laboratory work. Developing new and better chemical products or finding improved, more cost-efficient manufacturing processes are ongoing industrial concerns. The chemical technician plays a key role in these processes. Assisting scientists and engineers, the chemical technician can be an integral part of the discovery and invention processes.
Chemical technicians involved in environmental concerns may have to work in the field collecting air, water, or soil samples. This might require travel, perhaps overnight.
Compensations and Related Benefits
The median wage for employees in the chemical industry as a whole was $31,600 in 1993, as reported by the Department of Labor. Different segments of the industry reported different salary ranges. The highest paying industry was industrial chemicals (averaging $34,100). The lowest was soaps and cosmetics (averaging $24,900).
Salary averages for positions within the chemical industry also varied widely. The salary scale ranged to a high average of $49,200 for professional specialists, the category which would include scientists and engineers with four-year and advanced degrees. The low end of the salary range was for the operators, fabricators, and laborer category. Entry-level jobs in this category may require only a high school degree. Advancement in this category occurs through experience, on-the-job training, and mastery of work skills.
The technician and related support category averaged $35,600 in compensation. For technicians, the average starting salary was about $17,000, with the average technician's range being about $20,000 to $30,000. This category would include most workers with associate degrees or the equivalent in college courses and experience. Others with a technical background and education may be found in the precision production category.
Salary ranges for civil service employees in chemical technician positions in Pennsylvania in 1995 ranged from about $21,000 to $33,000, depending on experience level and number of hours per week worked.
Employment Opportunities
Two occupational categories accounted for more than half of workers employed in the industry in 1992. Overall employment in the chemical industry is expected to decrease by 4 percent from 1992 to 2005. Three of the six categories of occupations will decrease substantially. Three will increase. A summary of these statistics from the Department of Labor follows.
Like other manufacturing industries, the decreases in employment opportunities are expected to result from increased automation and increased foreign competition. It is also very important to note that, like other industries, the decreases in employment will be primarily in unskilled labor. Opportunities in research and development are expected to continue to expand. Technical and technician opportunities in the chemical industry are expected to increase.
Educational Qualifications
Some entry-level jobs in chemical manufacturing can be obtained with a high school diploma. There is, however, little opportunity for advancement or employment in positions with more responsibility without a two-year technical school degree or two years of college education that includes coursework in chemistry.
The types of jobs for which the technical degrees in chemical science serve as good preparation are found throughout the industry.
Chemical Science Technology Community College of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Introduction to Chemistry Introduction to Electronics English Composition 1 Report Writing
Mathematics for Technologies 1 Mathematics for Technologies 2 Fundamentals of Microprocessors Introduction to Digital Electronics Scientific and Industrial Instrumentation Technical Physics 1
- Technical Physics 2
- Technical Computing
- Introduction to Analytical Techniques
- Electro-analytical Techniques
- Technical Organic Chemistry
- Spectrochemical Techniques
- Humanities Elective
- Social Science Elective
- General Elective
- Credits Required to Graduate-62
The modern-day miracles of the drug industry save the lives and relieve the suffering of countless people around the world every day. Scientists, science technicians, and engineers devote their talents to discovering the causes of disease and their cures, developing drugs that embody the cure, and producing the mechanisms to deliver the remedy to the human body. The drug industry is an industry devoted primarily to research and development as it grapples with finding cures for old diseases and ailments such as cancer and the common cold. Each generation also has new health problems to overcome. Extending the life expectancy, for example, has increased concern with the quality of life in old age and with the growing numbers of people suffering from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Modern lifestyles that depend on high levels of energy consumption, ease, and convenience leave us with problems associated with exposure to toxic wastes from nuclear energy plants and chemical contamination and additives in our food.
The process of bringing a new drug to the market where it can perform its miracle is long and arduous. Technicians have integral duties in each of these phases.
1. Research
Cause of disease-isolate agents that produce the symptoms
Potential cures for the disease improved cure for disease
Treatments that alleviate symptoms that may not cure Production methods
2. Discovery
New products
Improvements of existing products-more efficient and effective, fewer side effects
3. Animal and Laboratory Testing
4. Clinical Trials
Tests on humans
5. Investigation of Industrial Production
6. Reporting of Research Results
Review by other experts in the field is an essential part of all scientific research. With the development of new products, this research may be saved until the new product is close to the marketplace. This ensures the proprietary rights of the inventors.
