Chemical & Engineering News has followed up on their earlier coverage of Bayer's West Haven Research Center shutdown with a new article (ACS membership/subscription
required to access link) focused on how Bayer Alumni, predominantly chemists, have fared over the past few months.
Several passages seemed particularly noteworthy. Regarding job prospects for chemists in Connecticut:
"Of the 28 Ph.D. chemists who had worked in the Bayer R&D center, 16 left for jobs at companies outside Connecticut, scattering to California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Colorado, and Canada. Three other Ph.D. chemists went to Bayer's German operations. The research associates, Bayer's term for bachelor's- and master's-level scientists, had better luck in Connecticut. At least 22 secured jobs at local drug or biotech companies. Another 17 ended up at firms across the Northeast and California, and a handful of others shifted to careers outside the lab."
It's no secret that having a good, pre-existing, professional network is a big help when job hunting. The article offered a few examples, including maintaining a weblog, participating in alumni networking groups, etc. Although writing a weblog can have its pitfalls, doing so has helped at least one Bayer Alum:
"[Derek] Lowe started working at Vertex Pharmaceuticals' Cambridge, Mass., site in July...A Vertex official contacted Lowe after reading his blog, called "In the Pipeline," where he occasionally updated readers about a side project dubbed "Vial Thirty-Three." His brand of scientific curiosity appears to be a match for Vertex."
The entrepreneurial spirit is also alive and well among BRC Alums. Several have launched consulting groups, scientific services companies, or joined promising startups.
"[Uday] Khire, meanwhile, is learning the ups and downs of starting a new business. Cheminpharma, the contract research company he founded in March, had a slow first three months, but it has since picked up some small projects from biotech companies. Khire has hired two former Bayer colleagues: a research associate who is working full-time and another who is working part-time. "I'm missing that regular week-to-week paycheck, but it's exciting," Khire says. Within the next year, he hopes to expand the relationship with biotech firms and to establish new relationships with big pharma."
Perhaps the most interesting line in the article is this one:
"Though they couldn't have imagined it last November, all the chemists C&EN talked to say they are happier in their new situations."
While not all alums have found their next positions yet, the morale at alumni events has been very high, and most seem to have found ways to reinvent their careers in interesting and exciting ways. For those who are still looking for the right opportunity, the BRC Alums network seems ready to help:
"And despite scattering far and wide, they have maintained a strong network of former colleagues. Rudolph frequently sends e-mail updates to a list of West Haven alumni, and they also keep track of one another through professional networking sites such as LinkedIn. Staying in touch helped colleagues provide each other with practical and emotional support during the job search. "I don't think I've ever known such a big, happy, dysfunctional family," Kramss says."
Many thanks go to Chemical & Engineering News, and especially their correspondent, Lisa Jarvis, for their continued strong coverage of the BRC Alums.
Links to original C&EN articles (ACS membership or C&EN subscription required to access the links):
- Lisa M. Jarvis, "New Horizons: Former Bayer Chemists Find a Haven Within the Walls of Biotech Companies." November 12, 2007, Chemical & Engineering News, 85:46, pp. 36-38.
- Lisa M. Jarvis, "Pharmaceutical Diaspora: Highly Experienced Bayer Chemists Encounter Challenging Job Market." April 16, 2007, Chemical & Engineering News, 85:16, pp. 27-30.
The Bayer Research Community Alumni website was mentioned in the April 16, 2007 issue of Chemical & Engineering News (a subscription is required to access 
