Explore career options
School of Science
Chemistry
Your careers team
Careers Network is here to support you by providing information, advice, guidance, events and opportunities to enable you to secure placements, work experience, self-employment and graduate careers.
Working closely with your academic school, our team of experts ensures that every student has access to careers advice. As well as large careers fairs, we hold sector-specific events, involving employers and Loughborough alumni, to help you make valuable connections and secure high-quality placements and graduate roles.
To find out more about what we do and how we can support you, visit Meet the teams.
Details of the Placements Officers for your school can be found here.
We look forward to supporting throughout your Loughborough journey.
Key skills developed during your degree
- Analytical and problem-solving. Examining and interpreting results and making evaluations based on limited information.
- IT and technology. Understanding and using computer software/models, processing data, using spreadsheets, word-processing and internet communication.
- Monitoring. Systematically recording chemical properties, events and changes;
- Teamwork. Undertaking group project work
- Time management and organisation. Planning and executing experiments, undertaking individual and team project work and completing your dissertation
- Written and oral communication. Sharing your research findings via written reports and oral presentations to different audiences, assimilating scientific theories and arguments for discussion and debate
Career options
Careers directly related to Chemistry:
- Analytical Chemist
- Chemical Engineer (with further qualifications)
- Data Scientist
- Forensic Scientist
- Healthcare Communications
- Healthcare Scientist
- Medical Sales
- Quality Assurance
- Regulatory Affairs
- Sustainability Consultant
Careers where your degree would be useful:
- Accountant
- Business Analyst
- Law
- Patent Attorney
- Science Writer
Further study
Further study at Loughborough University:
The Department of Chemistry is undergoing an exciting period of development. Their new laboratories and newly refurbished research laboratories provide an outstanding environment to conduct scientific research.
The department's strengths are in analytical science including: the study and detection of biomarkers; in energy research such as solar energy harvesting, hydrogen generation, functional energy materials/coatings, photochemistry, and batteries and supercapacitors; and in catalytic, synthetic and flow methods to prepare new molecules for health and materials applications.
For further information, visit the Department of Chemistry's Further study webpage
Further study elsewhere:
Popular areas of Further Study:
This is according to Loughborough University’s most recent 2017 DLHE Statistics:
- MSc Food Production Management
- PGCE Chemistry
- MSc Management
- MSc in Brewing and Distilling
- MSc Global Health and Management
- PhD Chemistry
- PhD Biochemistry
Where do graduates go?
What do Loughborough Chemistry graduates do?
Graduates from this subject area have gone on to destinations where:
Employers included:
3M, ACM Global Laboratories, Arcinova, Atomic Weapons Establishment, Chem Aqua, EY, GSK, Lucideon, M&A Pharmachem Ltd, Magna Laboratories Limited, Onyx Scientific Ltd.
Roles included:
Account Manager, Analytical Scientist, Clinical Laboratory Technician, Commissioning Engineer, Data Analyst, Development Chemist, Health, Safety and Environmental Assistant Advisor, Market Research Analyst, Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemist, Quality Control Analyst, Research Chemist, Technology Product Officer.
Further Study included:
MChem in Chemistry, MSc Advanced Chemical Engineering with IT and Management, MSc in Brewing and Distilling, MSc in Food Production Management, PGCE Chemistry, PhD Chemistry, PhD Engineering.
Further information:
For more information on companies graduates work for, industry links and career opportunities, visit the subject area page of the University website. You can also find out what our students say in our student stories of personal journeys through and beyond Loughborough and track the career journeys and Loughborough experiences of some of our alumni.
Resources to research career areas
Websites:
- Cogent Science Career Pathways
- NHS Careers: Healthcare Science
- Prospects, What can I do with my Chemistry degree?
- RSC: 175 faces of chemistry
- RSC: A Future in Chemistry
- Sci - a multi-science and multidisciplinary forum where science meets business
- The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry careers page - contains case studies, lists of employers in the pharmaceutical sector, and advice on getting into industry.
- The Science Council - Working towards becoming a Registered Scientist
- BioPharmGuy - https://biopharmguy.com/links/country-united-kingdom-all-location.php
Videos:
- Royal Society of Chemistry: Faces of Chemistry
- Vega Science Career Videos
- What is a Patent Attorney - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35huJlkxZPE&feature=youtu.be
Publications:
Resources to find work experience, placements and graduate jobs
Students have the option of taking a year-long placement in industry which provides an invaluable opportunity to develop their professional and technical skills further. We will deliver talks in your department and offer one-to-one appointments to help you with the recruitment process for this.
Additionally, we advertise many opportunities for summer internships and encourage students to gain experience valuable in the workplace through extra-curricular activities such as volunteering, committee memberships, work-shadowing and part-time work.
- Target Connect - Our website for vacancies and opportunities and internally through your department.
- Year In Industry – This organisation can help match you to industrial placements. It's free to use for our students.
- Gradcracker - Search for internships, placements and graduate opportunities.
- TargetJobs - Browse opportunities, career sectors, internships and careers advice.
- Prospects - Search for graduate jobs.
- Talentview Construction - some Chemistry related opportunities listed here
- STEM Graduates - Search for STEM specific graduate jobs.
- Ask in your department.
Chemistry specific websites:
- ABPI Careers
- Chemistry World Jobs
- Chemjobs
- New Scientist Jobs
- SRG - A science, engineering and technical recruiter
- Cogent Skills
Professional bodies, sector and labour market information (LMI)
Professional bodies:
- The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences
- The Royal Society of Chemistry
- The British Toxicology Society
- The Biochemical Society
Sector and labour market information (LMI):
It is a good idea to follow news and developments within the sector you are interested in, and also to follow news in general to consider how other news stories can impact on your job sector. This is important as it helps not only with your professional development, but commercial awareness questions are often asked at job interviews for undergraduate roles. Consider using social media to follow organisations which appeal to you, as they will give relevant, up-to-date sources of information. Below are some links you may find useful:
- BBSRC - biosciences for the future – useful for doing research prior to interview; also info on research grants, studentships etc.
- Chemistry World
- I want to work in...Science
- NERC - The National Envorinment Research Council.
- New Scientist
- NHS Careers
- Pharmiweb - Useful for news stories from the industry.
- The Royal Society of Chemistry