WHO’D be a scientist? Plagued by a public perception that they are geeky eccentrics who spend their days torturing animals, destroying the environment or inventing things that go bang, scientists have also had to contend with glo-balisation squeezing the life out of their industries, swingeing cuts in research spending and a consequent tightening of the jobs market.

Little wonder then that students are far less likely to study science at A level than they were 15 years ago. Nevertheless, there are signs that science is staging a recovery. Slimmed-down chemical industries are returning with renewed vigour, biotechnology is booming and, for the first time in many years, the number of A-level science students has begun to increase.

“There are a lot of opportunities in science at the moment,” says Joanna Woolf, chief executive of Cogent, the sector skills council for the chemical, pharmaceutical, oil, nuclear and polymer industries. “The nuclear industry has had a rebirth with the prospect of rebuilding and that’s presenting exciting opportunities for science-based careers from apprentice level right the way through to postgraduate, second degree and beyond.

“The chemicals industry has had to reduce in scale. But, as a result, it’s become a lot leaner and meaner and more competitive. And of course the new sciences, such as biotechnology, are very exciting.”

Woolf, who began her career as an apprentice engineer before taking a degree and working in the oil and chemical industries, has no hesitation in recommending science as a profession.

“I’ve worked in engineering roles, in management positions and from there [moved] into the business and commercial side, then on to director level and now I’m doing something quite different again,” she says. “So I’ve had an extremely rewarding career with a breadth of opportunities.”

Russell Oakley, the office manager at CK Science, a recruitment agency, says that the jobs market is looking healthier than it has done for years.

“We are seeing a lot of growth in the food science and environmental industries,” he says. “The pharmaceutical industry is always recruiting and we have recently seen an upturn in what’s left of the chemical industry. There are also a few start-up companies at the moment doing research in areas such as cell technology and biotechnology. A lot of them seem to be doing really well.”

Despite the advent of voca-tional scientific qualifications, the industry still holds the traditional pure sciences in high esteem, Oakley says.

“For instance, people with chemistry qualifications and experience are always in demand. If you have an environmental science degree then clearly you are qualified to work in environmental science. But if you have a chemistry degree and experience working in industry, you will be highly placeable across a broad range of industries.”

Indeed, the demand for good-quality science applicants is becoming increasingly fierce as the shortage of new graduates, combined with an ageing workforce, has resulted in some significant skills gaps.

“At the most skilled end of the market there is a shortage, which means that companies — and research departments in universities — are currently having to recruit from overseas,” says Richard Pike, chief executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

He predicts that scientists, and chemists in particular, will take an increasingly prominent role in the industries of the future. “Resolution of the key issues facing the world — energy, the environment, sus-tainability, health, medicine and water provision — will all be underpinned by chemistry,” he says.

After all, if you are trying to find an answer to global warming, who are you going to call? A lawyer?

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