Analytical Chemist - Science is dynamic, don't be the Arc
and science of determining what matter is and how much of it exists. In 2012 (salary survey data), analytical chemistry was the most popular field of work for ACS chemists.
What Do
Analytical Chemists Do?
Analytical chemists
use their knowledge of chemistry, instrumentation, computers, and statistics to
solve problems in almost all areas of chemistry and for all kinds of
industries.
For example, their measurements are used to assure the safety and
quality of food, pharmaceuticals, and water; to assure compliance with
environmental and other regulations; to support the legal process; to help
physicians diagnose diseases; and to provide measurements and documentation
essential to trade and commerce.
Analytical chemists often work in
service-related jobs and are employed in industry, academia, and government.
They conduct basic laboratory research; perform process and product
development; design instruments used in analytical analysis; teach; and work in
marketing and law.
Analytical chemistry can be a challenging profession that
makes significant contributions to many fields of science.
Typical Job
Functions
- Perform qualitative and quantitative analysis
- Sample, define, isolate, concentrate, and preserve sample
- Set error limits
- Validate and verify results through calibration and standardization
- Perform separations based on differential chemical properties
- Create new ways to make measurements
- Interpret data in proper context
- Communicate their results and conclusions to other scientists
Specialized
Knowledge
Automation has
decreased the demand for analytical chemists to conduct repeated routine
analysis—robots can prepare and analyze many samples, while advances in
computer power allow the development of increasingly sophisticated algorithms
to analyze and interpret analytical results.
Though high-volume routine
instrumental analyses using well-defined procedures are automated, knowledge of
the organic, inorganic, and physical chemistry of the sample and the
measurement is valuable, particularly when troubleshooting.
These increasingly
sophisticated analytical methods and instrumentation as well as increasing
regulatory requirements have opened new opportunities for analytical chemists
in a variety of areas.
For example, quality assurance specialists help to
guarantee that analytical laboratories follow documented and approved
procedures, and chemists with solid technical and computer skills are needed to
develop and use complex analytical techniques.
Government agencies need
analytical chemists to verify compliance with regulatory requirements.
Finally,
corporate downsizing and outsourcing have provided the impetus for many
entrepreneurial analytical chemists to start their own businesses, specializing
in particular kinds of analyses or classes of compounds.
Work Settings
Workplaces for
analytical chemists are as varied as their job responsibilities and the
sophistication of the laboratories they work in.
The fact that a lab may not be
equipped with the state-of-the-art instrumentation does not mean its chemical
measurements are any less sophisticated.
It may just mean that the measurements
and techniques are cost-effective and sufficient for their intended purpose.
Depending on the industry and job responsibilities, analytical chemists may
also work in manufacturing areas or as applications or sales and marketing
chemists for vendors of instrumentation and apparatuses.
Employers tend to
recruit analytical chemists with experience operating different and
increasingly sophisticated instruments that are used for routine measurements.
In addition, they often seek analytical chemists with experience in specific
types of analysis—for example, the analysis of samples unique to
pharmaceuticals, food, environmental samples, polymers, or minerals.
Much of
forensic chemistry is analytical chemistry applied to evidence of potential
crimes.
Analytical chemists
are generally involved with making measurements by using sophisticated
state-of-the-art computer controlled instrumentation in government laboratories
and laboratories in all areas of the chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology,
and food industries.
They may also be involved in developing techniques within
these laboratories as well as in the laboratories of instrumentation vendors.
Analytical chemists are also suited for positions as quality assurance
specialists to guarantee that procedures and protocols are followed and in
quality control where they ensure the quality of products being produced.
Professional
Organizations
- ACS Division of Analytical
Chemistry
- Subdivision of Chromatography
and Separations Chemistry (SCSC)
- Analytical Chemistry
Springboard
- Analytical Sciences Digital
Library (ASDL)
- National Registry of Certified Chemists (NRCC)
- Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS)
Where Do Analytical Chemists Work?
Industry
The chemical industry is crucial to modern world economies and
works to convert raw materials such as oil, natural gas, air, water, metals, Sand and other minerals into more than 70,000 different products.
These base products are
then used to make consumer products in addition to manufacturing, service,
construction, agriculture, and other industries.
Over three-fourths of the chemical industry’s output worldwide is
polymers and plastics.
Chemicals are used to make a wide variety of consumer
goods, as well as thousands of products that are inputs to the agriculture,
manufacturing, construction, and service industries.
The chemical industry
itself consumes about a quarter of its own output. Major industrial customers
include rubber, Glass and plastic products, textiles, apparel, petroleum refining,
pulp and paper, and primary metals.
Chemical companies:
Consumer Products
Consumer products companies make consumer
products for everyday use, such as soaps, detergents, cleaning products,
plastic goods, and personal care products.
Agriculture and Food
Food companies produce products you see
every day in your pantry and on supermarket shelves. Analytical scientists
perform tests and analyses to ensure product quality and stability, develop
assays, and troubleshoot and repair instrumentation. They may test for the
presence of illegal growth hormones or for higher than allowed levels of
pesticides or herbicides in the food.
Forensic Labs
Most forensic labs are run by state or
local municipalities. In addition to the technical aspects, scientists working
in forensic labs must deal with chain of custody issues and may be called upon
to testify in court about the results of their analyses.
Oil and Petroleum
The petroleum industry includes the
global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting, and
marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are
fuel oil and gasoline. Petroleum is also the raw material for many chemical
products, including pharmaceuticals, solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, and
plastics. The industry is usually divided into three major components: upstream
(exploration and production), midstream (transportation), and downstream
(refining crude oil, processing and purifying natural gas, creating
petrochemicals).
Pharmaceutical
The pharmaceutical industry develops, produces, and markets drugs
licensed for use as medications for humans or animals. Some pharmaceutical
companies deal in brand-name (i.e., has a trade name and can be produced and
sold only by the company holding the patent) and/or generic (i.e., chemically
equivalent, lower-cost version of a brand-name drug) medications and medical
devices (agents that act on diseases without chemical interaction with the
body). Pharmaceuticals (brand name and generic) and medical devices are subject
to a large number of country-specific laws and regulations regarding patenting,
testing, safety assurance, efficacy, monitoring, and marketing.
Universities and Government Labs
Graduate and research universities and government laboratories are highly
focused environments exploring new developments in the field, publishing papers
and textbooks, and providing new Ph.Ds. to the field. At both universities and
in government facilities, time is dedicated to applying for funding to support
their research.
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