Chemistry
Chemistry is an intellectual and experimental search into the nature, structure, and reactions of matter. It can be pursued as a pure search for understanding or applied to the material needs of man. Sometimes the two endeavors, basic and applied chemistry, are difficult to separate.
Chemists analyze reactions to determine the properties of matter. They make new compounds for various purposes, e.g., medicine and plastics. They organize, write, or edit chemical information. They study markets and financial situations. Some manage large organizations, while others spend their time studying the chemical world in which we live. As in all fields, personal qualifications, experience and ability determine what the individual does.
Representative Job Titles and Areas of Specialization
| Air Pollution Specialist | Materials Science | | Analytical Chemist | Molecular Chemist | | Art Preservationist | Museum Curator | | Biochemist | National Products Chemist | | Bio-Organic Chemist | Nuclear Chemist | | Chemical Engineer | Organic Chemist | | Chemical Librarian | Paper Chemist | | Chemical Market Researcher | Patent Attorney | | Chemical Oceanographer | Photo Chemist | | Chemical Physicist | Physical Chemist | | Chemist | Physician | | Clinical Chemist | Polymer Chemist | | Dentist | Production Chemist | | Education - Teacher/Instructor/Professor | Process Chemist | | Inorganic Chemist | Quality Control Specialist | | Forensics - Criminologist | Radiation Chemist | | Geochemist | Solid State Chemist | | Hormonal Chemist | Structural Analysis | | Immunochemist | Industrial Chemist | | Industrial Hygienist | Surface Chemist | | Information Science - Writer/Editor/Reporter | Technical Salesperson | | Toxicologist | Theoretical Chemist |
Nature of the Work
Several levels of teaching are open to chemists from the secondary schools to major universities. At the university level, chemists conduct research in addition to their teaching and administrative duties.
Pure research is also conducted in government and industrial laboratories. For example, nylon and other polymers and plastics resulted from fundamental studies of large molecules in industrial laboratories. A great deal of applied research is also carried out in nonacademic settings. Chemists apply their knowledge to problems of the environment, energy, medicine and agriculture.
About ten percent of all chemists work in production and inspection. In production, chemists prepare instructions (batch sheets) for plant workers that specify the kind and amount of ingredients to use and the exact mixing time for each stage in the process. They may also monitor automated processes to ensure proper product yields and quality. At each stage samples are tested for quality control.
Chemists who support technical sales spend much of their time in the laboratory working on chemical problems encountered by the sales force. They may go into the field as consultants on these problems.
Market specialists try to determine what and how much of a product a company should produce, look for trends, and try to anticipate new products. Many chemists eventually leave the lab to become managers, financial specialists in the chemical industry, patent lawyers, technical communications specialists, and chemical information systems experts.
Places of Employment
| Schools, colleges, universities | Criminalistics laboratories at the federal, | | Chemical manufacturing firms and | state, and local levels | | corporations producing pharmaceuticals, | Hospitals and clinics | | food, cosmetics, fuels, plastics, | Fermentation industries | | agricultural chemicals, explosives, | Publishing houses | | textiles, paper | Power production plants | | U.S. Department of Defense | Mining companies | | U.S. Department of Agriculture | National Institutes of Health | | Nonprofit research organizations | National Oceanic and Atmospheric | | Museums | Administration | | Banks catering to the chemical industry | State and local departments of health | | Independent research laboratories | Aerospace industry | | Automotive industry | Petroleum industry |
Training
Graduates with a bachelor's degree generally begin their careers in government or industry by analyzing or testing products, working in technical sales or service, or assisting senior chemists in research and development laboratories. Some in entry level positions are considered chemists; others are considered senior chemical technicians.
Many of the job titles above require completion of particular education programs beyond the bachelor's level.
Those with a master's degree can teach in a two-year college or go into applied research in government or private industry. The Ph.D. is generally required for basic research, for four-year college faculty positions, and for advancement to many administrative positions.
For further information and/or career counseling contact the Career Center, Veitch Student Center, Northwest Wing, University of California, Riverside, 951.827.3631.
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