Explore career options
School of Science
Chemistry
Your careers team
Careers Network is here to support you by providing information, advice, guidance, events and opportunities to enable you to secure placements, work experience, self-employment and graduate careers.
Working closely with your academic school, our team of experts ensures that every student has access to careers advice. As well as large careers fairs, we hold sector-specific events, involving employers and º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ alumni, to help you make valuable connections and secure high-quality placements and graduate roles.
To find out more about what we do and how we can support you, visit Meet the teams.
Details of the Placements Officers for your school can be found here.
We look forward to supporting you throughout your º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ journey.
Key skills developed during your degree
- Scientific and technical understanding of organic, inorganic, analytical and physical chemistry concepts
- Laboratory skills and experience, designing and conducting experiments, sample collection, instrument calibration, monitoring and recording data
- Mathematical/numerical ability, including manipulating, interpreting and analysing data
- Strong analytical skills and problem solving and good reasoning using knowledge of chemical science
- time management and organisation
- attention to detail
- Written and oral communication, with the ability to present, share findings and research clearly
- Ability to work effectively in teams
- IT and technology
- Project management: designing and undertaking scientific investigations including research, problem definition, goal-setting, experimental design and execution to evaluation and conclusion
Career options
Careers directly related to Chemistry:
- Analytical chemist
- Biotechnologist
- Clinical research associate
- Colour technologist
- Crime scene investigator
- Food technologist
- Forensic scientist
- Medicinal chemist
- Nanotechnologist
- Oceanographer
- Palaeontologist
- Pharmacologist
- Radiation protection practitioner
- Research scientist (physical sciences)
- Science writer
- Toxicologist
Careers where your degree would be useful:
Further study
Further study at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ:
Postgraduate students are part of a stimulating and inclusive academic community within the Chemistry Department. They are regularly engaged in high-profile, high-impact research projects which continue to address real world problems in vital areas such as energy and the environment, defence and security, and health and medicine. Academic and research staff are nationally and internationally recognised as experts in their fields.
For more information please visit the Department of Chemistry Postgraduate study page
Further study elsewhere:
Find a Masters in Chemistry across the UK and Europe
Where do graduates go?
What do º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Chemistry graduates do?
Graduates from this subject area have gone on to destinations where:
Employers included:
Google, Mondelez, 3M, Glaxo Smith Kline, NHS, Astra Zeneca, IBM, Cooper Parry, Johnson Matthey, Shell, PepsiCo, Pharmaron UK Ltd, Industrial Fragrances Ltd, Experian PLC, Nucleus Global, Thermal Fisher, Alliance Healthcare, Anglian Water, Deloitte, FDM, National Nuclear Laboratory, PWC
Roles Included:
Laboratory Technician, Science Teacher, Trainee Accountant, Cosmetic Chemist, Laboratory Analyst, Associate Scientist, Graduate Data Analyst, Research Scientist, Quality Control Scientist, Full Stack Developer, Process Development Chemist, Associate Medical Writer, Microbiology Lab Technician, Recruitment Consultant
Further study destinations included:
º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ, Birmingham, Bristol, Southampton, Strathclyde, Oxford, Imperial, and Durham Universities
Further Information:
For more information on companies graduates work for, industry links and career opportunities, visit the subject area page of the University website. You can also find out what our students say in our student stories of personal journeys through and beyond º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ and track the career journeys and º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ experiences of some of our alumni.
Resources to research career areas
Websites:
- What can I do with my degree in Chemistry – Prospects
- Cogent Science Career Pathways
- NHS Careers: Healthcare Science
- RSC Faces of Chemistry
- Sci - a multi-science and multidisciplinary forum where science meets business
- The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry careers page - contains case studies, lists of employers in the pharmaceutical sector, and advice on getting into industry
- The Science Council - Working towards becoming a Registered Scientist
- BioPharmGuy – Biotech company listing
- UK Science Park Association (UKSPA) membership list - a good source of information about science parks which often host smaller employers
- Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) member directory - provides information about medical research charities
- New Scientist Career Guides
- Becoming a Chartered Chemist
- Graduate Entry Medicine information from the Medic Portal
Resources to find work experience, placements and graduate jobs
Students have the option of taking a year-long placement in industry which provides an invaluable opportunity to develop their professional and technical skills further. You will receive talks in your department and one-to-one appointments to help you with the recruitment process for this.
Additionally, we advertise many opportunities for summer internships and encourage students to gain experience valuable in the workplace through extra-curricular activities such as volunteering, committee memberships, work-shadowing and part-time work.
Find a selection of useful job sites below.
- Target Connect - Our website for vacancies and opportunities and internally through your department.
- TalentMatch – º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ’s own internship programme.
- LinkedIn Jobs
- EDT Year In Industry – This organisation can help match you to industrial placements. It's free to use for our students.
- Gradcracker - Search for internships, placements and graduate opportunities. Search under Science, then Chemistry
- TargetJobs - Browse opportunities, career sectors, internships and careers advice.
- Prospects - Search for graduate jobs.
- Bright Network - Search for graduate jobs, internships and placements.
- Handshake – Grad jobs and internships
- Milkround – Grad jobs and work experience
- RateMyPlacement – For placements and internships
- Student Circus - For international students - Pre-filtered jobs with UK employers who sponsor a Skilled Worker visa
- STEM Graduates - Search for STEM specific graduate jobs.
- Adzuna
- CareerJet
- Jobs.ac.uk
- Jobted
- TotalJobs
- Reed
Industry specific websites:
- ABPI Careers
- Chemistry World Jobs
- New Scientist Jobs
- NHS Jobs
- NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme
- NHS Scientist Training Programme
- C+D Jobs
- NHS Scotland Jobs
- Pharmaceutical Journal Jobs
- Cogent Skills
- Nature Careers
- British Pharmacological Society - Jobs & Opportunities
- emedcareers
- Springpod offer virtual work experiences in healthcare
There are many specialist recruitment agencies, some of which are listed below:
- Agency Central – for searching agencies by discipline
- Jobs in Science
- Cranleigh
- Hyper Recruitment Solutions
- SRG - A science, engineering and technical recruiter
- Graduate Recruitment Bureau
- N2 Talent - Jobs board
- ECM Selection
- VRS Recruitment
You can find information on using recruitment agencies on the Prospects website here.
Professional bodies, sector and labour market information (LMI)
Professional bodies:
- Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
- British Pharmacological Society
- Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)
- Biochemical Society
- British Toxicology Society
- Institute of Physics (IOP)
- Institute of Science & Technology (IST)
- Royal Society of Biology
Sector and labour market information: