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Build an exciting career in chemistry with globally marketable Bsc & Msc chemistry courses from top-ranked universities.
Chemistry is often known as the study of change and with the continuously changing world, it is one of the most important areas that need development and have been growing rapidly. Chemistry played a vital role in the fight against the covid-19 outbreak and various other discoveries and inventions like penicillin and the screen from which you are reading this. A BSc or an MSc in chemistry graduate can enter the world of chemicals and do wonders.
- Develop research, logical and analytical skills and enhance your technical ability and attention to detail.
- Learn how and why the world around you is changing and answer the questions like why cutting an onion makes your eyes tear.
- Gain the knowledge about the nature of chemicals and the process that create various products we use in our day-to-day lives and use it to propel yourself into worldwide sought-after careers.
- Understand the various types of chemistry disciplines like analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, biochemistry, inorganic and organic chemistry.
Top Marketable Careers for Chemistry Course Graduates
Chemistry graduates are intellects of chemical and medicinal compositions along with technological competency and hence have a lot of options to choose as their lucrative career path. You’d be suggested to start your career right away during or just after completion of your course by joining internships and apprenticeship programs because successful chemistry jobs often go parallel with greater experience. Some of the career paths are:
Pharmacologist
A Pharmacologist investigates the effects and working of medicines and drugs on our biological system. Before a medicine reaches a pharmacy store, it is the duty of a Pharmacologist to run experiments and tests of the medicine and redeem it fit for use by the public. There are two subfields in the job profile, pharmacodynamics where you study the effect of drugs on the cellular level or what drugs do to the body, and pharmacokinetics, where you analyze the absorption and excretion of drugs on the molecular level or what the body does to the drug.
As a pharmacologist, you get to study and help the development of new and better medicines. Unlike pharmacists, you won’t interact with the patients but would be working in specialised areas like neuropharmacology, chemotherapy, and veterinary pharmacology in pharmaceutical companies to medical research for government and public sector organizations and universities. A BSc in biology or an equivalent degree with a major in Pharmacology can easily pave a path in this career.
Analytical Chemist
Analytical chemist plays a huge role in our day-to-day lives as they work in all kinds of industries and various fields of chemistry, applying their knowledge about chemicals, the mathematics it contains along with computational processes and instrumentation. From process development to setting error limits during the quantitative and qualitative analysis, the role of an analytical chemist is crucial.
The said analysis includes sampling, defining, isolating, concentrating, and preserving samples of products from various industries like drugs and food to determine their quality and interpreting the data with appropriate context. With the growing technology, employers find analytical chemists who are masters of sophisticated designs and equipment used to get things done faster and efficiently. The job profile is very demanding and one of the best ways to kickstart your chemist career.
Forensic Scientist
The core job of a Forensic Scientist is to collect possible evidence from crime scenes and use analytical, computational, and scientific techniques to examine it and prepare legal statements that summarise the results. The job includes visiting crime scenes, coming back to laboratories to investigate and make some sense out of the samples you collected like hairs and blood along with non-biological substances like textile fibers, paint, glass, explosives, and drugs. They also need to be adaptable to new technological advancements.
Forensic Scientists are in high demand and they play a very crucial role in law, by using their skills and technology which are one of the most important parts of solving crimes. Due to a critical role, the average salary of Forensic scientists is also higher than other jobs. Typical employers include private investigation agencies, defense, law enforcement agencies like police, government sector jobs. A typical academic path for a Forensic scientist is a bachelor of science in chemistry and a master’s degree focusing on forensics.
Research Analyst
Research and development fields are ever-growing and have highly demanded job profiles. The terms like Research Scientist, Research Analyst, and R&D Researcher are very diverse as different sectors have different approaches and needs. Some research areas include agrochemistry and food chemistry, chemometrics, amino acids, biotechnology, biochemistry, and nanotechnology.
While a bachelor’s degree in chemistry will allow you to kickstart a career in research, masters and doctoral degree becomes an important part of your career as you have to be well-versed in crucial lab techniques and analytical methods along with conducting and analyzing reports and combine all the sciences, not just chemistry. You could be working in a pharmaceutical company to develop a new medicine or working in a university laboratory to research a mind-boggling new break in technology or medicine.
