[mystik_lilac]

I'm going back to school.  Thinking of majoring in Chemistry.  I really want to do Chemical Engineering, but my local university doesn't offer the engineering side.  Have also considered Majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Chem.  What careers are available for majoring in Chem?  I know that is kind of vague, but I'm just trying to decide on something.  Any ideas?

[kirsch]

Depends on the field of chemistry you want to go into.  Just some things you could do would be:

1.  Pure chemistry research, in any of the chemistry fields.  (at a university or something). 

2.  Analytical chemistry.  This kind of involves someone giving you "stuff" and you figuring out what that "stuff" is and how much of that "stuff" is present.  It's a very quantitative field and involves statistics and lots of data analysis.  I feel like there's less "chemistry" in this field and more data analysis.  You also fix the devices you use every day (called "instruments") a good portion of your time (kind of like an auto mechanic). 

In analytical, some careers might be working at state labs, envrionmental agencies, the Centers for Disease Control, Department of Defense, etc. 

3.  Biochemistry:  Involves chemistry of the body (or, living things).  You learn, for instance, how we obtain and use nutrients like sugar to make energy.  You learn pathways of how what we eat turns into X, Y, and Z, and how to control those pathways.  Which can be helpful in something like drug design.   

4.  Pharmacology/Toxicology:  learn how drugs or poisons affect the body.  Again, drug design -type careers. 

5.  Radiological chemistry.  I don't know a ton about this field, but I hear it pays pretty well.  You study isotopes of radioactive elements.  Possible careers could be with the FBI, Army, CDC, or other government agencies to come up with ways to detect dirty bombs and things and how to assess if the public has been exposed to harmful radioactive substances.   

6.  Teach chemistry at university or high school.  Get summers off!  Teach chemistry theory to others.  Don't necessarily have to set foot in a lab. 


Many more fields, too, such as organic chemistry, materials science, and...then there are areas of chemistry that overlap with physics...

Be aware that, while chemistry is really cool to study, it's quite different in the lab setting.  Failure/unexpected results happen a lot, you have to fix things a lot, and, you really specialize and get kind of get "trapped" into one VERY specific area.  (Ie the formation of arsenic compounds in the livers of grey mice who choose not to eat green beans--seriously...you could do that the rest of your life.) 

--kirsch

[Train]

2.  Analytical chemistry.  This kind of involves someone giving you "stuff" and you figuring out what that "stuff" is and how much of that "stuff" is present.  It's a very quantitative field and involves statistics and lots of data analysis.  I feel like there's less "chemistry" in this field and more data analysis.  You also fix the devices you use every day (called "instruments") a good portion of your time (kind of like an auto mechanic). 

There is lots of data analysis and statistics.  I would also add that you have to be detail-oriented and not sloppy.  You have to be aware of potential interferences and be able to maintain enough control over your testing environment and technique to be confident of your results.

If you work in a QC (quality control) environment you might be able to get away with being lazy and not thinking about the chemistry behind the techniques, but even then I think you'll eventually get yourself into trouble or find yourself in trouble and not know how to get out of it.  Analytical chemists who develop and troubleshoot methods use lots of chemistry.

The amount of time you spend fixing equipment depends on where you work, I guess.  My company has a metrology department responsible for maintaining all our instruments.  The chemists aren't supposed to have to do more than minor repairs that take less than 15-30 minutes.  All the major maintenance/repairs are handled by Metrology or outside contractors.  But you do need to know how the instruments work in order to avoid trouble if possible and effectively troubleshoot.