In my main field, industrial chemistry, there is always a stress on having teams of various "relevant" backgrounds to run successful chemical industries. There is a place for those who have thorough knowledge of synthesis to carry out basic research in the R&D section of an industrial plant. I saw some chemists, given full 9 to 5 job in an industry, performing analysis of raw materials & end products.
A typical "good" industry can accommodate several persons with each one assigned a specific task but machines have come to turn industries to less labor-intensive than before.