Chemists
Conduct qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses or experiments in laboratories for quality or process control or to develop new products or knowledge.
Most important skills
- Science
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Mathematics
- Active Learning
Key knowledge
- Chemistry
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Production and Processing
- Administration and Management
- Computers and Electronics
- Administrative
- Physics
What the work involves
- Analyze organic or inorganic compounds to determine chemical or physical properties, composition, structure, relationships, or reactions, using chromatography, spectroscopy, or spectrophotometry techniques.
- Develop, improve, or customize products, equipment, formulas, processes, or analytical methods.
- Compile and analyze test information to determine process or equipment operating efficiency or to diagnose malfunctions.
- Confer with scientists or engineers to conduct analyses of research projects, interpret test results, or develop nonstandard tests.
- Direct, coordinate, or advise personnel in test procedures for analyzing components or physical properties of materials.
- Induce changes in composition of substances by introducing heat, light, energy, or chemical catalysts for quantitative or qualitative analysis.
- Write technical papers or reports or prepare standards and specifications for processes, facilities, products, or tests.
- Prepare test solutions, compounds, or reagents for laboratory personnel to conduct tests.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Realistic, Conventional.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree (55.9% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (37.3%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (37.1%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Chemists is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 84% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 67% of occupations compared | 27% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly important” |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 73% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 77% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Moderate | Lower on time pressure than 55% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 76% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 70% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 69% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Very serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: moderate
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 21.73%
- Contact with others about half the time: 16.67%
- Contact with others most of the time: 19.31%
- Constant contact with others: 42.29%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 11.97%
- Fairly important: 27.43%
- Important: 25.36%
- Very important: 21.19%
- Extremely important: 14.04%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 41.52%
- Very important: 21.27%
- Extremely important: 37.21%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2023
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 0%
- Some freedom: 56.44%
- A lot of freedom: 43.56%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 8.34%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 28.87%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 38.18%
- Every day: 24.62%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Conflict situations
- Never: 19.06%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 43.73%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 15.27%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 17.2%
- Every day: 4.73%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 34.16%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 20.21%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 13.69%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 31.93%
- Every day: 0%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2023
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 10.43%
- Fairly serious: 19.1%
- Serious: 10.91%
- Very serious: 37.3%
- Extremely serious: 22.26%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
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O*NET-SOC 19-2031.00 · SOC 19-2031 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8