- You will learn the core education and experience steps for how to become a chemist.
- Hands-on lab experience and research are essential for job readiness and graduate study.
- Specializing and choosing the right graduate path shapes your career options in industry or academia.
- Building a professional network and targeted job materials helps you move from training to paid work.
This guide explains how to become a chemist, from first coursework to landing your first lab role. It breaks the process into clear, actionable steps so you can plan education, gain practical skills, and start a career in chemistry with confidence.
Step-by-Step Guide
Decide your chemistry focus and career goal
Choose whether you want to work in analytical, organic, inorganic, physical, materials, or biochemical chemistry and decide if you prefer industry, government, or academia. Picking a focus early helps you select relevant courses, internships, and research opportunities that match real job tasks.
Research job postings for roles you find interesting and note required degrees, common skills, and keywords. Use that list to map a five-year plan, for example, bachelor’s degree plus two years of lab experience for entry-level lab technician roles, or a graduate degree for research scientist positions.
- Read 10 job descriptions for positions you want and highlight repeating skills and tools.
- Talk to one chemist in your chosen field to confirm day-to-day work matches your expectations.
- Narrow your focus to one or two subfields so your coursework and experience align with job requirements.
Build a strong academic foundation in high school and college
Start with solid math and science classes in high school, including chemistry, physics, and algebra, so you enter college prepared. A bachelor of science in chemistry, chemical engineering, or a related field is the standard entry route and gives you the core knowledge employers expect.
In college, prioritize core courses such as general chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, and instrumental analysis, and maintain a GPA that keeps graduate options open if you want them. Choose electives that match your focus, for example biochemistry for biochemical roles or materials chemistry for polymer and materials work.
- Schedule a meeting with an academic advisor each semester to confirm you are on track for required courses.
- If your college offers laboratory-intensive courses, prioritize those to get more hands-on practice.
- Keep a folder of graded lab reports and projects to show employers concrete examples of your work.
Gain practical lab experience through research and internships
Hands-on experience is the most important signal to employers that you can work safely and productively in a lab. Seek undergraduate research positions with faculty, paid internships in industry, or summer programs at national labs to practice techniques like titration, spectroscopy, chromatography, and safe chemical handling.
Apply early and often, prepare a short resume highlighting lab techniques, and ask professors for introductions to potential advisors or industry contacts. Expect to start with basic tasks, so focus on being reliable, following protocols, and writing clear lab notes to build trust and responsibility.
- Email professors with a short pitch: mention your course, relevant techniques you know, and ask about openings in their lab.
- Treat internships like a job, arrive prepared with safety knowledge and questions about assigned techniques.
- Keep detailed lab notebooks and export short summaries of projects you worked on to include on your resume.
Develop technical skills and certifications
Beyond coursework, learn common laboratory instruments and software such as NMR, HPLC, GC, IR, and basic data analysis tools like Excel and Python. Specific certifications, such as chemical hygiene training, hazardous waste handling, or Good Laboratory Practice, increase your hireability for certain roles.
Use online modules, vendor trainings, or your campus instrumentation facility to gain supervised practice and certificates. Keep a skills list on your resume that groups techniques, instruments, and software so employers can quickly see your strengths.
- Complete your institution’s safety and chemical handling courses early to be eligible for lab work.
- Take short online courses in Excel data analysis or Python applied to chemistry to stand out.
- List each instrument on your resume with your level of experience, for example 'HPLC: operated and maintained, 2 years'.
Choose whether to pursue graduate education or industry entry-level roles
Decide if a master’s or PhD is necessary based on your goal; many research scientist and academic positions require graduate degrees while technician roles often accept bachelor’s holders. Consider factors like the type of research you want to do, timeline, funding availability, and desired salary when choosing the next step.
If you pursue graduate school, get strong recommendation letters by continuing research and publishing if possible, and tailor your applications to faculty whose labs match your interests. If you choose industry, prepare a resume focused on lab techniques, internships, and measurable results, and target companies with entry-level programs.
- Talk with mentors and alumni who work in roles you want to see which degree they hold and how it helped their career.
- Apply to a mix of graduate programs or job openings to keep options open and compare offers.
- When applying for grad school, contact potential advisors with a concise summary of your research experience and proposed interests.
