What can a chemistry degree really give you (job wise)?

Hello, I am supposed to be starting uni this year and what I’ve applied for already didn’t work out and inside my heart I know that what I applied for isn’t right for me anyway and that I’d rather pick chemistry as I enjoy it so much but I’m just really worried about what jobs/professions I could get out of a chemistry degree? Is it as valuable as other degrees? I’ve done my reasearch but I’m still worried so please if someone does chemistry or knows more about it then could you please help me!?😭 Also, how possible is it to actually get into finance or banking with a chemistry degree because wouldn’t people prefer to take on someone with a degree in finance or maths rather than someone with a chemistry degree?

Thank you in advance

Reply 1

TajwarC

Original post by V080xx

A lot of graduate jobs in science don't ask for a specific degree, you'll see things like "A degree in Chemistry, Engineering, Physics or related disciplines". So just because you do a chemistry degree it doesn't mean you can only do a job in chemistry. The benefit of a chemistry degree is that it is quite interdisciplinary, if you pick the right course you will also be relatively good at mathematics and have a working understanding of some aspects of physics and biology also. This is particularly good if you want to do a master's or PhD.

Although it is possible to go into finance/banking with a chemistry degree, if that's what you plan on doing then I wouldn't suggest taking chemistry. Not to step on anyone's toes but there are far less stenuous and stressful degrees you can pick if you want to go into finance/banking

Reply 2

University of Bath

Official Rep

Hello,

I am a current student at the University of Bath studying Natural Sciences, and I take modules in chemistry and have a few friends on the chemistry course. If you study chemistry, you can obviously go into any field related to chemistry (i.e. lab research, pharmaceuticals, forensics). It is also very common for students with science degrees to go into fields like finance, accounting and marketing. This is because the skills you obtain through doing a degree like chemistry are considered desirable in such jobs. Although it could potentially be easier to get into finance if you do a finance degree, if chemistry is what you are passionate about then I (personally) would recommend choosing chemistry. That way, you are keeping your options open to go into a career related to chemistry or finance. If you studied a straight finance course, then you are narrowing your options. I've linked here a list of jobs that the 2017 chemistry graduates went into, and here is another list from Prospect.ac.uk. As you can see, there is a massive range of career options.

The University of Bath offers the following chemistry degrees:
- Chemistry
- Chemistry for Drug Discovery
- Chemistry with Management

Another option, if you also enjoy other sciences, is the Natural Sciences courses. Here you choose a major subject and a minor subject from Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Pharmacology and Physics. You also choose an optional module, which could be another science module, Mathematics, Psychology, Management or Education. A document detailing all the options can be found here. For example, you could study:
- Chemistry with biochemistry
- Chemistry with biology
- Chemistry with pharmacology
- Chemistry with physics.
This is a highly interdisciplinary degree and is great if your interests lie across multiple sciences and/or if you aren't yet sure what career you'd like to go into.

These courses can be studied as BSc or MSci/MChem, and you can choose to include a placement year or study year abroad. A major benefit of studying at Bath is the placements programme, where you go into industry for a year (i.e. into a job, research, office work). This allows you to get an idea of what sort of job you might like to go into by getting some (often paid) experience, as well as massively increasing your employability. Recent employers include GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Syngenta. You can find out more about the Bath placement programme here.

If you are considering finance/banking over chemistry, Bath also offers courses related to that such as Accounting & Finance, and Business & Management. A full list of courses can be found here. I wouldn't get too worried, as even if you start a course and decide you don't like it, you can always drop out and switch to a different one. Although this isn't ideal, it is very common - I have a friend who did a year of Mechanical Engineering at Bath, then dropped out and started again doing Psychology at Bath!

I hope this has helped, and feel free to ask if you have any other questions!
Eryn, 2nd year Natural Sciences student

What can a chemistry degree really give you (job wise)?

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