Separate a mixture by chromatography
Run chromatography to split the mixture into its parts, then read the instrument's output to name what's there.
Career profile
Chemist
Chemists study what substances are made of and develop methods to improve how they perform.
Every sample is a question about what's inside and how it acts. The evidence you gather also points to the next change worth trying.
A day in the life
Test a one-ingredient swap
In product development, swap one ingredient and compare, since any gain must leave the product's other traits intact.
Track down an instrument fault
When results look off, retrace your test steps and fix any instrument fault before anyone trusts the numbers.
Write up and discuss findings
Report your methods and results in writing, then discuss the data's meaning with another scientist or an engineer.
Quick facts
Bachelor’s degree
United States · 2025
$91,240/year
United States · 2025
6.4% growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Bachelor’s degreeThe typical education for entry into chemistry work.
Pay
$91,240/yearNational median for chemists in 2025; about $43.87 an hour.
Outlook
6.4% growthProjected employment growth for chemists from 2025 to 2035.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You want to investigate why two samples behave differently.
- You can keep careful records even when the procedure feels familiar.
- You enjoy improving something through experiments and comparison.
Things to weigh
- Handling hazardous chemicals means protective equipment and careful safety procedures.
- Time-sensitive experiments and deadlines can occasionally extend work beyond normal hours.
- Quality control can involve repeating prescribed tests and documenting each result.
Where AI may help
Experimental robot systems can carry out sequences of laboratory steps and produce experiment logs. These are research demonstrations, not standard equipment in every lab.
What people still lead
You frame the chemical question, interpret results, and decide what needs investigating next.
What we can’t predict yet
How far robots can take over a changing experiment remains uncertain: adapting equipment and instructions to unfamiliar procedures is still difficult.
Pay in context
Earnings
The national median gives you a midpoint across working chemists, not an expected first salary.
The midpoint and spread
The 2025 median was $91,240 a year, about $43.87 an hour. The 10th-percentile wage was $58,460; the 90th was $160,830. Those are wage percentiles, not beginner and senior pay grades.
Workplace type matters
Chemists’ annual medians were $66,140 in testing laboratories and services, $88,890 in chemical manufacturing, and $105,930 in scientific research and development services. These groups contain different mixes of jobs and experience.
Openings include replacements
About 5,900 openings a year are projected for chemists during 2025–2035, including replacement needs as well as growth. This is a national projection, not a count of current vacancies.
Getting started
Build laboratory skills during a bachelor’s degree
- What the route involves
- Study chemistry or a related physical science, with laboratory courses, mathematics, and physics.
- What it can lead to
- This is typical preparation for quality control work testing materials and products.
Continue into a research specialty
- What the route involves
- After undergraduate study, pursue a master’s degree or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), specializing in an area such as analytical or organic chemistry.
- What it can lead to
- Graduate study prepares you for research positions that require an advanced degree; some also require work experience.
A chemistry degree is the usual starting point; some research jobs require graduate study.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get established
Learn your employer’s instruments from experienced chemists and build confidence using them correctly.
Own a testing problem
Develop a method, check that it works reliably, and investigate unusual results. Your responsibility grows from running tests to improving how the lab tests.
Lead larger projects
Take responsibility for more complex product development and guide other scientists’ work.
- Move toward management, where more of your time goes to operations and business decisions.
Where you can work
Manufacturing quality laboratory
Established methods and product specifications shape your day. You test materials and finished products, with occasional trips into the plant to collect samples or investigate a problem.
- Indoors
- Lab
Product development laboratory
You work with engineers and business colleagues to turn a promising formula into a usable product. Cost, manufacturing limits, and launch schedules influence which experiments come next.
- Indoors
- Lab
- Office
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
On paper, plan how you would compare how quickly sugar dissolves in cool and warm water. Choose what to measure, what to keep the same, and how to check an unexpected result. Notice whether designing a fair test interests you as much as getting an answer.
Stay safe: Keep this a planning exercise; no materials or heating are needed.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. 19-2031.00 — Chemists. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- O*NET OnLine / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National Wages: Chemists — 2025. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics, 2025–2035. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Chemists and Materials Scientists — Occupational Outlook Handbook. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- American Chemical Society. Quality Assurance & Control. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- American Chemical Society. Research & Development. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Darvish and colleagues / arXiv. ORGANA: A Robotic Assistant for Automated Chemistry Experimentation and Characterization. Accessed 2026-10-04.