125 Job Profiles for an Analytical Chemist!

The ever increasing consumer awareness and the demand for quality have made analytical chemistry and analytical chemist, an integral and essential part of all industries.

If you were to just have a look around your room, you might be surprised to know that almost everything around you has passed through the hands of an analytical chemist, who has tested the product in a testing lab to make sure it meets your requirement and is safe for you to use.

Be it the cement and steel with which a building is made, the paint on the walls, the table and chair you are sitting on, the computer that you’re using to read this article, the air you are breathing, snacks that you are eating and even the clothes you are wearing all have been tested at some stage by an analytical chemist.

Keeping this in mind, you can easily understand the potential, possibilities and choices that analytical chemists have when they want to choose a growth path for their career. In this post I have tried to list out some of the job profiles that various analytical chemists, I know are pursuing. Below is a list of job profiles, by industry –

Pharmaceutical industry 

1. In house testing of raw materials, packaging materials, intermediates and finished products

2. Formulation Development

3. Validation of manufacturing equipments

4. Effluent treatment and control

5. Catalyst efficiency studies

6. Regulatory compliance

7. New drug development

8. Method development and validation

9. Stability studies on tablets, capsules & ointments

10. Bioavailability and Bioequivalence studies

11. Bioanalytical estimations

Food & Beverages

12. In house testing of raw materials, packaging materials, intermediates and finished products 

13. Development and testing of blends, drug residues, banned colouring matters and toxic metals determination in food products

