Overview of Major
Potential Job Titles
Examples of Internships
Possible Career Fields
Possible Work Settings
Important Skills and Abilities
Sample Web Resources
Sample Graduate Programs Pursued by Chemistry Majors
Overview of Major
The chemistry major exposes students to the five major areas of chemistry: analytical chemistry, biochemistry, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry. After graduation many chemistry graduates pursue more specialized study in one of these five areas or in pharmacy, forensic chemistry, pharmacology, dentistry or medicine. Some graduates begin their professional career working in healthcare, hospitals, government, and in education.
Resources
Potential Job Titles
- Pharmacist
- Doctor
- Junior Quality Control Manager
- Chemist
- Research & Development Technician
- Chemistry Teacher/Professor
- Technical Writer
- Process Development Chemist
- Junior Toxicologist
- Biochemist
- Safety Inspector
- Forensic Science Technician
- FBI Special Agent
- Environmental Engineer
- Staff Scientist
- Pharmaceutical Field Sales Representative
- Health Lobbyist
- Genetics Lab Technician
Examples of Internships
- Dow Chemical
- Waste Management of New Jersey
- National Institutes of Health
- U.S. Army Research Laboratory
- Proctor & Gamble
- Johnson & Johnson
- National Science Foundation
- Food & Drug Administration
- Baltimore County Police Department
- Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
- University of Maryland Hospital
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Loyola University Maryland
- MedImunne Inc.
- Baltimore City Health Department
- Wallie Howard Jr. Center for Forensic Sciences
Possible Career Fields
Analytical
- Research & development
- Analysis & testing
- Consulting
- Forensics
- Environmental
Biochemical
- Research & development
- Analysis & testing
- Consulting
- Medical
- Quality control
- Environmental
- Hospital administration
- Industrial health & safety
Organic, Inorganic, Physical, Geochemistry, Polymer chemistry
- Research & development
- Analysis & testing
- Quality control
- Consulting
- Environmental remediation
Education
- Teaching
- Research
- Administration
Business
- Technical & pharmaceutical sales
- Marketing
- Management
- Finance
- Advertising/Public relations
- Consulting
- Industrial quality control
- Research & development
Technical writing
Law
Possible Work Settings
- Government
- Federal agencies
- Research labs/Firms
- Environmental organizations
- Water processing plants
- Biotechnology & manufacturing firms
- Colleges & universities
- Industrial organizations
- Hospitals
- Pharmacies
- Waste management firms
- Publishers
- Law firms
- Libraries
Important Skills and Abilities
- Communication
- Interpersonal
- Leadership
- Laboratory
- Analytical
- Research
- Mathematical
- Detailed
- Teaching
- Work well under pressure
- Customer service
- Organized
- Problem solving
- Team player
- Critical thinking
Sample Web Resources
Sample Graduate Programs Pursued by Chemistry Majors
- PhD, Organic or Physical Chemistry
- Doctor of Dental Medicine
- PhD, Analytical Chemistry
- MBA, Healthcare Management
- JD
- MAT
- Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
- Doctor of Pharmacology
- PhD, Earth Science
- MD
- PhD, Experimental Pathology
- PhD, Chemical Engineering