CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHEMISTS IN VARIOUS

SECTORS

Chemists are well trained to adapt to a variety of career prospects from a diverse list of
employers:

1. Pharmaceutical industry
R&D needs medicinal/organic chemists, process chemists (Scale-up; Organic Chemists),
analytical chemists, synthetic chemists, e.g. Glaxo Smith Welcome, Schering Plough,
Pfizer, Merck Sharpe Dome, Kaneka, S*Bio, Merlion Pharmaceuticals, Norvatis, Albany
Molecular, Galileo, Roche, Eli Lilly, Aventis, etc.
2. Petrochemical Companies
e.g. Shell, ExxonMobil, Singapore Refining Company, Celanese, Eastman Chemicals,
Sumitomo Chemicals, Mitsui Chemicals, etc.
3. Governmental Agencies
Need people with good foundation in Chemistry and strong analytical skills, e.g. HSA,
DSO, etc
4. Teachers
People with broad based training in Chemistry and knowledge in other sciences, e.g.
educational institutions, NIE, etc.
5. Polymer/Paint/Semiconductor/Materials
e.g. TECH Semiconductor, Chartered Semiconductor, Systems on Silicon Manufacturing
(SSMC), Hewlett-Packard, SGS Thompson, Microelectronics, 3M Singapore, DuPont,
Honeywell, Nippon Paint, Philips Singapore, International Paint Singapore Pte Ltd, etc
6. Food and Beverage Industry
e.g. Asia Pacific Breweries, FMC Singapore Pte Ltd, Fraser & Neave, Singapore Airport
Terminal Services Pte Ltd, Singapore Food Industries, National Starch and Chemicals,
DSM Nutritional Products Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd, etc.
7. Quality Control Labs
e.g. (Analytical Chemists) All companies across diverse fields with a QC programme.
8. Research Institutes
Need personnel with strong synthetic skills. e.g. Institute of Chemical Engineering and
Science (ICES), Bioprocess Technology Institute (BTI), Institute of Bioengineering and
Nanotechnology (IBN), Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE),
Institute of Microelectronics (IME), etc.

SKILLS & ABILITIES REQUIRED FOR CHEMISTS

Analytical skills Statistical skills
Investigate and apply abstract
Computational skills
concepts
Quantitative analysis Word processing skills
 Technological savvy Theoretical analysis
Advanced reading skills Curiosity
Observation and decision making Follow through skills

INDUSTRY: R&D, PRODUCTION

Industry can be thought of as an entity that produces and sells a product or service for a
profit. The product starts as an idea and, with the support of chemists, becomes a viable,
saleable product. The chemists involved may have a hands-on responsibility, a supporting
role, or a supervisory role in turning the idea into a product. Typical duties and activities
of three industrial chemical careers are summarized here.

The Research Chemist will run chemical reactions, take part in meetings, operate
sophisticated instruments, write technical reports, and use computers to solve complex
scientific problems.

The Development Chemist will work with and supervise technicians, develop assay
procedures, find optimum process conditions, and scale-up reactions.

The Production Chemist will work with plant engineers to maximize the design and use
of plant equipment, supervise production, ensure quality control and ensure compliance
with environmental protection policies.

The industrial environment offers a multitude of chemical careers in addition to those

mentioned briefly here.

INDUSTRY: SALES, MARKETING & TECH SERVICE

Once an idea has become a product, as described above, chemical careers in marketing,
sales, and technical service are necessary to provide the customer with the product. Each
of these careers involves a product-customer relationship.

A career in Marketing deals primarily with analyzing groups of customers known as

“markets”. From such analyses, the marketing individual must predict future trends and
sales, determine market needs, and develop advertising strategies.
Individuals working in Sales deal with the customer one-on-one as the company's most
visible employees. Interpersonal skills are highly valued in this function, and the work
schedule is very self-structured.

A chemical career where laboratory work and customer interaction are intertwined is
Technical Service. Responsibilities include: developing new applications for products,
writing instruction manuals, and troubleshooting for customers with problems or
questions.

A background in business is required to a varying extent for each of these careers.

Success depends upon effective communication with the customer.

CAREERS IN ACADEMY

An academic career can offer the most independence and flexibility in lifestyle and career
achievement; however, positions are competitive and require hard work and long hours to
establish an independent research program while fulfilling teaching and other
administrative duties. The four types of academic occupations in chemistry are described
as follows.

A Secondary School Science Teacher may teach other sciences as well as chemistry and
have the potential of sparking a student's interest in the chemical sciences.

A Lab Technologist or Instrumentation Specialist at a research university would be

responsible for care, maintenance, and operation of highly sophisticated instrumentation.

As Lecturer or Professor in a department without a Ph.D. granting program, one would

be expected to excel at lecturing, oversee laboratory classes, and perhaps maintain an
independent research program.

Professors at major research universities are expected to develop vigorous research

programs at the cutting edge of science as well as teach and solicit funding.

Academia offers tremendous challenges and rewards for those who choose a career of
this type.

CAREERS IN GOVERNMENT

Major government research centers are found not only in Washington, D.C. but also
throughout the U.S., and include the National Institute of Health, the Agricultural
Research Service, the National Bureau of Standards, the Department of Defense, and the
Department of Energy Labs. At these facilities career opportunities range from basic
research similar to that performed at major universities to applied research similar to that
done in industry, but directed to supporting government projects.

