Returning to Field after 10 Years...

[AudreyK]

So, after a very successful undergraduate career in chemistry (3.9 GPA, ACS poster presentation, pretty intense fNMR research, contributor to two relatively major publications) ... I decided to go and "follow my passion" and doing social change work for ten years. It was fun, and I'm glad I did it, but at 30, I still miss science, and realize the stupidity of trying to make a life and career out of "changing the world."

I'm not quitting my day job yet, but I want to get back into chemistry, perhaps with a focus on organic chemistry and/or environmental (particularly water) chemistry or chemical engineering with a focus on sustainability technologies and applications.

As you have probably already guessed, I'll probably have to take some refresher undergraduate courses (10 years since doing any calculus means I'm very rusty) ...

Where do I start? Any recommendations for returning to the field after an extended time away? any recommendations as to foci or areas in which to focus. In undergrad, physical chemistry was my forte - the precision was perfect for me.

ANY advice is welcome.

[Eigen]

I can say that you would probably stand out in your application, and that it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.

Personally, I'd say you can do as much with individual review as with refresher undergrad courses, coupled with some basic refresher courses once you get to grad school.

The first thing you'll want to do is hook back up with your undergrad research advisors and professors, since you'll need them to write you letters of recommendation. They also might have some good advice for how best to approach grad school.

If I were you, I'd say you've got nothing to lose by applying this season- I think the exact factors you mention here could make a quite strong statement of purpose, and you have some defined interests for future goals as well.

[SymmetryOfImperfection]

I think you should definitely go for it, you live just once and they pay you which might not be guaranteed at a "real job". My suggestion is this: review your general physics and general chemistry by reading and doing a few practice problems to freshen up your mind, take both general and Chem GREs, and maybe read some literature in a field you are interested in. If you're interested in p-chem and chemical engineering as related to the environment, might want to look up things like say, latest advances in photovoltaics or latest advances in modeling pollutant diffusion.

If you go into ChemE, you might have to take undergrad classes on fluid mechanics, transport processes, and refresh your memory on chemical kinetics. If you go straight into Chem (Pchem) you could just not take any classes but they'll start you off on grad level quantum and thermo.

[waddle]

I'm not quitting my day job yet, but I want to get back into chemistry, perhaps with a focus on organic chemistry and/or environmental (particularly water) chemistry or chemical engineering with a focus on sustainability technologies and applications.

You may want to check out Environmental Organic Chemistry by Schwarzenbach. There's a whole community of people who study the stuff you've mentioned, and the work is done not only in chemistry departments, but also in civil/environmental engineering and geosciences/hydrology.