Putting Analytical Chemistry into Pharmaceutical Practice
Senior Analytical R&D Chemist at Pharmaceutics International, Inc.
The education from experienced professionals at Illinois Tech provided Trevor Williams with an opportunity to reinvent his career as a senior researcher in the pharmaceutical industry.
Trevor Williams (M.S. ACHM ’20)Trevor Williams (M.S. ACHM ’20) isn’t the type of person who likes to wait when it comes to putting his skills to good use.
That’s one of the biggest reasons why he chose Illinois Tech’s Master of Science in Analytical Chemistry program.
“What is truly great about the master’s in analytical chemistry program is that much of what I had learned throughout the program, I could immediately put into practice,” says Williams. “Spectroscopy, chromatography, electrochemistry, and method development—there wasn’t a single class where I didn’t learn at least one thing I could instantly apply to my work.”
After graduating from Illinois Tech with his master’s degree, Williams immediately put the skills he learned—including advanced techniques such as high-performance liquid chromatography and method development—to work at his job at ARx LLC: a pharmaceutical company in Pennsylvania.
Williams was able to earn his degree while still working full time at ARx LLC thanks to Illinois Tech’s fully-online master’s program.
“I loved it,” says Williams. “It was at many times stressful, but extremely rewarding. I was unsure of myself when I started the program, but I had slowly gained confidence with each course I had taken, and I feel much stronger and more competent now.”
That confidence and ability ultimately led to a promotion; Williams now works for Pharmaceutics International, Inc. as a senior R&D chemist. While he’s making major contributions for the company—who performs clinical trial manufacturing and solubility and bioavailability enhancement—Williams is confident that his master’s degree has prepared him for any field in analytical chemistry, not just pharmaceuticals.
“Illinois Tech’s M.S. in Analytical Chemistry program is relevant to many different fields of science and industry,” says Williams. “I may not always want to work in the pharmaceutical industry, and with the ubiquitous nature of analytical chemistry, there are many other future paths I could take, if I choose to.”