I'll try to make this brief.

My son graduated with a Chemistry BS 3 years ago.  He was hired at an environmental lab a few weeks after graduating.  Compensation was shit and still is, but he knew he had to pay his dues.  We let him live at home and he paid off his student loans in 2.5 years. He's unusual for millennial. He shows up on time, does what he's told, and stays until his work is done. He's even been going in on the weekends because his department is short staffed.

He's been at the same company since graduating and is now an Analytical Chemist II.  The company has a high turnover and my guess is because of the compensation and leadership at the top. He told me that 3 department heads have moved on in the last 6 months.  He's asked for a pay increase, but the GM just ignores his request.  I told him they don't care if you stay or go, so do what's in your best interest.  We have the 5th highest cost of living in the country.  The median 1 bedroom is $1650 and you need about $62k to afford it. I think he needs to get out of  environmental labs and possibly the Portland Metro area, but that's his decision.

Here's where I could use some guidance.  Companies and recruiters are reaching out to him and he's getting interviews, but they are for comparable positions at the same pay or less.  I've been in sales 40 years and he's made it clear he has no desire to try that path.  He loves chemistry and being in a lab.  

Any pointers or direction I can pass on?  I know nothing about his industry.  I won't tell him what to do.  He's an adult, but I would like to give him some tools to help in the job hunting process.

Thanks

UPDATE: 6/2/22 I come in contact with a lot of tech companies in my line of work.  I passed several company names on to him to inquire about opportunities.  He just accepted a great offer with one of them working in their R&D department under a staff scientist.

It's an outstanding opportunity.  I'm proud of him for getting outside his comfort zone.

In hindsight I would recommend a gig with the Federal Government early on. Either Fed civilian or go into the service.

ETA usajobs.gov

Good jobs as a chemist in Industry need a minimum of a masters. Really good jobs expect a PhD.

Working as a Chemist with a BS - you are likely to be a useful grunt.

I don't have a degree. I needed 8 hours of German to finish it. No regrets. People with your sons' knowledge make GREAT business owners. I started from scratch in a low tech industry, revolutionized it, put lots of companies out of business and retired at fifty. IT CAN be done. Your son knows things that only appx. 1% of the genpop understands. ANY type of "cleaner" for the racing industry, any type of "lubricant" for the homeowner and so on and so on.

What does he really want to do with his career?  If he wants to stay in a lab and do anything more than routine lab work, he's going to have a harder time with only the BS in chemistry.  He could move up faster if he wants to be a supervisor.    

That being said it's not impossible to move up, just more difficult.  He'll need a champion or two in the organization to go to bat for him and push against the HR morons.  Companies with HR departments will have policies that will, at minimum, give preference to, but usually require advanced degrees (masters, doctorates) for senior/individual contributors in laboratory roles.  But these are just policies and exceptions can be made, if someone with enough seniority pushes hard enough.  If he doesn't have anyone willing to do that in his current organization then he needs to move on.

For background, I work in pharmaceutical manufacturing as a process engineer.  I have a degrees in biology and electrical engineering.  I've worked on the bench in QC labs and as a tech in production labs.  While I was working on the EE degree my manager was promoted and took me with him so I started working in an engineering role before I had an engineering degree.  HR tried to block the move but my boss went to bat for me.    

This is the dark secret of STEM.
At the undergrad level,
Engineering will be the best entry jobs but has a moderate ceiling.
Physical Sciences are a crap shoot.
Life sciences even worse.

We have moved from a production, manufacturing, and hands on/in lab tech economy to a sales/financial services/off shore manufacturing/ and hands off/comp economy.

If they don’t want to put those brains to work in business/sales/finance,
They need a doctorate.

Which still tops out at a moderate income like engineering.

Would he enjoy field technician type work?  Visiting customer sites, running chemistry, interacting with a customer, troubleshooting chemistry issues?  PM me, if so.

