Most Department of Chemistry graduates land their preferred job or graduate school

Date
04/16/20

After Elizabeth Murphy graduates from the Department of Chemistry next month, her next stop will be on the West Coast where she will pursue a PhD in polymeric materials chemistry at the University of California, Santa Barbara, as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.

The graduate program at UCSB was Murphy’s top choice to further her education and her long-term goal to secure a position as a research-and-development polymer chemist at a chemical manufacturing company.

Data just released in March from the most recent annual Illini Success survey shows that 91 percent of those who graduated with a bachelor's degree from the Department of Chemistry between August 2018 and May 2019 secured their first destination.

Like Murphy, half of those graduates are continuing their education, and another 41 percent entered the workforce and reported an average annual salary of $51,115. Of those in the workforce, 71 percent are working in Illinois.

Since August 2014, the Illini Success initiative has gathered data about the post-graduation pursuits of bachelor’s degree recipients at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The project tells the Illinois story of graduate successes, demonstrating a wide variety of paths and destinations, with high quality information, updated annually. This latest report provides information about bachelor’s degree graduates who graduated in August 2018, December 2018, and May 2019.

Murphy, who came to Illinois from the town of Libertyville, said the high level of collaboration between undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and professors on campus opened up meaningful opportunities for her to do undergraduate research, even as early as her freshman year, working in professor Paul Braun’s group at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, where she has continued working on the synthesis of a redox-active polymer brush.

“I entered knowing nothing. However, my graduate student mentor saw potential in me. I worked closely with her for the next two years learning laboratory techniques, scientific writing, and presentation skills,” Murphy said. “My mentor's patience, willingness to teach, and encouragement enabled me to gain the confidence to pursue a career in chemistry. My undergraduate research experience has shaped my career goals, research interests, and the entire way I approach chemistry. Now, I have committed to pursue a PhD at UCSB to work for a top polymer chemist.”

Murphy, who is also president of the American Chemical Society’s student chapter on campus, said the Department of Chemistry is unique because of its people.

“Everyone wants to see you succeed. I have found that undergraduates have a ‘we-are-all-in-this-together’ attitude in class,” Murphy explained. “Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are very willing to help me with research. My professors are extremely supportive of my research, community outreach efforts, and career goals. The Department of Chemistry and School of Chemical Sciences Career Services staff has been instrumental in making the ACS student chapter successful. I am very grateful to be a part of such a supportive community at UIUC.”

 

 

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