Become an Analytical Chemist
Analytical chemists evaluate the chemical composition of natural substances and man-made materials. They analyze the purity of substances or determine the amount and nature of pollutants. Analytical chemists serve the pharmaceutical industry by developing new medications, the food industry by determining how safe food is and industry in general by assisting in the development of new products. If you're fascinated by the chemical make-up of the things around you and want to apply that knowledge to make things better, analytical chemistry may be right for you.
Contents
Steps
- Take all the math and science classes you can in high school. Chemistry is the most important science class, but you should also take classes in biology and physics to have a well rounded science background. Good computer and math skills in algebra and calculus are also important to prepare you for the classes you'll need in college.
- Get your bachelor's degree. The minimum requirement for an entry-level position as an analytical chemist is a bachelor's degree with a major in chemistry or other science, such as physics or analytical chemistry itself, with a number of related laboratory-based chemistry classes. You also should take mathematics and statistics classes and sharpen your computer and English skills to enable you to handle computer modeling and report-writing tasks. Depending on where you work, you may also find marketing, economics and graphic design classes helpful.
- One of the trends in analytical chemistry is for analytical chemists to work as independent contractors as laboratories reduce the number of staff chemists. Classes in entrepreneurship may be beneficial to analytical chemists who choose or are forced to go into business for themselves.
- Intern in a laboratory setting. Interning while studying for your bachelor's degree will give you the chance to understand what you're learning outside a classroom setting while giving you practical experience in the type of work analytical chemists do and help you define what area you wish to specialize in.
- Go for your master's degree. While a bachelor's degree is a minimum requirement, most analytical chemists have at least a master's degree, particularly in research-intensive positions. At this point, your classes are more oriented to the area of analytical chemistry you wish to specialize in, such as medicinal chemistry classes if you plan to develop new pharmaceuticals or environmental science classes if you want to specialize in environmental work.
- Consider getting a PhD. Although not required, a PhD may open the door to opportunities not available with only a master's degree, such as certain analytical chemist positions in the pharmaceutical industry. You will also need a PhD to teach analytical chemistry at the college level.
Tips
- If possible, look for a degree program approved by the American Chemical Society (ACS). As of 2009, the ACS had approved over 600 bachelor's degree programs, about half as many master's programs and a third as many doctoral programs.
Warnings
- Because of the continuing changes in technology and new discoveries, analytical chemists will need to keep up with the changes with ongoing classes, seminars and webinars.