The teams that tackle this process are composed of highly skilled and dedicated scientists, engineers, and technicians. Many of the opportunities available to technicians in the drug industry are similar to those in chemical manufacturing. Because drugs are chemicals, it is not surprising that chemical and other science technicians can find many exciting, rewarding, and varied career opportunities. The primary sciences and technologies incorporated in the drug industry are in the category of life sciences. These include the biological sciences of bacteriology, biochemistry, botany, microbiology, pathology, physiology, toxicology, virology, and medical science. Organic, physical, radiologic, and analytical chemistry are also important in drug manufacturing. Although scientists working with drugs most often specialize in these areas, the beginning technician will be expected to have a general life science background. The technician may specialize as his or her career develops by working in a particular area for a long period of time and taking supplemental classes on the job or through a college or junior college.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
There were 256,000 people employed in drug manufacturing in 1992. They were employed in only 1,400 companies nationwide, with most of the jobs located in California, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Texas. Most of the companies are quite small. Approximately 89 percent of the firms employed fewer than 250 people. However, most of the people working in drug manufacturing are employed in large firms. The smallest 89 percent of firms employed fewer than 25 percent of the employees in drug manufacturing. The largest 11 percent of firms employed 75 percent of the workforce, almost 50 percent being in firms of more than 1,000 employees.
Overall, positions in drug manufacturing are expected to increase. Increasing consumer savvy and expectations concerning the power of drugs to enhance the quality of life will keep research and development dollars flowing into drug manufacturing. As with other industries, unskilled labor positions are being replaced by automation. Higher skilled occupations account for the increases in employment.
Already scientists and technicians account for 25 percent of the jobs in drug manufacturing. These categories are expected to grow at rates well above the overall growth rate of 15.9 percent expected for the industry from 1992-2005.
Professional specialty occupations, which include scientists, engineers, and computer systems analysts, are expected to increase 37.6 percent. Science and mathematics technician positions are expected to grow at a rate of 33.7 percent.
THE PHARMACEUTICAL TECHNICIAN
Like the science technician in the chemical industry, the drug manufacturing science technician, sometimes called a pharmaceutical technician, will be heavily involved in research and product development. This requires laboratory skills in setting up research experiments, recording results, analyzing data, and writing research reports. Science technicians in product development may be involved in creating prototype drugs and medications and in running laboratory tests with animals or clinical tests with human populations.
Another role of the science or engineering technician is to assist engineers and scientists in quality control. From the design stage, which involves finding a safe yet efficient and economical way to produce and package a drug, to quality control checks during the production process, very careful attention is paid to ensuring that equipment is clean, calibrated precisely, and always in peak operational condition. The very stringent requirements of quality control in drug manufacturing demands, that these functions are performed by experienced and knowledgeable technicians.
Working Conditions
The importance of cleanliness in the quality of control of medicines and drugs and the precise conditions required for handling chemicals and biological materials both contribute to drug manufacturing plants characterized by working conditions that are much more pleasant than those found in other manufacturing facilities.
Most of the science or engineering technician's work is located in laboratories. These are kept clean, air-conditioned, and ventilated, as would be required to conduct reliable experiments. Technicians working in production process design or quality control often will be required to work on the plant floor. Drug manufacturing plants are also clean, well-ventilated, air-conditioned, and quiet.
There is little physical effort required by any of the jobs in drug manufacturing other than maintenance and materials handlers. Despite handling potentially toxic chemicals and other substances, the emphasis on safety in drug manufacturing results in an injury rate of 5.7 cases per 100 full-time workers in 1992, far below the 12.5 percent of manufacturing as a whole.
Salary Expectations
The importance of drugs to health in this country and the high skill level of the workforce translates into high wages for workers in the industry. For production and nonsupervisory workers, the average salary in 1993 was $609 per week, about 66 percent higher than the average of $374 in all other industries.
Increasing demand for drug products brought on by people's expectations, the aging population, the growth of health insurance, and the advances being made in biotechnology will continue to drive the increases in employment for scientists, technicians, and engineers. This is also expected to fuel an increase in their respective salary levels as well.
Education and Training
The educational requirements for positions in drug manufacturing tend to be higher than for most other industries (except, perhaps, avionics). Employers will hire candidates with high school diplomas for entry-level production and maintenance jobs. These employees will be required to take college level and/or technical school courses for advancement to higher level production positions. Some of the higher level production jobs in drug manufacturing, often called operators have advanced to the level of experience and education required of technicians.
Technicians in the drug industry are nearly always required to have an associate's degree in one of the science technologies from a two-year or technical college or the equivalent of the two-year the technician category, there are often many grades and levels of technicians. Advancement through the levels depends on experience and further education. A common delineation among the levels is assistant technician, technician, senior technician, and technical associate. Beginning level technicians or assistant technicians may be supervised in their early years or months by technicians further up the job scale, rather than by scientists or engineers. Scientists and engineers are required to have bachelors' or higher degrees and often advance into management or senior research positions with experience and study.
Continuing education is very important in the drug industry. Advances in science and technology occur rapidly, and keeping up is essential to maintaining the highest quality and the most efficient production techniques. Very often further education is provided by the company, or tuition at colleges, universities, or technical schools is reimbursed in full or in part.