Toxicologist
Toxicologists work to enhance & develop methodologies that determine the potential risk levels and biological effects of substances like drugs, chemicals, agents, radiation, and other substances that humans interact with. They are also known for determining the dosage of a drug or a treatment a person should take and potential side effects. They investigate toxic materials and how they can affect the environment and living organisms.
The typical day job includes planning, designing, and executing controlled experiments and trials to managing laboratories, and writing reports, reviews, and papers. A Subfield of toxicology includes investigating the presence and distribution of xenobiotics(chemical substances that shouldn’t be there inside the body) as part of an autopsy. Toxicologists are required to be both theoretically and practically skilled, hired by employers like forensic laboratories working for the law, pharmaceuticals, and various chemical companies.
Epidemiologist
With sudden outbreaks like the Spanish-flu, covid-19, and swine-flu, there is a dire need for specialists to investigate the root cause, the people or areas who are at risk, come up with solutions and ideas to stop and control the spread, and most of all, prevent it from happening again. Epidemiologists are those specialists. Apart from working in researching the outbreak or injury, they also work as public health workers and educate people about the diseases and health policy.
Epidemiologists are known as disease detectives. They study how the previous disease or a health problem was resolved through statistical analysis and field research. Apart from this, they work with other scientists on never-seen-before diseases and try to figure out a health plan and a treatment for them. They are highly in demand and they will just grow as the world keeps meeting new diseases and outbreaks without any warning. Since the role is critical, epidemiologists are highly skilled and often have experience in chemical labs and research projects with doctorate degrees.
Materials Scientist (Nanotechnologist)
As nanotechnology is booming and growing rapidly while making continuous advancements for the betterment of humanity, the demand for Material Scientists is increasing in parallel. A Materials Scientist studies create and analyze the chemical properties, composition, and structure of different man-made and natural solid materials like metals, polymers, rubber, ceramics, semiconductors, and glass.
Also known as Synthetic chemist or at least as a superset of it, the job profile often is seen to require a Ph.D. in material science but for entry-level jobs, a BSc in chemistry would also suffice. The job needs immense knowledge to devise ways with motives like strengthening existing substances, combining materials, or creating something new that can be beneficial as a product or part of a product. Material scientists are highly paid and have a delightful career as they keep creating and working with things that are tangible.
Miscellaneous
Studying chemistry makes you a potential candidate in a myriad of industries and employment sectors. With a Bachelor of Science in chemistry or an MSc chemistry, you can easily get a job in middle and high school if you love teaching. Becoming a professor in college requires immense knowledge on the subject which can be done with a Ph.D. Entry-level jobs for BSc chemistry graduates also include working as QA/QC in pharmaceutical companies and laboratories. If you’re interested in patent law, you can become a patent examiner and work and verify new inventions. There are high-paid and less talked roles like geochemist (researchers of earth from a chemistry standpoint) and oceanographer(marine ecosystem researchers).
With the growing competition in all fields, choosing between various career paths can be a baffling task. Taking a career match assessment test and guidance from admission counsellors and career experts at Craydel will definitely help you have a more clear thought process before you kickstart your expedition in the world of chemicals.
Chemical Engineer
Chemical Engineers work mostly in design and manufacturing industries and in sectors like oil and gas, energy, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food, and drinks. Their job description also includes designing and producing industrial products, chemical equipment, and chemical plants while ensuring the efficiency and safety of chemical processes in compliance with environmental safety as well as economic needs.
For entry-level roles, BSc chemistry or a bachelor’s in chemical engineering would suffice, but taking on a master’s degree often allows you to get more hands-on experience before entering the chemical battlefield. The average pay is pretty good for chemical engineers as they not only use knowledge about the chemicals but also have to apply physics, biology, and mathematics in their day-to-day work.
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Check out the list of most popular questions around Chemistry programs
What subjects are required to pursue Chemistry?
A chemistry and a mathematics subject at high school level will be required as an admission entry requirement. English language subject will be a requirement as well at O levels.
A relevant 2nd class bachelor’s degree in the relevant field will be required for entry into the field at a postgraduate level.
How many years do you study a Chemistry degree?
A bachelors degree in the field will take a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 5 years with some institutions. The program could also involve placement opportunities in some institutions.
At a postgraduate level, a program in the field will take at least 12 – 36 months for the program to be complete