What qualifications will I need to be an industrial chemist

What uni do you want to go to? It will tell you the entry requirements on their website.

I'm 17 I'm currently self teaching my A levels, I will take some AS exams I will sit my AS exams this summer and in looking to study a Bsc In Chemistry I am thinking of becoming an industrial chemist, what qualifications will I need?

Do you mean, 'I will be self-teaching my A levels. Which subjects should I choose?' or, 'I am already in the middle of the first year of self-teaching A level courses in subjects X, Y and Z'?

What A level subjects are you currently studying?

Generally, a degree in chemistry would be necessary. Some areas of industrial chemistry might be more amenable to some applied chemistry courses or perhaps chemical engineering at a stretch. Strathclyde has a joint course in Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering that might be of interest on that latter note (bear in mind the ChemE part has relatively little chemistry involved, and is mostly maths and physics; however that course is mostly a joint honours between chemistry and ChemE so will have more chemistry than most ChemE courses).

A-level Chemistry would be a requirement, and most chemistry courses require or prefer at least one other science. It would be better to take three STEM subjects though to give yourself the best preparation possible. I would suggest A-level Maths be one of them, since maths is ubiquitous in the sciences and chemistry is no different. Either physics or biology would be a suitable second science generally, although physics might be a bit more relevant for "industrial" chemistry which might focus more on analytical and physical chemistry than biological chemistry. You could consider taking A-level Further Maths if you also take physics, which would give you a very strong background in for any physical sciences course, including chemistry (although would be "overkill" perhaps for a lot of chemistry courses - although you'll likely cover at least some of the FM content sooner or later.

@CheeseIsVeg is a chemist at uni currently and might have some advice on subjects to take (and/or corrections to my suggestions above!).

What uni do you want to go to? It will tell you the entry requirements on their website.

Ah cool I'm self-teaching A level Maths, Chemistry, accounting and level 3 mathematical studies
I'm sitting AS exams this summer then I'll sit the full A level exams on the summer 2020
Are you saying there will be FM content in a BSc Chemistry course?

I would expect you'll cover matrices and complex numbers for quantum chemistry. If the course is very light on physical chemistry they might skim over that I guess? I doubt you'll go into a great amount of detail beyond just familiarising you with the formalism.

Oh right and would say I would be at disadvantage doing accounting instead of further maths?

Another thing, if you graduate with a royal society in chemistry accredited degree will you be a chartered chemist?

Not hugely, it's mainly those two topics I think, and probably not even in as much depth as you'll do in FM (for most courses). Biology or Physics would probably be more helpful than either FM or Accounting for the majority of courses, although again many of the topics aren't likely to be developed that much in the course of such a degree (but some might); generally a third STEM subject would be more useful than accounting. Accounting just isn't really relevant to anything except accountancy (and even then, it's neither required nor, as I can tell, particularly helpful for passing the accounting professional exams).



Not sure how chartered status and accreditation work for chemistry - @Royal Society of Chemistry might be able to advise. If it's like CEng, the degree won't in of itself make you a chartered whatever, but it will (assuming it's accredited as meeting the relevant requirements) meet some or all of the academic requirements of becoming chartered (with the remainder normally achieved working in a relevant position). But the RSC rep can probably give more information; you might like to look to see what info is available on their website while you wait for them to reply.

Not hugely, it's mainly those two topics I think, and probably not even in as much depth as you'll do in FM (for most courses). Biology or Physics would probably be more helpful than either FM or Accounting for the majority of courses, although again many of the topics aren't likely to be developed that much in the course of such a degree (but some might); generally a third STEM subject would be more useful than accounting. Accounting just isn't really relevant to anything except accountancy (and even then, it's neither required nor, as I can tell, particularly helpful for passing the accounting professional exams).



Not sure how chartered status and accreditation work for chemistry - @Royal Society of Chemistry might be able to advise. If it's like CEng, the degree won't in of itself make you a chartered whatever, but it will (assuming it's accredited as meeting the relevant requirements) meet some or all of the academic requirements of becoming chartered (with the remainder normally achieved working in a relevant position). But the RSC rep can probably give more information; you might like to look to see what info is available on their website while you wait for them to reply.

Thanks @artful_lounger for the tag,

Great job so far with your answer too.

Completing a Royal Society of Chemistry accredited degree achieves two things.

Firstly, it will meet the criteria for admission to Associate Member of the RSC, so as soon as you graduate you can show employers that you've already got a wealth of knowledge and that you're committed to your own personal and professional development after university by continuing membership of your professional body.

Secondly, it meets the knowledge component of Chartered Chemist (CChem). To fully meet the criteria for CChem, there are elements linked to experience, which we would expect someone to gain after their first degree, but having an accredited degree means that you have a quicker route as you've proven you have met the knowledge criteria already.

I hope that helps, but don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any further queries about accredited degrees, membership, chartered status etc.

All the best,

Gareth
Royal Society of Chemistry

What are the elements gained by experience which meet the criteria of CChem?