Also called: Coatings Chemist
Develops paints, varnishes and special coatings, like ones that stop rust on bridges or keep ship hulls free of barnacles.
You mix pigments and resins in a lab, spray test panels, then put them in a salt-fog chamber that simulates years of ocean weather in weeks. If your coating survives, it might end up on a bridge or a car.
Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in chemistry or polymer science.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Chemistry, Polymer Science, Chemical Engineering.
Growing about average.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI and robotic labs speed formula screening; formulators still design, test and solve customer problems.
Classes: AP Chemistry, Physics, Algebra II.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-2031.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.