All Job Opportunities For Analytical Chemist
The ever
increasing consumer awareness and the demand for quality have made analytical
chemistry and analytical chemist, an integral and essential part of all
industries.
industries.
If you were
to just have a look around your room, you might be surprised to know that
almost everything around you has passed through the hands of an analytical
chemist, who has tested the product in a testing
lab to make sure it meets your requirement and is safe for you to use.
Be it the
cement and steel with which a building is made, the paint on the walls, the
table and chair you are sitting on, the computer that you’re using to read this
article, the air you are breathing, snacks that you are eating and even the
clothes you are wearing all have been tested at some stage by an analytical
chemist.
Keeping this
in mind, you can easily understand the potential, possibilities and choices
that analytical chemists have when they want to choose a growth path for their
career. In this post I have tried to list out some of the job profiles that
various analytical chemists, I know are pursuing. Below is a list of job
profiles, by industry –
Pharmaceutical industry
1. In house
testing of raw materials, packaging materials, intermediates and finished
products
2.
Formulation Development
3.
Validation of manufacturing equipments
4. Effluent
treatment and control
5. Catalyst
efficiency studies
6.
Regulatory compliance
7. New drug
development
8. Method
development and validation
9. Stability
studies on tablets, capsules & ointments
10.
Bioavailability and Bioequivalence studies
11.
Bioanalytical estimations
Food & Beverages
12. In house
testing of raw materials, packaging materials, intermediates and finished
products
13.
Development and testing of blends, drug residues, banned colouring matters and
toxic metals determination in food products
14. Micro
biological testing, detection and identification of pathogens
15.
Proximate analysis and Nutrition labeling of food products
16. Food
adulterants
17. Particle
size analysis and tests for texture and crystalinity
18. Shelf
life estimations
19. Elisa
testing determination of vitamins, drug residues and mycotoxins
20.
Fragrance and flavor analysis of beverages & fruit juices
21. GMO
testing of crops
22. Toxicity
studies of metals, colouring agents and synthetic food additives
Consumer products
23. Testing
for compliance to regulatory standards
24. Safety
testing of toys
25. Testing
of electronics like TV, computers etc.
Environmental Monitoring and Control
26. Ambient
air testing for studying distribution of pollutants
27. Stack
emission testing for sources of pollutants and adopting means for their
reduction
28. Work
place environment monitoring to prevent exposure of workers to harmful levels
of work place emissions
29.
Monitoring and control of industrial effluents
30. Testing
of drinking water , ground water and raw water used in manufacturing
process
31.
Environmental auditing and site assessment
Materials Development
32. Testing
mechanical properties of materials such as tensile strength, hardness,
elongation & impact testing
33.
Thickness and composition of coating films
34.
Structural observations like grain size, crystalinty and amorphous nature of
new materials
35. Changes
in physical and chemical properties due to compositional changes
36. Porosity
testing of finished surfaces for different applications
37. Fire
retardancy of materials to develop fire resistance clothing
Oil and Petroleum Testing
38.
Optimization of refining parameters for greater yields
39.
Environmental monitoring at refineries
40. Catalyst
efficiency in refining process
41. Wear
metal analysis in used oils to estimate useful lifetime of engine oils
42. Water
and sediments in fuels
43. Flash
point, fire point, viscosity, cloud point, pour point and density estimation
for Quality Control
44. Acid,
base and cetane numbers of fuels for utility in different applications
45. Analysis
of additives used in lubricating oils
46. Factors
affecting corrosion resistance of oils and fuels for wear resistance properties
Automotive industry
47. Chemical
analysis and resistance to attack of chassis materials
48. Studies
on coating films
49. Failure
analysis of automotive components
50. Testing
of polymer and plastic accessories
51. Analysis
of fuels and lubricating oils & greases
52.
Optimization of combustion process in engines for high fuel efficiency
53. Analysis
and control of exhaust emissions
Agriculture
54.
Development and analysis of agricultural chemicals such as pesticides,
herbicides and fertilizers
55. Residual
analysis of pesticides on agricultural produce
56. Analysis
of soils for improvement of specific crop yield
57. GMO testing of grains, fruits
& vegetables for compliance with export regulation
58. Effect
of pollutants on quality of agricultural products and studies on their harmful
effects
59. Testing
of pesticide formulations
60. Quality
control of fertilizers
61. Grading
and quality control of agricultural produce
Mineralogy & Geological Sciences
62.
