Careers in chemistry

Woman drawing chemical structures on a mirror with a marker
Getting real-life experience in labs will give you a head start on your career.

Chemistry students get a head start on their careers with hands-on experience in modern laboratories, research experience courses and a dynamic co-op program.

Chemistry is the ideal preparation for a career or further studies in a wide variety of allied disciplines and interdisciplinary areas.

Career options for chemistry graduates:

  • Agricultural scientist
  • Chemical biology researcher
  • Clinical chemist
  • Environmental scientist
  • Environmental sustainability manager
  • Laboratory technician
  • Materials scientist
  • Medical/health professional
  • Petroleum scientist
  • Pharmaceutical researcher
  • Pharmacist
  • Process chemist
  • Quality control chemist
  • Research & development director
  • Research assistant
  • Research manager or primary investigator
  • Teacher or professor
  • Veterinarian
  • Waste management scientist
  • And pretty much anything else...

Develop your career

Meet our alumni

Ryan Abel

Environmental Lead, In-Situ & Forestry
Fort McKay First Nation

Ryan is currently a board member on the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association representing the Fort McKay First Nation, and holds a director position on the governance committee. He works closely with Environment Canada to manage the Oski-ôtin Air Monitoring Site in an effort to better understand air emissions in the oil sands and their impacts on communities, as well as the atmospheric chemistry taking place in the region. Read more

BSc Chemistry (2010)

Cassidy Conover

Research and Development Chemist
Seastar Chemicals

Cassidy received an offer to join the R&D group at Seastar prior to graduation and started working with them two weeks after her last exam. Her group works on synthesizing new organometallic complexes for semiconductor applications. Read more

BSc Chemistry (2017)

Desirée Dillman

Laboratory Assistant
Faculty of Science, University of Victoria

Since graduation, Desirée has worked as a private consultant in the field of chemical oceanography and as a Science Storekeeper. She is currently a Laboratory Assistant in Chemistry at UVic.

BSc Chemistry (2013)

Hannah Sinclair

Chemistry teacher

Hannah's teaching position requires more than just lecturing in classrooms. As a DP teacher, she also acts as the supervisor for the students. Students must write a 4000-word research essay, where she is their supervisor, and they must also do a research project in chemistry, where they work one-on-one with her.

MSc Chemistry (2017)

Jingwei Luo

Chief Science Officer
NH Resources

Jingwei is currently working as co-founder of a Victoria startup looking to develop the next generation of Omega-3 products, which are different from any of the existing omega-3 products in the global market. His focus is to design the product, from ingredients to packaging, and to handle all the details of the product line. Read more

PhD Chemistry (2014)

Kate Waldie

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
University of California San Diego

Katie is a postdoctoral fellow in the Kubiak Lab at the University of California San Diego. Her research group combines inorganic chemistry, materials science, and electrochemistry to address problems in energy-related catalysis. Her project focuses on developing new approaches to the transformation of carbon dioxide into fuels using renewable energy. Read more

BSc Chemistry (2010)

Eric Price

Assistant Professor & Canada Research Chair in Radiochemistry
Department of Chemistry, University of Saskatchewan

Eric's research program utilizes the new cyclotron facility at UofS, where they are making new chelators, bioconjugation chemistry, and other radiopharmaceutical precursors. They then take these molecules to the cyclotron facility and combine them with radioactive metals and radioactive halogens. These radioactive "drugs" are used to try and improve early detection and treatment of diseases. Read more

BSc Chemistry (2009)