Chemists are one of Chemistry’s most promising occupations.
There are many different fields of chemistry for a chemist to become.
Each field has its own different aspects and courses needed although they
all deal with chemistry. Chemists work as teachers, writers, consultants
and many other fields. However, most chemists deal with research
and development.
The job of a chemist is to study matter and the reactions it undergoes.
Chemists make compounds and try to understand the reactions that produce
those compounds. Chemists are hired by many chemical and pharmaceutical
industries for the sole purpose of coming up with cost-efficient products
such as plastics, coatings, ceramics, drugs, fillers, alloys, and many
more.
Many chemists focus on certain fields of work such as inorganic, organic,
analytical, physical, biochemistry, environmental chemistry, and forensics.
People looking forward to a career in chemistry should enjoy performing
experiments and a sense of math and science. It is also very important
for chemists to have good problem solving skills, be extremely accurate,
and above all have patience. Students should also start off early.
By taking courses such as chemistry, physics, mathematics, and life sciences,
in high school there is an advantage over others by having an understanding
for the field and good laboratory skills. It is also recommend that
students study a foreign language such as French, German, or Russian, which
will be useful to future chemists. Studying computer sciences is
also a plus since employers are looking for people with computerized laboratory
skills. Colleges and universities offer bachelor’s degree in chemistry,
although higher education, which is offered by few, is preferred.
Some possible colleges specializing in the field of chemistry are Virginia
Tech, Iowa State University which has a special IACCN program dealing with
Chemistry, JMU the school of Pharmacy and Chemistry, and many more for
a list of colleges dealing with chemistry go to HYPERLINK http://www-stud.uni-essen.de/~sc0050/chempnt/CP-FEB96.HTM
http://www-stud.uni-essen.de/~sc0050/chempnt/CP-FEB96.HTM .
There is a need for chemists, especially with the corporate businesses.
The field of chemist is expected to grow along with the need for them.
Opportunities in environmental and organic chemists, drug research and
environmental issues will create the greatest demand for chemists.
For higher positions such as administrative and managerial advanced degrees
are required. To become a Chemical professor, or chemists doing basic
research, and those chemists employed in high administrative positions
in both industry and teaching a Ph.D. is needed.
Salaries for chemists range from $29,300 with a bachelor’s degree to
$38,000 with a master’s and $52,900 with a Ph.D. The average salary
for each chemist is $45,400, $53,500, and $66,00 respectively.
Chemists deal with all sorts of problems, form nuclear waste to figuring
out which cosmetic will cause rashes with contact to human skin.
Chemists are responsible for finding ways to fix the o-zone layer.
Chemists are needed widely across the planet and the field of chemistry
and what it has to offer expands everyday. Chemists work on environmental
problems which chemical is the most dangerous air pollutant to forensic
chemists who try to figure out who murdered someone by DNA and small fibers
found around the crime scene. Chemistry is a wide field of opportunities
but also has a lot of work to it and a lot of research. Chemists
solve everyday problems and create better products to help the human race
and mother earth.