Elemental composition of rocks & minerals for exploration
63.
Elemental composition of archeological objects and ancient statues for tracing
origins
64.
Geological dating of natural formations and archaeological artifacts
65.
Prospecting for minerals, water & oil
66. Quality
testing of precious gemstones
67.
Reservoirs evaluation and development
68. Analysis
of natural gas resources
69.
Establishing quality of drinking water resources such as ground water, rivers
and lakes
70.
Composition of ores prior to refining
Oceanographic Studies
71.
Prospecting of ocean beds for mineral deposits
72. Studies
on environmental contamination of oceans
73.
Migration behavior of species based on changes in ocean temperatures and
distribution of pollutants
74. Isotope
geochemical studies to understand oceanographic and climatic changes
75. Role of
atmospheric CO2 on surface temperature of oceans
Atmospheric Studies
76. Studies
on greenhouse gases & their role in global warming
77. Ozone layer
depletion studies
78.
Atmospheric pollution studies
79. Acid
rain contributing factors
80. Factors
contributing to smog formation in cities
Energy Studies
81. Studies
on coal, petroleum and natural gas resources
82. Nuclear
energy materials and isotope enrichment for peaceful & weapons
development programmes
83.
Development of efficient solar energy photovoltaic cell materials
84. Studies
on biomass and alternate green fuels
Forensics
85. Analysis
of illicit drugs and narcotics
86.
Explosive and gunshot residues in murder investigations
87. Fire
accelerants in cases of arson
88. Analysis
of material recovered from scene of crime, such as, blood, semen, paint chips,
broken glass, fibers and hair strands
89.
Detection of documents forgery through analysis of inks
90. DNA
analysis to help investigations to establish cases related to paternity and
rape
91. Viscera
examination to investigate cases of poisoning
Space exploration
92. Studies
on composition of extraterrestrial material brought by space probes
93.
Composition studies of interplanetary and intergalactic space
94.
Atmospheric composition of planets in our solar system for existence of life
supporting conditions
95. Composition
of meteorites and asteroids
96. Tracing
presence of water on other planets
97. Study of
conditions that favor existence of life
Textiles
98. Chemical composition of natural and synthetic fibers
99. Surface
studies of fibers to optimize finishing processes and dyeing
100.
Synthesis of polymers to formulate materials having desired
characteristics
101. Studies
on blends to improve desirable features of clothing
102. Quality
control for safety parameters like banned colorants, heavy metals, etc.
Radiochemical Analysis
103. Uranium
enrichment
104.
Radiochemical dating of fossil fuels and rocks
105.
Optimization of nuclear power generation processes
106. Studies
on harmful environmental effects of radio isotopes
107.
Monitoring of background radioactivity & exposure of personnel engaged in
nuclear activities
Herbal Medicines & Health Supplements
108.
Chemical identification and structure & elucidation of herbal
materials
109.
Quantitative estimation by techniques such as HPTLC
110.
Estimation and toxicity studies of heavy metals in herbal preparations
111. Quality
control of herbal products and health supplements as per regulatory guidelines
Biotechnology
112.
Monitoring & Control of biochemical reactions & manufacturing
processes
113.
Characterization of protein or peptide products
114.
Development of products through identification and isolation of polypeptides,
proteins, enzymes, nucleic acids & lipids
115. DNA
analysis for finger printing of organisms, crime samples & food products to
establish their origins
116.
Microbiological studies on food samples, pharmaceuticals & drinking water
Analytical Instrument Industry
117.
Instruments sales and marketing
118.
Application development
119.
Application support to customers
120. Development
of new instruments
Government agencies
121. Working
in government labs to regulate various products
122.
Research and Development in government organizations
Education and Training
123.
Teachers and professors in schools and colleges
124. Trainer
in internal training departments of industries
125. Trainer
in professional training organizations like Lab-Training.Com
Reading this
somewhat longish list, I’m sure you must have by now realised the tremendous
potential and opportunities you have ahead of you as an analytical chemist. If
your basics are clear and you understand the fundamentals of analytical
chemistry, you can easily succeed and establish yourself professionally in any
of these fields. But to achieve this, you have to imbibe the habit to keep learning to keep succeeding.
This list is
in no way complete or comprehensive and you are welcome to add to it by leaving
a comments below!
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