Build a professional profile and search for your first role
Create a targeted resume and LinkedIn profile that emphasize lab skills, safety training, and measurable outcomes such as experiment throughput or method development. Prepare a concise cover letter that ties one or two of your experiences to the employer’s needs and practice describing your projects in plain language for interviews.
Network at conferences, local chemistry society meetings, and career fairs, and follow up with contacts within a week to keep relationships fresh. Be persistent, track applications in a simple spreadsheet, and plan short skill-building activities between interviews so you continue to grow while searching.
- Use a simple spreadsheet to track company name, role, date applied, contact, and follow-up date to avoid missed opportunities.
- Prepare 2-minute and 30-second project summaries to explain your work clearly in interviews.
- Ask for feedback after interviews to improve your materials and presentation for the next opportunity.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Pro Tips from Experts
Join your local American Chemical Society student chapter to access networking events, job listings, and mentorship, which often lead to internships and first jobs. Active membership shows employers you are invested in the profession.
Publish a short poster or a simple methods note from undergraduate research to show concrete contributions, even if not in a major journal. Employers and grad advisors appreciate documented outcomes.
Prepare a one-page technical summary of your key projects that lists goals, methods, and measurable outcomes to include with applications or to hand to interviewers. This converts academic work into a hiring asset.
Becoming a chemist is a step-by-step process of choosing a focus, building academic and hands-on skills, and presenting your abilities to employers. Follow these steps, track your progress, and keep learning so you can move confidently from training to a chemistry role.
Start today by identifying one course, one lab contact, or one internship application to take action.
Step-by-step guide: Becoming a chemist
1.
- •What to do: List chemistry subfields you enjoy (organic, analytical, materials, environmental) and rate skills (math, lab technique, writing) 1–5.
- •How to do it effectively: Review course syllabi or online lecture clips for each subfield to see daily tasks.
- •Common pitfall: Choosing a specialty based on pay alone. Avoid by testing interest with a short project or online course.
- •Success indicator: Clear top two subfields and a ranked skills list.
2.
- •What to do: Enroll in a B.S. in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering; aim for GPA 3.2+ for graduate options.
- •How to do it effectively: Take required core courses (general, organic, physical, analytical) and at least one lab-intensive elective each year.
- •Pitfalls: Skipping lab courses to save time; hands-on skills suffer. Prioritize at least 6 lab credits/year.
- •Success indicator: Degree completion, transcript with A/B grades in core labs.
3.
- •What to do: Join a faculty lab, applied research program, or industry co-op.
- •How to do it effectively: Contact professors with a one-page summary of skills and course projects; offer 10–15 hours/week.
- •Pitfall: Falling into only routine tasks; ask to run short experiments and analyze results.
- •Success indicator: One poster, co-authorship, or measurable experiment results.
4.
- •What to do: Apply to 2–4 internships per year via Handshake, company sites, and faculty contacts.
- •How to do it effectively: Tailor résumés to techniques listed (HPLC, GC, spectroscopy). Aim for paid positions.
- •Pitfall: Passive applications; follow up with hiring managers.
- •Success indicator: Internship offer or documented project deliverable.
5.
- •What to do: Master pipetting, titrations, HPLC, GC, NMR basics, and lab safety (GHS, chemical waste).
- •How to do it effectively: Use short courses or core facility trainings; log 50–100 technique runs in a lab notebook.
- •Pitfall: Poor record-keeping; keep dated entries with raw data.
- •Success indicator: Independent runs of standard protocols with ≤10% variability.
6.
- •What to do: Join ACS or local chemistry societies; attend 2–4 conferences or local seminars per year.
- •How to do it effectively: Prepare a 30-second pitch and bring business cards or a linked resume.
- •Pitfall: Passive attendance; schedule 2 meetings per event.
- •Success indicator: 5–10 new professional contacts and at least one follow-up meeting.
7.
- •What to do: Choose industry entry or graduate school (M.S./Ph.D.) based on career goals and job market research.
- •How to do it effectively: Compare entry-level job listings versus graduate funding and post-PhD placement rates.
- •Pitfall: Starting a Ph.D. for prestige alone. Talk to current grad students about workload and outcomes.
- •Success indicator: Acceptance to a program or an industry job offer aligned with goals.