14. Micro biological testing, detection and identification of pathogens 

15. Proximate analysis and Nutrition labeling of food products 

16. Food adulterants 

17. Particle size analysis and tests for texture and crystalinity

18. Shelf life estimations 

19. Elisa testing determination of vitamins, drug residues and mycotoxins

20. Fragrance and flavor analysis of beverages & fruit juices

21. GMO testing of crops 

22. Toxicity studies of metals, colouring agents and synthetic food additives

Consumer products

23. Testing for compliance to regulatory standards

24. Safety testing of toys

25. Testing of electronics like TV, computers etc.

Environmental Monitoring and Control

26. Ambient air testing for studying distribution of pollutants

27. Stack emission testing for sources of pollutants and adopting means for their reduction

28. Work place environment monitoring to prevent exposure of workers to harmful levels of work place emissions

29. Monitoring and control of industrial effluents 

30. Testing of drinking water , ground water and raw water used in manufacturing process 

31. Environmental auditing and site assessment

Materials Development

32. Testing mechanical properties of materials such as tensile strength, hardness, elongation & impact testing

33. Thickness and composition of coating films

34. Structural observations like grain size, crystalinty and amorphous nature of new materials

35. Changes in physical and chemical properties due to compositional changes 

36. Porosity testing of finished surfaces for different applications

37. Fire retardancy of materials to develop fire resistance clothing

Oil and Petroleum Testing

38. Optimization of refining parameters for greater yields

39. Environmental monitoring at refineries 

40. Catalyst efficiency in refining process

41. Wear metal analysis in used oils to estimate useful lifetime of engine oils

42. Water and sediments in fuels 

43. Flash point, fire point, viscosity, cloud point, pour point and density estimation for Quality Control

44. Acid, base and cetane numbers of fuels for utility in different applications

45. Analysis of additives used in lubricating oils

46. Factors affecting corrosion resistance of oils and fuels for wear resistance properties

Automotive industry

47. Chemical analysis and resistance to attack of chassis materials

48. Studies on coating films

49. Failure analysis of automotive components

50. Testing of polymer and plastic accessories 

51. Analysis of fuels and lubricating oils & greases 

52. Optimization of combustion process in engines for high fuel efficiency

53. Analysis and control of exhaust emissions

Agriculture

54. Development and analysis of agricultural chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers

55. Residual analysis of pesticides on agricultural produce 

56. Analysis of soils for improvement of specific crop yield

57. GMO testing of grains, fruits & vegetables  for compliance with export regulation 

58. Effect of pollutants on quality of agricultural products and studies on their harmful effects

59. Testing of pesticide formulations

60. Quality control of fertilizers

61. Grading and quality control of agricultural produce

Mineralogy & Geological Sciences

62. Elemental composition of rocks & minerals for exploration

63. Elemental composition of archeological objects and ancient statues for tracing origins

64. Geological dating of natural formations and archaeological artifacts

65. Prospecting for minerals, water & oil 

66. Quality testing of precious gemstones 

67. Reservoirs evaluation and development

68. Analysis of natural gas resources

69. Establishing quality of drinking water resources such as ground water, rivers and lakes

70. Composition of ores prior to refining

Oceanographic Studies

71. Prospecting of ocean beds for mineral deposits

72. Studies on environmental contamination of oceans

73. Migration behavior of species based on changes in ocean temperatures and distribution of pollutants 

74. Isotope geochemical studies to understand oceanographic and climatic changes 

75. Role of atmospheric CO2 on surface temperature of oceans

Atmospheric Studies

76. Studies on greenhouse gases & their role in global warming 

77. Ozone layer depletion studies

78. Atmospheric pollution studies 

79. Acid rain contributing factors

80. Factors contributing to smog formation in cities

Energy Studies

81. Studies on coal, petroleum and natural gas resources

82. Nuclear energy materials and isotope enrichment for peaceful & weapons development programmes

83. Development of efficient solar energy photovoltaic cell materials

84. Studies on biomass and alternate green fuels

Forensics

85. Analysis of illicit drugs and narcotics 

86. Explosive and gunshot residues in murder investigations

87. Fire accelerants in cases of arson

88. Analysis of material recovered from scene of crime, such as, blood, semen, paint chips, broken glass, fibers and hair strands 

89. Detection of documents forgery through analysis of inks 

90. DNA analysis to help investigations to establish cases related to paternity and rape 

91. Viscera examination to investigate cases of poisoning

Space exploration

92. Studies on composition of extraterrestrial material brought by space probes 

93. Composition studies of interplanetary and intergalactic space 

94. Atmospheric composition of planets in our solar system for existence of life supporting conditions

95. Composition of meteorites and asteroids

96. Tracing presence of water on other planets

97. Study of conditions that favor existence of life

Textiles

98. Chemical composition of natural and synthetic fibers

99. Surface studies of fibers to optimize finishing processes and dyeing 

100. Synthesis of polymers to formulate materials having desired characteristics 

101. Studies on blends to improve desirable features of clothing

102. Quality control for safety parameters like banned colorants, heavy metals, etc.

Radiochemical Analysis

103. Uranium enrichment

104. Radiochemical dating of fossil fuels and rocks 

105. Optimization of nuclear power generation processes

106. Studies on harmful environmental effects of radio isotopes 

107. Monitoring of background radioactivity & exposure of personnel engaged in nuclear activities

Herbal Medicines & Health Supplements

108. Chemical identification and structure & elucidation of herbal materials

109. Quantitative estimation by techniques such as HPTLC 

110. Estimation and toxicity studies of heavy metals in herbal preparations

111. Quality control of herbal products and health supplements as per regulatory guidelines

Biotechnology

112. Monitoring & Control of biochemical reactions & manufacturing processes 

113. Characterization of protein or peptide products

114. Development of products through identification and isolation of polypeptides, proteins, enzymes, nucleic acids & lipids

115. DNA analysis for finger printing of organisms, crime samples & food products to establish their origins

116. Microbiological studies on food samples, pharmaceuticals & drinking water

Analytical Instrument Industry

117. Instruments sales and marketing

118. Application development

119. Application support to customers

120. Development of new instruments

Government agencies

121. Working in government labs to regulate various products

122. Research and Development in government organizations

Education and Training

123. Teachers and professors in schools and colleges

124. Trainer in internal training departments of industries

125. Trainer in professional training organizations like Lab-Training.Com

Reading this somewhat longish list, I’m sure you must have by now realised the tremendous potential and opportunities you have ahead of you as an analytical chemist. If your basics are clear and you understand the fundamentals of analytical chemistry, you can easily succeed and establish yourself professionally in any of these fields. But to achieve this, you have to imbibe the habit to keep learning to keep succeeding.

This list is in no way complete or comprehensive and you are welcome to add to it by leaving a comments below! Uou can also search for Chemist jobs at Jooble.