What Can You Do With a Chemistry Degree?

Below are 15 occupations that chemistry graduates commonly move into, most common first. Chemical Technician leads at $60,390 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025); across the whole list the middle occupation pays $88,720 and 3 of 15 typically need a graduate degree. A major is a body of study, not a job assignment, so treat every entry as a common destination rather than a promise.

What the degree actually involves: Organic, physical, and analytical chemistry, with lab reports every single week.

Chemistry graduates mostly go where the analysis happens: quality control, testing laboratories, manufacturing and forensics. The degree also travels sideways into materials, food, pharmaceuticals and regulatory work, and several of the research destinations below need a doctorate.

Common destinations: 15
Median pay range: $60,390–$140,910
Projected to grow: 14 of 15
Need a graduate degree: 3 of 15

How this list was built

The destinations are the occupations chemistry graduates commonly move into. They are ordered by how common the destination is, not by what it pays, so the ordinary outcomes sit at the top where they belong rather than being buried under the flattering ones.
Every destination is matched to a real occupation in the 923-occupation NueCareer career bank. A destination that does not resolve to a bank occupation is dropped rather than shown without data.
All pay, growth, openings and education figures come from that bank: BLS OEWS May 2025 for wages, BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 for projected change, annual openings and the typical education needed for entry, and O*NET 30.3 Database for what the work involves. Nothing is estimated and no figure here is generated by an AI model.
Destinations whose BLS typical entry education is a master’s or a doctoral or professional degree are marked Graduate study on the list. That flag is read from the federal data, not asserted by us.
What this list is not: a ranking of which destination you should pick, a statement of how many graduates reach each one, or a promise that the degree entitles you to any of them. Read the full methodology.

15 careers a chemistry degree commonly leads to

Most common destination first. Every card carries the national median annual wage, projected employment change and openings over 2024–2034, and the typical education people already in the job hold.

1. Chemical Technician
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Median pay
$60,390
Growth
+3.7%
Openings/yr
6,700
Education
Associate's
Conduct chemical and physical laboratory tests to assist scientists in making qualitative and quantitative analyses of solids, liquids, and gaseous materials for research and development of new products or processes,…
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
2. Quality Control Analyst
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Median pay
$62,280
Growth
+3.5%
Openings/yr
10,600
Education
Associate's
Conduct tests to determine quality of raw materials, bulk intermediate and finished products.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
3. Chemist
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Median pay
$91,240
Growth
+4.9%
Openings/yr
6,300
Education
Bachelor's
Conduct qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses or experiments in laboratories for quality or process control or to develop new products or knowledge.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
4. Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologist
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Median pay
$62,930
Growth
+1.7%
Openings/yr
22,600
Education
Bachelor's
Perform complex medical laboratory tests for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologist salary & outlook →
5. Forensic Science Technician
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Median pay
$72,060
Growth
+12.8%
Openings/yr
2,900
Education
Bachelor's
Collect, identify, classify, and analyze physical evidence related to criminal investigations.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
6. High School Teacher
Educational Instruction and Library
Median pay
$72,040
Growth
-1.6%
Openings/yr
66,200
Education
Bachelor's
Teach one or more subjects to students at the secondary school level.
High School Teacher salary & outlook →
7. Food Scientist and Technologist
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Median pay
$88,720
Growth
+6.5%
Openings/yr
1,200
Education
Bachelor's
Use chemistry, microbiology, engineering, and other sciences to study the principles underlying the processing and deterioration of foods; analyze food content to determine levels of vitamins, fat, sugar, and protein;…
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
8. Regulatory Affairs Specialist
Business and Financial Operations
Median pay
$80,730
Growth
+3.0%
Openings/yr
33,300
Education
Bachelor's
Coordinate and document internal regulatory processes, such as internal audits, inspections, license renewals, or registrations.
Regulatory Affairs Specialist salary & outlook →
9. Sales Representative, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Product
Sales and Related
Median pay
$104,920
Growth
+1.9%
Openings/yr
27,200
Education
Bachelor's
Sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers where technical or scientific knowledge is required in such areas as biology, engineering, chemistry, and electronics, normally obtained from at least 2 years of postseconda…
Sales Representative, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Product salary & outlook →
10. Environmental Scientist and Specialist, Including Health
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Median pay
$82,220
Growth
+4.4%
Openings/yr
8,500
Education
Bachelor's
Conduct research or perform investigation for the purpose of identifying, abating, or eliminating sources of pollutants or hazards that affect either the environment or public health.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
11. Chemical Engineer
Architecture and Engineering
Median pay
$125,040
Growth
+2.6%
Openings/yr
1,100
Education
Bachelor's
Design chemical plant equipment and devise processes for manufacturing chemicals and products, such as gasoline, synthetic rubber, plastics, detergents, cement, paper, and pulp, by applying principles and technology o…
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
12. Materials Scientist
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Median pay
$117,790
Growth
+4.9%
Openings/yr
600
Education
Bachelor's
Research and study the structures and chemical properties of various natural and synthetic or composite materials, including metals, alloys, rubber, ceramics, semiconductors, polymers, and glass.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
13. Biochemist and Biophysicist
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Graduate study
Median pay
$127,410
Growth
+5.8%
Openings/yr
2,900
Education
Doctorate
Study the chemical composition or physical principles of living cells and organisms, their electrical and mechanical energy, and related phenomena.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
14. Pharmacist
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Graduate study
Median pay
$140,910
Growth
+4.6%
Openings/yr
14,200
Education
Doctorate
Dispense drugs prescribed by physicians and other health practitioners and provide information to patients about medications and their use.
Pharmacist salary & outlook →
15. Chemistry Teacher, Postsecondary
Educational Instruction and Library
Graduate study
Median pay
$93,250
Growth
+2.2%
Openings/yr
1,900
Education
Doctorate
Teach courses pertaining to the chemical and physical properties and compositional changes of substances.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.