Yea this, there are some good and rewarding routes that way.  That said, this has to be his initiative, not yours.  It has to be his drive, and he has to be the one to engage, chase, have the desire, and have the vision - not you.  Not trying to be mean.  But it sounds to me like he's fine with just his BS and living low-income/low-wage/low-career; for what he wants in life.  And that's OK.

In general, the first thing he needs to do is get the heck out of the analytical lab, and at least get into an R&D group lab.  But the real money and autonomy for a BS chemist is what WWolfe is saying.  But hurdle #1 for any route past entry level chemist, is people-skills.  And yes, that often may mean some level of sales interaction.

He does want to get into an R&D group lab, but is having no luck.   He's motivated and I know he's not happy living low income.  He wants to get out on his own and have a life.

Like I said, I won't tell him what to do. He's an adult and this is his life,  but he does ask for suggestions.  He has that perfectionist mentality and I think he worries too much about making a mistake.


WWolfe,
I will ask him about being a field tech.  Thanks

On a side note my wife's father was a fairly well know chemist, in the water purification industry.  If I remember correctly he had 14 patents related to ion exchange and resins.

A little off the wall and not sure what's required but maybe check out city HazMat teams. There is almost always a chemist on the team.

eta: also look at electric/gas utilities. There are usually chemists on their environmental teams.

Emailed you

Meh.  If he goes fed civi he will need to say no.  No weekends, no ot, no to fixing others screwups.  Even  in a gs 9 physical science position.

@jdad if you emailed me, it hasn't come though.

This or go into sales. Chemical distribution etc. It is a good living. Bench chemists don't make any money. I used to employ a few.

Sorry, sent to WWolfe

One of my college buddies went this route with a BS in chemistry. Technical sales in a specialty industry. His job has entailed all of the above, he loves it and has had a long career.

That's the dilemma. Lab job with a bachelor's degree = lousy pay.

I said in response to a WWolfe post that a friend of mine does technical sales for a chemical company. It's different from "sales". Customer company (electronics, aerospace, automotive) needs a specific process. My friend's company makes the materials necessary... he goes in to analyze what the customer wants and which of his products will work best. He knows the chemistry inside out and customers rely on his knowledge.

I’m late to the party here, but I’ll still reply on the off chance OP will see this.

If your son loves the lab, he should consider a PhD program. Presumably he’s around 25 and that’s still young enough. PhD programs are free and pay a stipend, usually just enough to live on. Chemistry is not like engineering where a BS or MS is meaningful.

The place where that is not true is in the Federal Government. While he might start out as a GS-9 to GS-11, there is no barrier to him reaching GS-15 or SES. He would have to leave the lab to advance however, just like most scientists.

@Ohio_Bill echos my thoughts.  I can probably guess the company you are referring to.  Lab work = low wages.  

Technical sales is not "used car" sales.  But it has a big sales component - you still need to be an effective communicator and be very driven to succeed.  I've been in tech sales for 30+ years.  And I HATE sales people.  But I'm one of them.  Go figure.  It's a great way to grow your own character and skillset.  But, it can be frustrating early-on, for an introvert like me, and many technical people.

I've passed on the info. Thank you to all.  It is appreciated.

I've been in sales just about my entire career.  I'm retiring at the end of June. My son is introverted and just doesn't understand how I am able to start a conversation with anyone or make a cold call.  I know him well enough that he doesn't have the mindset to build a customer base from scratch.  It takes a certain drive and tenacity to start from zero every month and/or being mainly compensated by commission.

He is interviewing outside his comfort zone now. He understands the limitations of being a bench grunt.   I think he would do well in a sales support or field tech position, but he has to make the choice.

I was a total introvert when I started in tech sales.  Mostly service, but had a small sales goal.  Then moved into more of a sales role.  It's really good for us introverts to get forced out of our shell.  It can be a source of stress, but I did NOT want to be a "technician" in this world.  I knew it was good for me to learn how to communicate better and connect with people.  I think it's fair to say I changed a LOT from being shy/introverted to randomly talking to people.  My son commented on that the other day "how do you just go talk to someone?".  The answer is PRACTICE.

Let's hope he finds something that's both rewarding - personally and financially!

PM’d.