Chemistry Majors Guide
Skills and Abilities
- Research & Laboratory experience
- Quantitative skills & attentive to detail
- Effective communicator, present information clearly and effectively
- Ability to apply the scientific method to solve problems
- Statistical analysis & complex problem-solving ability
- Use of technical tools, scientific equipment, manual dexterity
- Manipulating numerical data
Areas of Expertise
| Agricultural Chemistry | Geochemistry |
| Analytical Chemistry | Inorganic Chemistry |
| Bioinorganic Chemistry | Medicinal Chemistry |
| Biological Chemistry | Organometallic Chemistry |
| Biophysical Chemistry | Organic Chemistry |
| Chemical Physics | Physical Chemistry |
| Polymer Chemistry | Computational Chemistry |
| Surface Chemistry | Electrochemistry |
| Synthesis Chemistry | Combinatorial Chemistry |
Possible Fields
- Medicine: health care, dentistry; hospitals and pharmaceutical companies
- Government: science and technology policy; patent law
- Education: scientific research, teaching
- Environment: conservation, agriculture, horticulture, forestry, park planning
- Industry: chemical companies; rubbers and plastics; oil companies; cosmetic companies
- Information Science: libraries, museums, bioinformatics
- Scientific Writing: publishing, journalism
Sample Careers of MIT Chemistry Alumni
- Associate Professor of Radiology, Harvard Medical School
- Professor of Chemistry, Northwestern Univesity
- M.D./Ph.D. student, Cornell University College of Medicine
- Supervisor of Analytic Chemistry & Radiology, ABB Combustion Engineering Nuclear Operations
- Cofounder, SkelScan
- Director, Biomaterials Laboratory in Massachusetts General Hospital's NMR Center
- Student, Jewish Theological Seminary
- Director of Manufacturing, Geltex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Vice President of Research & Development, Sulzer Calcitek Inc.
- Professor in Material Science & Engineering Department, Pennsylvania State University
- General Electric Plastics
- Post-Doctoral Fellow, Harvard Medical School
- Senior Scientist, Center for Bio/Molecular Science & Engineering Naval Research Lab
- High School Chemistry Teacher, Wilbraham, Massachusetts
- Partner & Patent Lawyer, Synestredt & Lechner
- Acting President, College of The Holy Cross
- Director of New Product Development, Thermedics Detection, Inc.
- President, Pine & Swallow Associates
- Materials Engineer, US Army Research Lab
- Vice Chairman, BankBoston
- Vice President, Actuarial Analysts
- Principle Scientist, Xerox Corp.
- Chemist Administrator, Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection
To contact alumni in your area of interest, check out the ICAN network at http://alum.mit.edu/ican/
Companies and Organizations That Have Hired Chemistry Majors
| Air Products | Galaxy Scientific Corp. |
| Quantitative Technologies, Inc. | Biogen |
| Goodyear Tire & Rubber | R.B. Webber |
| Cambridge Environmental | Igen |
| Sandia National Laboratory | Chevron |
| Jet Propulsion Laboratory | Scripps |
| Colgate-Palmolive | Linden Technologies, Inc. |
| Shell | Dow |
| Parmacia | Tech 2000 |
| Ecentury Capital Partners | Pfizer |
| Tularik | Elias Associates, Inc. |
| Praxair | W.R. Grace & Company |
Professional Associations
- American Association for Clinical Chemistry: www.aacc.org
- American Chemical Society: www.acs.org
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers: www.aiche.org
- American Institute of Chemists: http://www.theaic.org/
- Royal Society of Chemistry Chemsoc Network: www.chemsoc.org
Career and Job Search Internet Resources
- Sloan Career Cornerstone Center (SCCC), http://www.careercornerstone.org
- Next Wave: http://www.nextwave.org
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: http://www.fws.gov/
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov/
- America's Job Bank: http://www.ajb.dni.us
- ChemJobs: http://chemjobs.net/
- Science Jobs: http://www.sciencejobs.com/chem/
- New Scientist Jobs: http://newscientistjobs.com/
- American Chemical Society: http://www.chemcenter.org/portal/Chemistry
- About Chemistry: http://chemistry.about.com/cs/employment
Print Resources
- Chandra, Louise, Ph.D., Jump Start Your Career in Bioscience. Durham, NC. Peer Productions. 1998.
- Fiske, Peter S., Ph.D., Put Your Science to Work: The Take-Charge Guide for Scientists, Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union, 2000.
- Peters, Robert L. Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student's Guide to Earning a Master's or a Ph.D. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1992.
- Robbins-Roth, Cynthia. Alternative Careers in Science: Leaving the Ivory Tower. Academic Press, 1998.
- Rodman, Dorothy; Bly, Donald; Owens, Frederick H.; Anderson, Ann-Claire, Career Transitions for Chemist, American Chemical Society: Washington, D.C., 1994.
- Rosen, Stephen, and Paul, Celia, Career Renewal: Tools for Scientists and Technical Professionals, Academic Press, 1997.
MIT Connections
- Department of Chemistry: http://web.mit.edu/chemistry/
- Alpha Chi Sigma, Professional Fraternity for Chemistry: http://web.mit.edu/axe/www
Salary
- MIT Salary Survey, http://web.mit.edu/career/www/salary/
Next Steps
- Visit the Careers Office in 12-170 or call 253-4733 to schedule an appointment with a counselor in the School of Science to discuss career choices.
- Network with current students and alumni in your area of interest.
Last updated on Monday, September 18, 06 at 01:34:05 PM EDT.