Does a chemistry degree decide your career?

For most people, no. Federal survey data has consistently found that only a minority of US graduates work in a job closely related to their degree field, and that share falls further with each year after graduation. The exceptions are the fields where a licence sits at the end of the degree, and they are exceptions precisely because the route is fixed.

The practical reading of the list above is this: 12 of the 15 destinations are typically entered with a bachelor's degree or less, and 3 typically need a master's or a doctoral or professional degree (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034). If the destination you want is in the second group, the extra years are part of the decision from day one, not a detail to sort out later.

Not sure this is the right major in the first place? Take the free college major quiz — fifteen questions that score what you like doing against what each major actually asks of you, and show the same real occupations underneath every match.

Chemistry degrees: FAQ

Do you need a master's degree after a chemistry degree?

For 12 of the 15 destinations on this page, no: BLS Employment Projections (2024–2034) list a bachelor's degree or less as the typical entry requirement. The other 3 typically need a master's or a doctoral or professional degree, and each is marked on the list below. "Typical" describes what people already in the job hold, not an admissions rule.

What is the highest-paying career a chemistry degree leads to?

Of the 15 destinations on this page, Pharmacist has the highest national median wage at $140,910 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), against $50,980 for all US occupations. Typical entry education for it is doctorate, so it usually means further study after the degree. A median is the midpoint of everyone in the job today, so a first salary normally sits well below it.

Which of these careers hires the most people each year?

High School Teacher, with about 66,200 projected openings a year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034). Across all 15 destinations on this page the combined figure is roughly 206,200 openings a year. Openings include replacing people who leave, not just new jobs, which is why a slow-growing occupation can still hire heavily.

Is a chemistry degree worth it?

That depends on the price you pay for it, which this page cannot know. What it can tell you is where the destinations sit: the middle occupation on this list pays $88,720 a year against $50,980 for all US occupations, the range runs $60,390–$140,910, and 14 of the 15 are projected to grow over 2024–2034 (BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034).

How was this list of careers put together?

The destinations were curated as the occupations chemistry graduates commonly move into, ordered by how common rather than by pay, then matched against the 923-occupation NueCareer career bank. Every figure shown comes from that bank: wages from BLS OEWS May 2025, projected change and annual openings and typical entry education from BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, and occupation descriptions from O*NET 30.3 Database. Nothing is estimated, and no figure on this page is generated by an AI model.

How this list was built

15 careers a chemistry degree commonly leads to

1. Chemical Technician

2. Quality Control Analyst

3. Chemist

4. Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologist

5. Forensic Science Technician

6. High School Teacher

7. Food Scientist and Technologist

8. Regulatory Affairs Specialist

9. Sales Representative, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Product

10. Environmental Scientist and Specialist, Including Health

11. Chemical Engineer

12. Materials Scientist

13. Biochemist and Biophysicist

14. Pharmacist

15. Chemistry Teacher, Postsecondary