8.
- •What to do: Submit tailored CVs, research statements, and cover letters; prepare for technical interviews.
- •How to do it effectively: Practice describing 2–3 concrete lab projects and their results (yields, purity, error margins).
- •Pitfall: Generic applications. Quantify achievements (e.g., reduced waste by 12%, improved yield by 8%).
- •Success indicator: Interview invitations and offers.
9.
- •What to do: Publish when possible, complete advanced instrument trainings, and take short courses in data analysis (Python/R).
- •How to do it effectively: Allocate 3–5 hours/week for skill building and reading key journals.
- •Pitfall: Stagnation after first job. Set annual learning goals.
- •Success indicator: New certifications, published papers, or promotions every 2–4 years.
10.
- •What to do: Pursue senior scientist, project leader, or regulatory roles depending on experience.
- •How to do it effectively: Lead a project with measurable KPIs (budget, timeline, performance targets).
- •Pitfall: Avoiding management training. Take at least one leadership course before applying.
- •Success indicator: Managing a team or leading projects with documented impact (cost savings, product launch).
Actionable takeaway: Create a 3-year roadmap with milestones for degree, research hours, internships, and two measurable skill targets (e. g.
, run NMR independently and complete HPLC method validation).
Expert tips and pro strategies
1. Target faculty labs by technique, not prestige.
Email PIs whose labs use the instrument you want to learn (e. g.
, "I want HPLC method development experience") and include a brief summary of your hands-on hours.
2. Log raw data and calculations in a dated electronic lab notebook (ELN).
Benchling or LabArchives makes reproducibility easier; include instrument settings and reagent lot numbers.
3. Master one analytical method deeply.
Employers often prefer a candidate who can validate an HPLC method end-to-end rather than a jack-of-all-trades.
4. Quantify results in interviews.
Say "reduced solvent use by 30% on a scale-up" rather than vague claims—hiring managers remember numbers.
5. Learn basic programming for chemists.
Use Python for data parsing and plotting; automate routine spreadsheet tasks to save hours per week.
6. Volunteer at a core facility to access expensive instrumentation.
Many cores offer training for a small fee ($50–$200) and let you run samples at reduced cost.
7. Publish short methods papers or protocols.
A concise methods note or application to JoVE/Analytical Methods boosts credibility and shows practical impact.
8. Prepare a 2-minute experimental pitch.
Practice explaining your key experiment, controls, and outcome so you can communicate clearly in interviews or conferences.
9. Use industry job boards for realistic skills lists.
Scan 50 job descriptions in your target field and build a 6–8 item skills checklist to guide training.
10. Keep a failures log.
Record 10–20 failed experiments with hypotheses and next steps; this demonstrates troubleshooting ability and accelerates learning.
Actionable takeaway: Pick two tips to implement this month—start an ELN and list 50 target job skill requirements—and track time saved or skill gaps closed.
Common challenges and concrete solutions
1.
- •Why it occurs: Large classes and limited lab seats.
- •How to recognize: You can describe theory but not run a benchtop protocol.
- •Solution: Volunteer 5–10 hours/week in a lab, complete 50 runs of a core technique, and document results. Prevent by scheduling at least one lab elective each semester.
2.
- •Why it occurs: High demand for funded positions.
- •Recognize early: Few interview invitations despite applications.
- •Solution: Improve applications by tailoring to techniques, asking faculty for referrals, and applying to 3x more positions. Prevent by building a portfolio (posters, GitHub for data analysis).
3.
- •Why: Incomplete records or variable reagents.
- •Recognize: Results vary >20% between runs.
- •Solution: Standardize SOPs, record reagent lot numbers, and run controls. Prevent by creating checklists for prep and instrument calibration.
4.
- •Why: Inattention to procedure or rushed work.
- •Recognize: Close calls, unexpected spills, or unreported minor injuries.
- •Solution: Enforce stepwise risk assessment (JHA), annual refresher training, and a culture of reporting. Prevent by scheduling buffer time for experiments.
5.
- •Why: Multiple instruments and file formats.
- •Recognize: Lost files, inconsistent file names, or inability to reproduce plots.
- •Solution: Use a folder structure and naming convention, back up weekly, and convert raw files to CSV for analysis. Prevent by automating exports when possible.
