Chemistry Major — careers and salary

Chemistry opens pharma, materials, and increasingly clean-energy roles. Here's what the market looks like.

Career fit →

Career paths

  • Pharmaceutical chemist — $90K median
  • Materials scientist — $105K median
  • Chemical engineer (with additional coursework) — $110K median
  • Forensic chemist — $75K median
  • Environmental chemist — $85K median
  • Battery / clean energy researcher — $110K median (booming)

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a PhD for chemistry careers?

For research roles, yes. For industry positions in pharma or materials, bachelor's + master's is often enough.

Careers this major opens

The US Department of Education maps Chemistry, General (CIP 40.0501) to 7 Standard Occupational Classification codes. Salary and employment figures come from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics via O*NET; the AI-durability signal is our own composite score.

Median salary (US)
$67,440
across 7 careers
Salary range
$44,850 – $141,850
p10 → p90 across careers
Avg AI exposure
0.47
0% high-exposure (0-1 scale)
Career Median Employment AI
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
SOC 25-2031
 $64,580 1,094,500 0.41
Natural sciences managers
SOC 11-9121
 $161,180 104,300 0.60
Chemists
SOC 19-2031
 $84,150 86,800 0.46
Chemical technicians
SOC 19-4031
 $57,790 57,000 0.55
Chemistry teachers, postsecondary
SOC 25-1052
 $86,220 25,400 0.35
Forensic science technicians
SOC 19-4092
 $67,440 20,700 0.48
Food science technicians
SOC 19-4013
 $49,430 20,400 0.45

Sources: NCES CIP-2020 → SOC-2018 crosswalk · US Bureau of Labor Statistics (via O*NET) · WhatTNext Ai AI-durability score. Careers ranked by US employment volume.

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