My friend just lost her job as an Analytical Chemist.

[miskie]

Has to be. In power generation, the position of Plant Chemist has recently been the top paying and most recruited job. All I can say is that if after 8 years of training/school this friend of the primitive really missed the boat and has wasted her Master's Degree at some low wage water tester position with the city/county waste water treatment plant. Probably in Detroit.

That is probably on the mark - Analytic Chemistry isn't always lab coats and clean rooms. Sometimes its checking water purity, paint viscosity or beer quality. - So, yeah.. The primitive's friend may have had a 'burger flipper' job in the chemistry world.

[Carl]

From the thread some hints at the rest of the story (RIP Paul Harvey)

Response to HughBeaumont (Original post)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 09:34 AM

joeglow3 (5,859 posts)
12. Not near enough information in your post

We just let three people go (Manager of finance, Senior Analyst and Analyst), ranging in ages from 24-64. All three of them were for performance related issues and we spent over a year in remediation programs to help them improve. They failed to do that and were let go, with a very lengthy paper trail documenting it.

I am guessing that is the case, from the tone of your post. That is about the only way I know that someone would be forced to go back to college after losing their jobs. All the people I know who have had their position eliminated in well educated fields that the one you mention have found jobs within a year. She has very unique skills that are desirable. So long as she was not terminated with cause, she should have little problem finding work. In the meantime, I hope she has a good network of family and friends (clearly she has a good friend in you) who can help her through this low time. Have confidence that she can prevail and come out stronger. She needs the extra boost right now.

Good luck

Response to joeglow3 (Reply #12)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 09:47 AM

 HughBeaumont (21,280 posts)
22. Reduction in Force, definitely not performance-related.

Response to HughBeaumont (Original post)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 11:05 AM

Amishman (23 posts)
50. GSK?

That's terrible 

Your friend worked for Glaxo Smith Kline? I know they cut about 1,000 people in the past few weeks, and most of them are in their R&D dept.

Response to Amishman (Reply #50)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 11:52 AM

 HughBeaumont (21,280 posts)
61. Not sure what company, GSK or Poly One. I can find out.

What she does have is a friend list who works fast. Several people are already looking into GE and other places.

I only hope she doesn't have to move.

And here it is...

Response to Amishman (Reply #50)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 01:17 PM

Patiod (11,652 posts)
73. They're consolidating in the Philadelphia area

I was under the impression they were offering to help people relocate? Maybe not. I do know they're expanding their R&D here.

The big problem is that Big Pharma is cutting back R&D -- a lot of these companies have chosen to just buy promising new companies rather than do their own in-house research. And it's not an unreasonable decision - It's just getting too insanely expensive to shepherd a new drug from initial research through clinical trials to market. Too many drugs don't make it.

There are incubator companies popping up in San Francisco, San Diego, Boston and New York, but the cost of living is high and job security kind of sucks.
http://massbiomed.org/the-lists-34-biotech-and-pharma-incubators-find-out-where-life-science-innovations-are-hatched

Now why would that be DUmbass?

[Big Dog]

Hey now.

I said "rare", not "nonexistent". You're covered.

 

[obumazombie]

I had a pastor once tell me that an expert was someone who knew more and more, about less and less, until pretty soon they knew everything about nothing!

KC

X is the sum of nothing
Spurt is a drip under pressure.
Put them together and what do you get ?

[BannedFromDU]

I said "rare", not "nonexistent". You're covered.

 

     I'da replied sooner, but I was in the can and the door was hard to open back up again.

    ^5

[BlueStateSaint]

     I'da replied sooner, but I was in the can and the door was hard to open back up again.

    ^5

 

You owe me a new monitor--too much coffee on this one.  H5!

[Big Dog]

     I'da replied sooner, but I was in the can and the door was hard to open back up again.

    ^5

 

"Doctor? Doctor? Are you OK in there?"


Edited to add: High five!