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Career Description

Conduct qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses or experiments in laboratories for quality or process control or to develop new products or knowledge.

What Job Titles Chemists Might Have

• Analytical Chemist
• Chemist
• Forensic Scientist
• Research Chemist

What Chemists Do

• Analyze organic or inorganic compounds to determine chemical or physical properties, composition, structure, relationships, or reactions, using chromatography, spectroscopy, or spectrophotometry techniques.
• Conduct quality control tests.
• Maintain laboratory instruments to ensure proper working order and troubleshoot malfunctions when needed.
• Prepare test solutions, compounds, or reagents for laboratory personnel to conduct tests.
• Induce changes in composition of substances by introducing heat, light, energy, or chemical catalysts for quantitative or qualitative analysis.
• Evaluate laboratory safety procedures to ensure compliance with standards or to make improvements as needed.
• Compile and analyze test information to determine process or equipment operating efficiency or to diagnose malfunctions.
• Write technical papers or reports or prepare standards and specifications for processes, facilities, products, or tests.
• Confer with scientists or engineers to conduct analyses of research projects, interpret test results, or develop nonstandard tests.
• Develop, improve, or customize products, equipment, formulas, processes, or analytical methods.
• Direct, coordinate, or advise personnel in test procedures for analyzing components or physical properties of materials.
• Purchase laboratory supplies, such as chemicals, when supplies are low or near their expiration date.
• Study effects of various methods of processing, preserving, or packaging on composition or properties of foods.

What Chemists Should Be Good At

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

What Chemists Should Be Interested In

• Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

What Chemists Need to Learn

• Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.