Chemistry

We hope so.  But it depends on many factors including the economy, your grades, and  whether or not you have engaged in activities that make you competitive.

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OK, so now let's see how well your resume and transcript indicate that you are  qualified to do any of these things?  Have you taken and excelled in a GIS course?   Have you engaged in undergraduate research or an internship in which you analyzed data, prepared reports, recorded measurements, conducted surveys and kept precise records?   Is someone willing to write a letter of recommendation documenting that you preformed  those tasks exceptionally well?  If not, then you'd better get busy preparing yourself for the real world!  Note that simply having a degree in chemistry does not qualify you for an entry level position.  This holds true for ALL jobs.   Nowadays, everyone has a college degree--what makes YOU stand out above everyone else?  Find out about research opportunities, internships, etc. from your advisor.  Think seriously about taking a summer job that is relevant to developing the skills and experiences you need.  Start looking at job ads NOW so you know what you need to do to be qualified for the career you want.

Career opportunities after obtaining a chemistry degree include:

• Medicine
• Law
• Engineering
• Research
  • Pharmaceutical
  • Biotechnology
  • Chemistry research, development and industry
• Education
• Technical writing
• Management / Business

It is very important that you are aware of the many different kinds of career options and then focus your studies so that you will be qualified to do what you want to do.  All jobs are very competitive and it  is critical that you take relevant courses and excel in them AND engage in a variety of  activities that will set you apart from less motivated students.

The Department of Chemistry, Geoscience and Environmental Sciences is available to advise you on your career options and degree plans, as there are many. 

Chemistry advisors for specific disciplines within chemistry are:

• Professional Chemistry - Dr. Arthur Low (Science, room 417)
• Pre-Med/PrePharmacy - Dr. Rueben Walter (Science, room 441) - Dr. Peter Bell (Science, room 416)
• Interdisciplinary/Forensic - Dr. Linda Schultz (Science, room 407)
• Teacher Certification - Dr. Rueben Walter (Science, room 441)
• Biochemistry - Dr. Harold Rathburn (Science, room 313)

Additionally, the Tarleton Academic Advising Center can assist in your curriculum path.

The chemistry program has several different areas of concentration within the Bachelor of Science in Chemistry degree:

1. A conventional degree designed for professional chemists or those planning to continue on to graduate school
2. Degrees designed for the secondary school certification to teach physical science or chemistry
3. Interdisciplinary degree for those desiring a strong second field of emphasis such as biology, geology or business
4. Pre-medical, pre-dental or pre-pharmacy programs
5. Biochemistry emphasis for those intending to combine molecular and chemical techniques, and
6. Forensic chemistry

Visit our page describing faculty research interests and find a professor with interests that most closely match your own.  Learn about their research and then contact them to express your interest in doing research.  Explain why you want to do research.  It is a considerable time commitment for a professor to mentor student researchers, so professors will expect you to be highly motivated and productive in the lab or field.  Do not ask to get involved if you only want to add a line to your resume--you need to really want to do research and be fascinated by the research topic and techniques.