How To Become An Organic Chemist: What It Is and Career Path

What is an organic chemist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Dr. Betsy Smith

Organic chemists research and study molecules that contain carbon. They investigate these molecules' properties, structures, and reactions to find applications for them eventually. They induce chemical reactions and perform calculations to track or forecast results.

As an organic chemist, you will work in a lab with chemicals and computer-controlled or traditional lab equipment. Apart from conducting lab research, you will be expected to write articles about your experiments' outcomes to publish in scientific journals.

This is a varied and exciting career path that might entail teaching, attending scientific conferences, working with computers, modeling, or simulating chemical reactions. You will work in a team of passionate scientists and have the possibility to advance to managerial or organizational positions leading teams and devising research strategies.

What general advice would you give to an Organic Chemist?

Dr. Betsy Smith

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Elmira College

I would advise students just graduating to be flexible and open-minded in their job search. Chemistry is a challenging major, and students who succeed in it have learned how to learn, so they shouldn't assume that pure chemistry is the only thing they can do. One growing field is biomedical research, and chemistry majors are often qualified for jobs in that area. If you have other strengths like writing, there are often jobs that can combine them as a technical writer or work for a science journal. There are jobs out there that might be perfect for you that you haven't heard of until you see an ad for it, so be open to different possibilities.

ScoreOrganic ChemistUS Average

Salary

6.0

Avg. Salary $76,894

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

5.7

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.25%

Asian 19.03%

Black or African American 7.93%

Hispanic or Latino 9.64%

Unknown 4.68%

White 58.47%

Gender

female 34.27%

male 65.73%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress Level

5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

10.0

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.2

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an organic chemist

Explore organic chemist education requirements

Most common organic chemist degrees

Bachelor's

75.6 %

Master's

12.7 %

Doctorate

7.0 %

Start to develop specific organic chemist skills

Skills	Percentages
NMR	7.86%
Method Development	7.83%
HPLC	7.20%
Organic Synthesis	6.58%
Laboratory Equipment	6.17%

Complete relevant organic chemist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New organic chemists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an organic chemist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real organic chemist resumes.

Research organic chemist duties and responsibilities

Achieve and maintain ISO 9001-2000 certification by creating and implementing policies and serving as management representative.
Ensure compounds are of the highest possible purity using LCMS, NMR spectroscopy, GC, and HPLC.
Perform organic analysis for semi-volatile and acid-base-neutrals using GCMS, HPLC, GCFID, GCNPD, GCECD and IR.
Perform GC analyses for gas, diesel, BTEX and PCB analyses in Washington and remote sites of Alaska.

Prepare your organic chemist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your organic chemist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an organic chemist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Organic Chemist Resume templates

Build a professional Organic Chemist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Organic Chemist resume.

Apply for organic chemist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an organic chemist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do organic chemists rate their job?

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Organic Chemist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019

Cons

Being a passion no resrevation regarding this feild.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019

Pros

To discover new formulas and mixtures thats can break through the science world