Careers in Chemistry

Chemistry is one of those subjects in school that you can take in college at an advanced level. Taking Chemistry can benefit a person in ways that you might have not thought. Chemists might actually make more money than you might have thought. You might be interested in a chemistry career, so read the following and see for yourself if chemistry is the career path for you.

The Product Development Chemist develops new products and technologies, improves older products or their methods of production. Almost everything that we use has been in the hands of a Product Development Chemist. They generally work on, and in the fields of product coatings, electronics, food, agricultural chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and plastics. In fact, more than 20% of all chemists work in product development. To be any good at what they do, a product development chemist usually specializes in a particular industry, and over the years, refines his or her skills. Product Development Chemists are usually members of project teams which may include other product development chemists, analytical chemists, laboratory technicians, research managers, sales and marketing personnel, and patent attorneys. Product Development Chemists must often be managers supervising the work of laboratory technicians. Most importantly, they must be good written and oral communicators so that they can describe their results to managers, marketing personnel and customers. The Product Development Chemist is a Team effort.

Studying chemistry can also prepare you for a career in biotechnology. The number of employed biotechnologists has grown greatly since the mid-1980s mainly due to the constant demand for more research and product development. Research and development are the two poster words for a career in biotechnology.

Another career position involving chemistry is the path of a research chemist. Chemists of this field are often hired by many different firms and organizations including the US government. The overview of this position as said by the US Labor Department is "the research of chemicals for use and new knowledge about them." Chemists will also use research and development techniques in this field. Good computer knowledge is also required for chemists because they use computers to help analyze data and practice combinatorial chemistry (making molecules, compounds, etc.). As a research chemist you also might find yourself employed at a plant, researching for