Also called: Research Chemist, Bench Chemist
Studies what substances are made of and invents new ones, from medicines to plastics to fuels.
You run reactions in a fume hood, purify the products, and check them with instruments that reveal their molecular structure. Then you analyze results and plan tomorrow's experiments. Chemists work in pharma, energy, food, government, and manufacturing.
BLS median for chemists (May 2025).
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in chemistry for many lab jobs; master's or PhD for research leadership.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years).
Medium risk for 10 years. AI plans reactions and robots run more experiments; lab judgment, troubleshooting and new ideas keep chemists needed.
Classes: AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, Physics, Statistics.
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.