Career In Chemistry

Introduction

Chemical sciences (Chemistry) offer access to a wide range of careers. Chemistry is the study of substances, their makeup and applications. In fact it is the study of all materials and is vital to every aspect of our lives. Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Analytical chemistry and Biochemistry are the main branches of chemistry. The career options in chemistry are practically endless! However, employment options depend on how far the education, training and experience taken. Especially masters and Ph.D. degree provides immense career opportunities in industries, research and teaching fields.  A chemistry or biochemistry degree can lead to career paths in professions such as medicine, pharmacology, agriculture, chemical engineering, forensic science, etc. 

Scope

Chemical sector of India is one of the major industries in the Indian economy. It is estimated to be worth around US$ 35 billion, which is almost 3% of the country's GDP. The investment in chemical sector of India is around US$ 60 billion.The chemical sector generates employment of about 1 million. The chemical sector of India provides around 13-14% of total exports and its total imports are about 8-9%. It is ranked 12th globally and 3rd in Asia. The emergence of chemiinformatics and nanotechnology leads to very bright future of the chemical science.  

Remuneration

It is based on education, experience and employer the salary ranges from 10,000 to 1.5 lakh rupees per month.

Eligibility

Graduation or post-graduation in the field of Chemistry or other related subjects is essential. 

Employabilty Skills

  • A scientific aptitude.
  • Keen interest in chemical sciences.
  • Ability to work orderly, patiently and methodically.
  • Documentation skills.
  • A passion for laboratory work.
  • Ability to work independently.
  • Problem solving, analysing and interpreting skills.
  • Profound knowledge of the core subject.
  • Good grasp of scientific concepts and consistent and above average academic record.
  • Perseverance and hard work,
  • A curious bent of mind and commitment towards work.

The proper use of following resources like schools, colleges, online courses, professional organizations & societies, journals, employment newspaper, salary surveys, internships and summer jobs are useful for development in career in chemistry and chemical engineering.

Career test

If you record “Yes” for maximum questions then it indicates that you have potential for perusing career in the field of Chemistry or chemical engineering.

  • Do I have a scientific aptitude?
  • Do I have a keen interest in chemical sciences?
  • Do I have ability to work orderly, patiently and methodically?
  • Do I good documentation skill?
  • Do I have a passion for laboratory work?
  • Do I have ability to work independently?
  • Do I have problem solving, analysing and interpreting skills?
  • Do I have fundamental knowledge of chemistry?
  • Do I have good grasp of scientific concepts? 
  • Do I like to work systematically? 
  • Do I prepare a written plan before doing any practical?
  • Do I enjoy laboratory environment?
  • Do I have analysing and interpreting skills?
  • Do I accept failure in experiment as a challenge
  • Do I read latest scientific news, books and research magazines?
  • Do I have a creative mind and deep thinking?
  • Do I study for 10-14 hours per day as normal routine?
  • Do you love to maintain the working place orderly and clean?
  • Am I ready to learn and adopt new techniques?

Career opportunities

Chemistry students and chemical engineers finds numerous career opportunties in industries (Textiles, petroleum, rubber, plastics, agricultural products, paper, pharmaceutical, food, fertilizers, paints, cosmetics, aromatic products, pulp, metal, cement and many more.), public works departments ( water treatment, sanitary and sewage treatment plants), marketing and sales (chemicals and its products), military(food scientist, ordinance factory), consultancy firms, patent firms, Industrial R&D and Production departments, teaching field (Schools/colleges/Universities), Central and state government (government chemical industries, pharmaceutical industries, factories, petroleum companies, ISRO, DRDO, BARC, Public Services (UPSC and othe State Public Civil services), pharmaceuticals, oeanography, forensic science, biotechnology, geochemistry, etc.

Job options

  • Analytical chemist
  • Clinical biochemist
  • Forensic scientist
  • Research scientist (physical sciences)
  • Chemical development engineer
  • Scientific journalist
  • Toxicologist
  • Process engineer
  • Patent law officer.
  • Teacher/Professor
  • Quality controller
  • Technician
  • Laboratory assistant
  • Research associate/Research assistant

Employers

  • Industries
  • Manufacturing firms 
  • Research organizations .
  • Science popularizing organizations
  • Central and state government 
  • Colleges, Universities and teaching institutes
  • Self-employment: Environmental consultant, Chemical industry consultant, small or big chemical process plant, etc                        

Note: Many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Leading manufacturer in the Chemical Sector of India:

  • Atul Ltd., Bulsar
  • BASFIndia, Mumbai
  • Colour Chem Ltd., Mumbai
  • Colourtex, Ahmedabad
  • Excel India, Mumbai
  • Galaxy Organic Ltd., Mumbai
  • Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd., Ahmedabad.
  • Herdilia-Schentady Ltd. Mumbai
  • Jubilant Organosys Ltd., New Delhi
  • Lubrizol Ltd., Mumbai
  • Monsanto Chem Ltd., Mumbai
  • National Organics Chemicals Ltd., Mumbai
  • P.I.Industries, Jaipur
  • Rayalseema Chemcials, Hyderabad
  • Sudarshan Chemical Industries, Pune

Courses

Courses after 12th standard

  • Bachelor of Chemistry Eligibility- 12th pass Duration: 3 years
  • B.Tech Eligibility-12th std and JEE exam Duration: 4 years Centres: IITs
  • B.E. Chemical Engineering Eligibility- 12th passed Duration: 4 years Centres: Engineering Colleges

 Courses after Graduation

  • M.Sc. Chemistry (Organic/Inorganic/Analytical/Biochemistry/etc) Eligibility: B.Sc. Chemistry Duration: 2 years Mode of admission: Depends on institute/College Centres: Almost all major colleges and major Universities of India
  • M.E Chemical Engineering Eligibility: B.E Chemistry Duration: 2 years Centres: Major Engineering Colleges and Universities.
  • M.Tech. Chemical Engineering Eligibility: B.E. Chemical Centres: IIT’s
  • Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) Eligibility: M.Sc. Course duration: 1-2 year Centres: Major Universities
  • Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) Eligibility: M.Sc. Duration (Generally): 2-6 years Mode of admission: NET/CSIR entrance. Or Under research projects or self funded. Centres: All reputed Universities/NCL/IARI/IISc Bangalore/Foreign Universities.
  • Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) Eligibility: i) 2 Years after Ph.D./3 Years after Master's Degree/ 6 Years after Bachelor's Degree and after research in approved topic by thesis. Centres: Reputed Universities
  • Post-Graduate Diploma with various specialization are available in different reputed institutes.

Distance Courses 
M.Sc. Chemistry:

 Online course in Chemistry:

Important Institutes

Examinations

  • University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET): Chemical sciences/Joint CSIR-UGC Test For Junior Research Fellowship And Eligibility for Lectureship www.ugc.ac.in
  • Maharashtra State Eligibility Test (SET) For eligibility of lectureship only.
  • GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test for Engineering)  Further details: www.iitb.ac.in/gate
  • Civil Services (UPSC - IAS, IPS, IFS, IES):  Chemistry is one of the optional subjects. Further details- www.upsc.govt.in 
  • MPSC (Chemistry as Optional Subject): http://mpsc.maharashtra.gov.in

Abroad opportunities

Following are some important web-sites which are giving information about the job opportunities, fellowships and scholarships in the internationally reputed institutes, universities and business firm. 

Emerging trends

Careers in Chemical Informatics

Introduction: Chemical informatics is the application of information technology to help chemists investigate new problems and organize, analyze and understand scientific data in the development of novel compounds, materials and processes. Chemical informatics is the application of information technology to chemistry. Major aspects of chemical informatics are information acquisition, information management, information use, chemical computation and biopharmaceutical computation.

Scope: The insilico techniques are used in pharmaceutical companies in the process of drug discovery. These methods can also be used in chemical and allied industries in various other forms. Cheminformatics can also be applied to data analysis for various industries like paper, pulp, dyes and other industries. The primary application of cheminformatics is in the storage of information relating to compounds. The cheminformatics system store a molecule, find exact molecule, substructure search and similarity search. Cheminfor matics will be a fine tool to concur the world of drugs.

Courses in Cheminformatics 

  • PG Diploma in Cheminformatics Institute for Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB) Bangalore http://ibab.drugdesign.biz or the IBAB website at http://www.ibab.ac.in.
  • PG Diploma Courses 1 year eligility M.Sc. (Chemistry)/ M.Sc. (Bio-informatics)/ M.Pharma) Centre: IITKozikode. www.kozhikode.com
  • Institute of Cheminformatics Studies, Noida 
  • Department of Chemistry, Jamia Hamdard Deemed University, New Delhi. www.jamiahamdard.ac.in.
  • In USA and in UK several Universities have started M.Sc. (Cheminformatics).
  1. Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine 
  2. University of Manchester - www.manchester.ac.uk.
  3. University of Sheffield - www.shef.ac
  4. University of Indiana - www.informatics.indiana.edu.