6.
- •Why: Different KPIs and timelines.
- •Recognize: Difficulty pitching applied impact and timelines.
- •Solution: Reframe academic work as problem-solution metrics (time to protocol, cost per sample). Prevent by doing at least one industry-style project or internship.
7.
- •Why: Limited grants or departmental budget.
- •Recognize: Delayed projects or restricted instrument time.
- •Solution: Prioritize experiments with high impact, apply for small internal grants ($1k–$5k), and collaborate across labs. Prevent by maintaining a prioritized project list.
Actionable takeaway: Pick the top two challenges you face and apply the listed preventive measure for 60 days; track progress weekly.
Real-world examples: How others became successful chemists
Example 1 — Industrial R&D chemist (formulation)
- •Situation: A recent B.S. graduate joined a mid-size consumer-products company as a formulation chemist.
- •Approach: During a 6-month onboarding, they logged 120 hours learning the company’s HPLC and dissolution methods, then led a small project to reformulate a lotion to reduce greasiness.
- •Challenges: Supply chain delays and tight cost targets (max +2% ingredient cost).
- •Results: Reformulation reduced greasiness scores by 18% in consumer tests and lowered ingredient cost by 1.8%, enabling scale-up. Outcome: promotion to project lead within 18 months and two filed product-change reports.
Example 2 — Academic path to faculty
- •Situation: A student completed a B.S. then a funded Ph.D. in synthetic chemistry.
- •Approach: They published three first-author papers, presented at two international conferences per year, and wrote a successful first-author grant ($80,000) for a postdoc transition.
- •Challenges: One failed graduate project cost two semesters; they pivoted by applying an alternative catalytic strategy.
- •Results: Five peer-reviewed publications, a postdoc at a top lab, and a tenure-track offer within 4 years. Metrics: h-index 6 and $120,000 in grant support by year 5.
Example 3 — Environmental chemist in government lab
- •Situation: A chemist joined an environmental testing lab to address local groundwater contamination.
- •Approach: They validated an LC-MS/MS method in 3 months, processed 400 samples, and used QA/QC protocols to ensure ≤5% false positives.
- •Challenges: Field samples had matrix effects; the team optimized sample prep to reduce interference by 40%.
- •Results: Accurate contaminant mapping enabled a remediation plan that reduced contaminant levels by 60% over 18 months. The chemist’s method became a regional standard.
Actionable takeaway: Identify which example most matches your goal and reverse-engineer its timeline and measurable milestones for your 2–3 year plan.
Essential tools and resources
1.
- •What: Literature and compound data. Use to research methods and safety profiles.
- •When: Early project planning and literature reviews.
- •Limitations: PubChem lacks some proprietary methods.
2.
- •What: Comprehensive chemical literature and reaction searching.
- •When: When designing syntheses or looking for validated procedures.
- •Costs: Institutional subscriptions; personal accounts may be limited.
3.
- •What: Electronic lab notebooks that timestamp entries and store protocols and raw data.
- •When: Daily experiment logging and collaboration.
- •Costs/limits: Free tiers exist; advanced features require paid plans ($10–$25/user/month).
4.
- •What: Hands-on training for NMR, LC-MS, GC, and ICP-MS.
- •When: Before running important samples; many charge per hour ($30–$200).
- •Limitations: Scheduling and availability.
5.
- •What: Data cleaning, plotting, and basic statistical analysis.
- •When: Post-run data analysis and automation of repetitive tasks.
- •Limitations: Learning curve; many free tutorials available.
6.
- •What: Job boards, local chapters, conferences, and certification pathways.
- •When: Networking, continuing education, and job searches.
- •Costs: Member dues vary ($50–$200/year).
7.
- •What: Internship and job listings; LinkedIn Premium offers insights and InMail.
- •When: Active job searching and outreach.
- •Costs: LinkedIn Premium ~$30/month; Handshake is free for students.
8.
- •What: Step-by-step methods with visual guides.
- •When: Learning new protocols or developing reproducible methods.
- •Costs: Some articles paywalled; institutions often have access.
Actionable takeaway: Start with free resources—PubChem, Google Scholar, and Anaconda—and enroll in one core-facility training this quarter to boost hands-on skills.