The report of the 2nd Employment Survey for European Chemists (ESEC2) has just been published. The report, prepared by Reiner Salzer, Chair of the ECTN Label Committee and in cooperation with the European Chemical Society, analyses data received in 2017, from a total of 2754 chemists and chemical engineers and delves into the employment conditions and career opportunities for chemists in Europe. The report is freely available in Chemistry, a ChemPubSoc journal.
The ESEC2 is based on the experience of the first European employment survey (ESEC1) which was carried out in 2013, although both the questionnaire and the technology have been much reworked. The figures take a look at a variety of aspects, including education levels, career planning, job satisfaction, employment sectors and salaries. The conditions and opportunities are individually analysed for all countries with a stastistically significant number of responses. The results in turn provide important clues for careers in these countries, and in Europe as a whole. This is the first general evaluation of the survey and provides many details about the chemistry workforce in Europe and its development.