Thee Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the
Food and Drug Administration offer regulatory careers involving research and analytical
method development for those products or processes the government regulates.
As a chemist working with enforcement agencies you will perform analyses and review
data and make recommendations to assure compliance with existing regulations and laws.

If you have a desire to do something for your country, then a government career may be
for you.

NON-TRADITIONIAL CAREERS

A few of the multitude of non-traditional careers in chemistry are outlined below.

A career as a Chemistry Librarian or Information Specialist involves locating

information (public service) or ordering, processing and cataloging materials for a library
(technical service).

As a chemist at an Art Museum, one would restore, preserve and authenticate works of
art.

As a Financial Analyst, one would be employed by a brokerage or investment firm to

estimate the future profitability of a company. This also involves reading chemical
literature and attending scientific meetings, as well as a background in business.

Manufacturer's Representatives work as sales representatives for a number of

companies, often on a commission pay schedule. Success in this career requires a highly
motivated individual.

For a career as an Independent Consultant one must possess some special knowledge
and experience that makes his/her perspective on a problem valuable.

A Chemical Safety Engineer monitors day-to-day plant operations, applies local and
federal safety regulations, and when necessary, prescribes appropriate action.

Clinical or Medicinal Chemists are employed by hospitals, research facilities or

independent testing labs to perform routine diagnostic procedures on biological samples.

A Chemical Patent Attorney possesses an educational background in both law and

graduate level science. He/she is responsible for determining whether a new compound or
manufacturing process is sufficiently novel to be patentable and preparing the patent.

EMPLOYERS OF CHEMISTS
 AEA Technology www.aeat.co.uk
 Air Products www.airproducts.com Producer of Industrial Gases
 BP www.bp.com/ Oil Company
 Astra Zeneca Pharmaceuticals www.astrazeneca.com

 BG plc www.bgplc.com Formerly called British Gas

 BNFL www.bnfl.co.uk British Nuclear Fuels
 BOOTS www.boots-plc.com opportunities in clinical research, packaging, product
formulation and development
 Corus (formerly British Steel) www.corusgroup.com
 CEFAS www.cefas.co.uk Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science

 Croda www.croda.com speciality chemicals and coatings

 DESG www.desg.mod.uk Defence Engineering and Science Group. Part of the Ministry of
Defence.
 Dow Chemical Company www.dow.com
 DuPont www.dupont.com/careers/index.html Manufacturer of Chemical Products
 European Patent Office www.epo.org
 Evotec OAI www.evotecoai.com drug discovery and development company who recruit
analytical, development and discovery chemists
 Harcourt Publishers www.harcourt-international.com scientific, technical and medical
publisher
 Haseltine Lake & Co. www.HaseltineLake.com large patent attorneys
 Health Protection Agency www.hpa.org.uk/hpa/hr/index_recruit.htm
 Huntingdon Life Sciences www.huntingdon.com world's largest independent non-clinical
contract research organization
 Johnson Matthey www.matthey.com Materials Technology Firm
 Marks & Clerk www.marks-clerk.com large patent attorneys

 Merck Sharp and Dohme Neuroscience Research Centre www.msd-nrc.co.uk part of

Merck www.merck.com
 Mobil www.mobil.co.uk Oil Company
 Monsanto www.monsanto.com/ Chemical Products

 Organon www.organon.com Pharmaceutical Research in Scotland - part of Akzo Nobel

 PA Consulting www.pa-consulting.com technology consultancy
 Pfizer www.pfizer.co.uk
 Pilkington www.pilkington.co.uk Glass products
 Proctor and Gamble www.pg.com
 Shell UK www.shell.com
 Smith and Nephew www.smith-nephew.com medical devices

VACANCY SOURCES FOR CHEMISTS

 Times Higher Education Supplement www.thes.co.uk
 Jobs in the Academic Community www.jobs.ac.uk deals mainly with academic posts
for postgraduates.
 New Scientist www.newscientistjobs.com/graduate access to the job adverts.
 University of Kent Vacancy Database www.kent.ac.uk/careers/jobs/index.htm
 Prospects Web www.prospects.ac.uk
 Royal Society of Chemistry - includes vacancies from Chemistry in Britain magazine
www.chemsoc.org/careers/careers.htm
 Scientific Recruitment Agencies - many of these offer temporary laboratory work,
sometimes-including summer vacation work.
www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sitephar.htm#ScientificRecAgencies
 Speculative CVs. Use Pharmafile www.pharmafile.com

OTHER CHEMISTRY EMPLOYMENT-RELATED WEB SITES

 Society of Chemical Industry www.chemind.org produces Chemistry & Industry
Magazine fortnightly - has jobs section on-line.
 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council www.epsrc.ac.uk main funding
body for postgraduate study in Chemistry
 Society of Chemical Industry www.soci.org
 Chemistry/Biochemistry Sources http://dir.yahoo.com/Science/chemistry/biochemistry
 NextWave http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/uk a career development web site for early
career scientists including Career Transitions; Job Hunting Advice; Information for
Graduate Students; Post doc issues and Science Policy.
 Links to over 1000 chemistry-related companies
www.liv.ac.uk/Chemistry/Links/links.html
 The Paint Research Association - includes vacancies www.pra.org.uk
 See also Pharmaceutical and Bioscience Links www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sitephar.htm
 Bioscience Careers www.kent.ac.uk/careers/bioscience.htm