cen.acs.org

The great COVID-19 career rethink

Pfizer readies its next-generation COVID-19 antiviral A few key molecular tweaks help ibuzatrelvir overcome Paxlovid’s drawbacks What's in the pipeline?

The great COVID-19 career rethink Scientists say their work lives today wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the pandemic

The early days of the COVID-19 pandemic were an almost unfathomable time for everyone, all over the world. Not least because the outbreak’s tentacles reached into almost every aspect of our lives: medical, personal, financial, and professional.

Companies reacted to the initial outbreak by putting new hires on hold. One study showed that ads for new jobs fell by 40% in Sweden—a pattern consistent with other countries. The same study concluded that would-be job hunters also hunkered down, perhaps deciding to ride out the pandemic in their current post rather than risk something new.

These constraints on the employment market conspired to create a demand shock when things began reopening, and it became something of a buyer’s market for job seekers. For example, a 2022 report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a London-based nonprofit, showed 20% more job vacancies in the UK than there had been before COVID-19.

For all the horrors of the pandemic, it created a rare opportunity for workers to reconsider on their own terms what they want and to make a change. Researchers were no different in that regard.

C&EN spoke with scientists at different career stages about what the pandemic did to their paths. These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

THE STUDENT

Ricardo Perez, a PhD candidate at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Credit: Courtesy of Ricardo Perez

What were you doing when the pandemic hit?

I was a graduate student at the University of Washington business school in their entrepreneurship program. Towards the end of that program, the pandemic broke out. After I graduated, it was kind of a weird time. I didn't know much about my job prospects because everything was shut down and everyone was losing jobs. I went back to the University of Washington and did a temp job as a freshman application processor.

Then they asked me if I'd be interested in another temp job—this time in a logistics role for their coronavirus exposure survey. I was networking, and I ended up applying for and getting a research scientist job in the virology department. While I was doing that, I covered for someone in the next-generation sequencing team while they were on vacation, and I took to it really well and ended up spending the rest of my time there.

We were doing thousands of samples a week, and being able to be a part of that sequencing team during the pandemic was amazing. I was literally watching the variants of the virus emerge. It was eye opening to see our work help the community and guide public health responses.

So the pandemic shaped your career in a way?

It was definitely the pandemic that made me want to do my PhD in human genetics. The pandemic was obviously terrible in terms of losing lives and businesses and changing the trajectory of humanity. But it did put me in a place where I'm working with CRISPR, and I just couldn't have even imagined that before. Without a doubt the pandemic is the reason I'm pursuing my PhD, and I'm thankful because I love what I do—and it doesn't feel like work.

“The pandemic is the reason I'm pursuing my PhD.”

THE TEACHER

Daniel J. O'Leary, a physical organic chemist and chemistry professor at Pomona College

Credit: Pomona College

How did the early days of the pandemic affect you?

Our campus was shut down, and I needed to figure out how to deliver a laboratory curriculum for organic chemistry. Some teachers sent packages of supermarket chemicals to students so they could set up labs in their kitchens, but that wasn't sincere chemistry to me. Instead, I created computational investigations of reactions so the students could use research-grade calculations to explore organic chemistry.

The success of that pushed me to look at other innovative teaching methods. My daughter suggested 3D printing as a potential tool. My mind immediately went to orbitals and chemical structures. One of my students, Michelle Garcia, designed a set of orbitals. They were printed and mailed out to students, and then we'd meet on Zoom and talk about them.

Do you still use these methods now?

Yes, I use the 3D-printed models in class. One of my students is making a model of what a hydrogen bond looks like in an α-helix, and another is developing a diorama to explore what orbitals look like in a water molecule. It has enabled my students to visualize chemistry and learn in a different way.

And you can credit that to the pandemic disruptions?

Yes, I had to innovate new classes because COVID-19 sent the students home. And my daughter wouldn't have been home from college to suggest 3D printing if it wasn't for COVID. The entire educational system was shaken, but there are these kinds of positives that came from it.

“I had to innovate new classes.”

THE RELOCATOR

Ron Hunter, an organic chemist and a former director of the Food and Drug Administration's Tobacco Products Laboratory

Credit: Courtesy of Ron Hunter

Why did the pandemic make you want to move?

I used to be the technical director of chemistry for North America at Mérieux NutriSciences in Chicago. I loved the job, but the pandemic made me want to be closer to family and friends back in Georgia. I started putting the feelers out for either a remote job or something based within driving distance of Atlanta. I wasn't haphazardly looking for the next job because I really did like my job—I was strategic in what I applied for.

I got a job in 2021 as a senior scientist at Cardinal Health, a health-care services company. That was fully remote, so I could live in Atlanta. Again, I really liked that job, and I had a great team. Then in 2024, a job came up at the FDA tobacco products laboratory [in Atlanta]. I hesitated whether to move roles again because I loved my job and I had the flexibility of being remote, but I did miss that in-person interaction. And someone who I used to work with had a job there and told me I'd be a great fit. I applied and made the move.

Are you glad you moved across the country?

Yes. I got to do science with great scientists, and we did important work reporting how tobacco products are impacting health. And of course it's great to be closer to family and friends. [Despite being caught in agency layoffs] I feel optimistic that I am headed to a better place of employment.

“The pandemic made me want to be closer to family and friends.”

THE HOBBYIST

Sarah Cady, an analytical chemist at Iowa State University and a small business owner

Credit: Courtesy of Sarah Cady

How did COVID-19 affect your work life?

My day job is the same: I'm still a scientist and a researcher, but I bought a plant shop, which is now my second job. Some people might think that's a weird tangent for a scientist to go on, but running a plant shop isn't hugely different to running a lab. It's about ordering materials, understanding suppliers, working with living stock, and so on. It kind of feels like starting a new lab.

When did you decide to buy the shop, and what's the COVID-19 link?

The store originally opened in 2020 during the height of COVID when we were all stuck inside, and I was a customer. House plants really took off during lockdowns with people looking for accessible hobbies that you can do inside. At the time, me and my neighbor had what I called the "porch economy," in which I would bake bread and he would give me cuttings of his houseplants.

In 2022, we heard on the grapevine that the owner was looking to sell and move cities. I joked to my neighbor that we should buy the plant store. He went and looked at the books and talked to the original owner. He came back and asked if I wanted to buy the place for real—we officially took over in February 2023. It was kind of a COVID hobby turned passion turned business.

Now that pandemic restrictions have passed, do you regret it? It must be time consuming.

No. My regular job has been stressful, but I think the store has helped in terms of time management and project management. It's kind of become my refuge. When things feel crazy, I can just play in the dirt with my baby plants and listen to an audiobook. I don't want to give the impression that I don't take it seriously, but it has been a place of decompression for me.

“It was kind of a COVID hobby turned passion turned business.”

Benjamin Plackett is a freelance writer based in London.

Waning interest in the virus has drugmakers searching for solutions

The next generation of COVID-19 vaccines promises to be safer and more effective vaccine

Chemical & Engineering News

ISSN 0009-2347