STEM

Chemist

Test, mix, and study substances in a lab to make new products or check that foods, drugs, and water are safe

Open interactive guide

What does a Chemist do?

Chemists work in labs for drug makers, food companies, factories, and government agencies. They run tests, measure results, and record every step. Some invent new materials, while others check quality. Careful, tidy people who enjoy precise work fit best.

A day in the life

8:00 AMPut on safety gear and set up the morning's tests
9:00 AMMix a new formula and record every amount
11:00 AMRun a sample through a machine that reads its makeup
1:00 PMCompare the results with the last batch to spot changes
2:30 PMClean equipment and log waste following safety rules
4:00 PMWrite up what worked and plan tomorrow's test

What's great

  • Hands-on lab work every day
  • Work on medicines, materials, and food
  • Careful work can lead to real discoveries
  • Many industries hire chemists

The hard parts

  • Working with chemicals needs strict care
  • Repeating tests can feel slow
  • Top research roles want a PhD
  • Lab jobs cluster in certain cities

What is a Chemist's salary and outlook?

$48k – $120k
Salary Range
Bachelor's degree
Typical Education
Growing

Typical pay in this guide runs from about $48,000 to $120,000 a year, with a midpoint around $80,000. These are planning figures for students, not a job offer or an official wage.

CareerLens rates the outlook as Growing.

For the official national outlook, see BLS Occupational Data.

How do you become a Chemist?

A common path is Bachelor's degree in chemistry. The ladder often runs from Lab Technician to Chemist, then Senior Chemist, and Director of Research. Other routes: Associate degree for chemical technician roles; Master's or PhD for research roles; Biochemistry degree; Internships in industry or university labs.

  • Associate degree for chemical technician roles
  • Master's or PhD for research roles
  • Biochemistry degree
  • Internships in industry or university labs

Career path

Entry level
Lab Technician
Mid career
Chemist
Senior
Senior Chemist
Executive
Director of Research

Will AI replace a Chemist?

How much will AI change this job?

Quite a bit

AI will help with some tasks in this job, while the most important parts stay human.

AI will handle more data work, chemists design and lead experiments.

Chemists will use AI to sort through data, predict reactions, and speed up research. But planning experiments, testing new ideas in the lab, and making safety decisions still need a real person. The job shifts toward guiding smart tools rather than doing every step by hand.

AI can help with

  • Analyzing large sets of lab data quickly
  • Predicting how chemical reactions might behave
  • Searching research papers for useful information

What stays human

  • Designing and running hands-on lab experiments
  • Making safety judgments in unpredictable situations
  • Explaining findings and ideas to other people

Skills to build now

  • Take chemistry and math classes seriously
  • Practice careful, step-by-step lab safety habits
  • Join a science club or science fair

Based on public research from Anthropic and OpenAI, drafted with AI, checked automatically, and read by a person. How we know

This describes how the work may change. It is not a prediction that the job will disappear.