This video is funny…and a little sad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOYCkHFMnVc

Thankfully, this isn’t how it really is for cosmetic chemists but there is certainly a tinge of truth here.

Early years

In my younger years I often fretted about taking a job as a cosmetic chemist. One recurring thought was that it wasn’t “important” enough. In fact, I remember driving home after my interview at the shampoo factory thinking that there is no way that I would want this job.  I took it with the intention of making some money then quitting after a few years and going to get a PHD in something “important”.

After a few years, I found I really enjoyed my job. I liked the projects.  I liked the challenges.  I liked the people.  And overall, it was fun.  Being a cosmetic chemist is a great job.  If you have an interest in inventing things, learning about chemicals and human biology, being creative and seeing your work directly impact people’s lives, then you’ll love a career in cosmetic chemistry.

But is it important enough?

Is cosmetic science important?

You really have to decide for yourself if cosmetic science is important enough.  Consider the pros and cons.

Pros

• Your work leads directly to products that people use
• Your products make people happy
• There is a lot to learn & the subject is interesting
• It’s economically important
• It is a low stress job, good salary
• It can pose challenging problems

These are just off the top of my head but I’m sure there are other things that cosmetic chemists would add to the list.  (feel free to do so in the comments)

Since I’ve spent nearly 20 years in the industry it seems that my answer to the question is…

Yes, cosmetic science is important enough.

When I thought about it I decided that no one is really curing cancer because cancer is still around.  And people may be making progress on Big Problems but there are still plenty of Big Problems that are unsolved.  And they’ll remained unsolved whether I work on them or not.

The other thing is that as a scientist you are free to keep tabs on other areas of research.  If you ever have an idea that you think will cure cancer or Alzheimer’s disease or solve some other world problem, go work on it.  But if you don’t have any ideas about those subjects, a cosmetic science career is a great place to keep your brain fresh and work on interesting problems (that can be solved).

Epilogue

Incidentally, I did go back to school and pursue a Masters degree in biochemistry but I never left the cosmetic industry. Biochemistry just didn’t seem like it would be an interesting job.  For me being interesting is more important than being “important”.

Well, it’s that time of year again.  Time to create all the goals I’m going to endeavor to accomplish in 2012.  For me, the goal making process is highly involved.  It goes something like this.

Step 1 – Create a list of goal categories.

My categories change only slightly each year but they are basically

1. Health
2. Money
3. Relationships
4. Personal Development
5. Impact on the World

These came from my personal manifesto that I wrote some years ago.  Essentially, it is a road map for the things that I think are important in life and what is going to make me happy.

Step 2 – Brainstorm goals for the year

I like to use a piece of free software called FreeMind.  It is a simple mind mapping program that lets you create categories and connect things.  I’ll often write a mind map on paper but the computer program is useful too.  You can see my 2012 mind map here.  I pretty much put down any idea that occurs to me under those areas.  When I get to the next step I pare down the list a bit but during the brainstorm phase, anything can happen.

Ideally, you’ll create goals that have numbers associated with them.  For example, I have a joggling mileage goal (1500 miles) and I have a weight goal (180 lbs).  Goals that don’t have a number associated with them (e.g. Build a better brain) are much tougher to complete because you won’t have a way to determine whether or not you were successful.  For goals like this, I try to re-write and quantify them during the planning stage.

Step 3 – Make your plans

Here is the key to accomplishing these goals.  At the brainstorm phase things are just wishes.  To actually accomplish something you have to create a plan.  If you’re like me you’ll soon find that there isn’t enough time to do everything and you’ll start cutting things out.  Of course, I have a hard time cutting things out so many of my goals go unfulfilled.  I never mind this much because I accomplish enough to keep myself satisfied.

Some goals, the plans write themselves.  For instance, I have a goal to “write a blog post every day”.  My plan is simple…write something new every day.  For goals that have a number attached to them, I can split them up during the year and schedule when to work on them.  For example, I want to “Draw 12 pictures”.  So, I schedule a day on my Google Calendar that sends me a reminder to draw a picture.  I only have moderate success here because I often am too distracted with other things that I don’t spend time on the goal.  This year, I’m going to be better.  I will not so easily ignore those things.

Step 4 – Track your progress

For me, this is the key.  You’ve figured out some goals, made some plans, but if you don’t keep track of your progress you’ll have a much tougher time staying motivated to succeed.  I use a spreadsheet to keep track of my goals and have done so since 2003.  It’s really cool to be able to look back at my years and remember things that I’ve done.  This does require me to look at the spreadsheet every day but I don’t much mind that.  I’m at the computer every day anyway.  You can see a version of my goal spreadsheet here.  This isn’t my complete list but these are the key things that I keep track of and are the ones that are most likely to be accomplished.

Cosmetic Science goals

This year my primary goals related to cosmetic chemistry are about growing this website and providing more information to help cosmetic chemists learn more and do their jobs better.  To this end a few specific goals.

1. Write a blog post every day
2. Launch the “How to Start Your Own Cosmetic Line” program
3. Record 26 podcast episodes
4. Create a series of basic chemistry videos (30)
5. Begin an open source formulation site
6. Run for SCC VP elect
7. Grow the website traffic & social networking followers

What are your goals this year?  How do you go about setting them?  And how successful are you?  Leave a comment below.

Every year I take some time to write down goals for the coming year. Putting them down on paper makes them real and ensures that I make plans to achieve them or modify them as the year progresses. This year I felt inspired to write down a few goals for cosmetic chemists and scientists, these are my wishes for the industry.

1. Get involved. A group of educators, science and engineering professionals, and many others have launched a new initiative to reinvigorate science and math education in the nation’s schools. Our products touch the lives of students in many ways so we are in a great position to communicate science in way that’s tangible. Visit National Lab Day to see how you can get involved. Other associations like the American Chemical Society support events for National Chemistry Week and more. It’s easy to get involved and the feeling you get from making a difference is worth the effort.

2. Play. Let your creativity run wild. Scientists are often left out of the loop in product concept brainstorms. Let’s change that. Discover new product vehicles, combinations of ingredients, and other unexpected results by setting aside some time, maybe just an hour on Friday afternoons to experiment or research something that interests you. Don’t forget to escape the office cubicle for inspiration. Nature, art museums, shopping malls, etc. can provide a more enlivening environment where you might uncover some.

3. Take a Class. Challenge yourself to learn about a topic you may not be familiar with, cosmetic science or otherwise. You never known what you will learn and it might prove incredibly useful. For example, I just had an eye-opening course in microbiology in the University of Cincinnati’s Cosmetic Science program. And I’m planning to take some classes at a culinary institute this coming year; one involves de-boning and entire chicken (wish me luck!). The choice is up to you. Just keep learning.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year.

Cheers! -Kelly

What are your goals for the upcoming year?  Leave a comment below and let us know.