I am a 38 alchemist on the Neriak server, and I have a few comments here. There are a few drawbacks to being an alchemist, including the fact that leveling is slow. Unlike most other tradeskill classes alchemists, 20 - 38 at least, do not get any yellow or up combines. The highest we get is an even combine. We CAN sell our products back to the merchant for a huge profit, so people like me do not like to interact with other players. It's easier to just sell massive stacks of stuff back to the merchant and make more. Making an ink is time consuming and has so many 30 level combines, that most of my levels are made using level 30 combines to get the stupid ink made. As a level 38 I'm spending tons of time doing crappy little blue combines that give me 1 / 8th of a blue per combine. And then on top of that people bug us to make them tempers, which we do not need in any form or fashion that I can tell, and if we don't sell at an even large profit than the merchants offer us, why would we do it? I get asked 2 or 3 times a day to make resins oils washes tempers and inks from just about every class out there, and sometimes I'll do it for a small price over merchant price simply to make tradeskill friends (we don't NEED jewelcrafters, but in the rare occasion we wish to make potions we could use them to make bottles). Potions are near to useless. As a 38 alchemist, making pristine potions (which are a huge loss in money) the best potions I can make at 38 are a 150 point heal with a recast time and a 6 point damage shield. 6 points? Give me a break. That's the best I can make. My father is a provisioner. When I was 20 alchemist he had just started tradeskilling. He's now 8 levels higher than me by making combines 4 levels above him which require 2 subcomponents. I wish I could level half that fast (we spent same amount of time tradeskilling, since we only play when the other is online). Sometimes I consider buying inks off of other alchemists just so I can make fighter combat abilities so I can level up at a normal pace like the other tradeskill classes.
Yes, the amount of profit an alchemists makes is great even selling back to the merchant, but don't be surprised when you ask an alchemist to go out of his way to make some unnoticable amount of profit making you hundreds of these tempers which take up tons of room in the inventory just because you can't start an alchemist alt or make an alchemist friend. I am more than happy making tempers for my jewelcraft friends who make me velium jewelcrafted armor to wear, or woodworkers who make me paper or quills so I can have a sage make me spells, etc.
Keep in mind, that to make any final non subcomonent products (to get any experience) we have to make inks which requires 5 combines, and then 2 more to make the final combine.
The only tradeskill class I feel sorry for are the sages. They're like alchemists who can't make any subcomonents, no yellow combines, no potions, no poisons. Poor Poor guys. :( /sniff.