The ACS website has quite a bit of info on careers in chemistry.........maybe even more than you care to look at! lol
http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_TRANSITIONMAIN&node_id=1119&use_sec=false&sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=29fb547d-7441-4d94-8437-3559500308b8
Anyway, several people have mentioned pharma. It's a good career. But be aware that there are a lot of layoffs lately at some of the big pharmas (just like everywhere I guess with the economy as it is). I'm not sure where chemistry as a field will be heading in the future. If I were starting out right now, I'd probably be looking at environmental chemistry or something related to sustainable energy or maybe battery technology (as in electric cars)
Having said that.....all the chemists I know went into the particular area of chemistry because they were drawn to it and love it. (sounds like bass players and their choice of playing bass huh?) It's best to have a job in a field you love, so I hope you can keep that in mind when you are thinking all this through.
+1 This is the right advice.
1. Do something you love. There isn't alot of money is chemistry regardless, so you might as well love what you're doing, be it teaching, R & D, or something non-traditional like consulting or regulatory chemistry.
2. Pharma is a very profitable industry, but most new jobs are not being given to Americans. The industry is offshoring at a rapid pace. It also tends to be a relatively high-stress environment to work in. Lots of money = lots of pressure to get results.
3. Think about grad school. You can easily get a job with a bachelor's, but you'll hit a glass ceiling as far as salary is concerned, and in most places, it won't be as much as you'd like for settling down, buying a house, raising a family, etc... A master's degree is an excellent compromise with good job prospects, a decent salary, and only two years of grad school. Remember, they actually pay you to go to grad school in the sciences, so you won't have any student loans, and by the time you get out, the economy will hopefully have improved.
Of course, this is all just IMO. I just finished a doctoral program in synthetic chemistry a year ago, so some of the bitterness is still fresh, in case you couldn't tell
