Medicinal chemistry is the scientific field that looks at chemical compounds and structures to see how they interact with biological systems (particularly the human body) to develop pharmaceutical products and drugs.
You can comfortably commit to studying medicinal chemistry without pigeonholing yourself into one particular job. In addition to all the soft skills you could learn like problem-solving, communication, and organizational skills, you'll also be well-versed in chemistry and biology.
For medicinal chemistry, an undergraduate degree is a minimum requirement, but it's quite common for medicinal chemists to hold a master's degree or even a Ph.D., which means you'll be sufficiently qualified for a lot of related careers, too.
For some jobs, a medicinal chemist will be more than qualified. For others, some adaptation or special training may be required. In any case, adapting to any of these jobs shouldn't be particularly difficult for a fully-qualified medicinal chemist.
Every job is different so remember that some of these careers may require more than just an undergraduate degree, but most of them should be somewhat open and available to anybody with an education in medicinal chemistry. If you're looking for extra help while studying, consider finding a chemistry tutor near me.
Laboratory Chemists
A laboratory chemist, or lab chemist, works to turn chemicals into products. They do this through research, particularly at a molecular level, and use their findings to isolate, develop, or optimize chemicals for their desired use.
A lab chemist could be using these skills as part of medicinal chemistry to develop drugs and other pharmaceuticals or they could be studying chemicals and their reactions for other uses and applications.
For anyone who wants to be directly involved in developing pharmaceuticals, working as a lab chemist could be one of the first jobs you have in the industry. From there, you can work your way up.
Research and Development
While lab chemists can be part of research and development (R&D), they're not the only part of it. With your medicinal chemistry qualifications, you could become a chemist specializing in R&D for pharmaceutical products but not necessarily a lab chemist.
You need to have excellent problem-solving skills and an excellent grasp of chemistry, which you should have if you have a degree, master's, or Ph.D. in it from one of the country's best schools.
Don't forget that while a medicinal chemist can work as an R&D chemist for pharmaceuticals, you can also move beyond the confines of developing pharmaceutical products and develop other chemical products, processes, or research.
Even though your expertise in chemistry and biology could be put to excellent use developing medicines and drugs, you always have the option to move into other fields, especially if your education has been quite varied.
Toxicologist
A toxicologist looks at how chemicals affect living things to establish how dangerous they are and at which levels. As toxicologists need to understand both chemistry and biology, this is a career that medicinal chemists would be suited to doing and could quite easily pivot to.
A typical toxicologist may carry out experiments or analyze data and communicate their findings to the people or organizations responsible for ensuring people are kept safe from toxic substances.
Chemist
A medicinal chemist, as their title implies, is a type of chemist. With a good knowledge of chemistry, a medicinal chemist could quite simply pivot to working as an out-and-out chemist.
As you can imagine, as a medicinal chemist, there are plenty of jobs and careers in chemistry that you'd also be able to do with little to no retraining required.
There'll also be a lot of chemistry jobs that may require retraining or some adapting, especially in very specialized fields or in areas in that you have little experience. However, in most cases, your education, especially if you have a master's degree or a doctorate, will mean that you're most of the way there.
Materials Scientist
A material scientist, in many ways, does a similar job to a medicinal chemist. However, in terms of how their work is applied, the differences are quite apparent.
A medicinal chemist will study and develop chemical compounds based on how they interact with biological systems within the human body so that they can be used as pharmaceutical products and drugs.
A materials scientist will look at how materials work. This can be either at a chemical or structural level or on larger scales. An understanding of chemistry is important and an understanding of physics may also be needed. Of course, this depends on the materials being studied and the scope of how they're being studied.
Generally, a material scientist may work with metals, ceramics, polymers, or composites and look to develop new ones for specific applications or study existing ones to either improve them or make them more suitable for particular applications.
Environmental Scientist
An environmental scientist will study environmental issues. They'll use their findings to develop protocols, plans, or even policies.
They'll look to take their findings to policymakers, government organizations, NGOs, or anybody involved with environmental issues, sustainable practices, or public health and the environment. Much like with toxicology, they may need to look at how certain chemical compounds or agents interact with human biology and isolate harmful or damaging substances that could harm people or the environment. Students or professionals based in Los Angeles can also find a chemistry tutor near me for practical or theoretical support.
Pharmaceutical Sales Representative
Moving from the scientific side to the business side may feel like a sideways step, but it might be a great match for certain people, especially if you're looking for a change of scenery.
An understanding of how the products work at a chemical level could be indispensable when it comes to selling them, especially since the customers buying said products will also likely understand what it all means.
A background in medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry could give you an edge over other sales representatives, especially when working in a competitive sales environment.
Industrial Hygienist
An industrial hygienist will look to ensure the safety of workers in industrial settings against chemical and other hazardous materials. In the same way that a toxicologist might look at how chemical compounds can harm people, an industrial hygienist will need to work within applicable regulations to ensure that work environments are safe. They'll look to assess the levels of hazardous materials and chemicals, develop and implements protocols and plans, and may even provide training to staff members to make sure that everything's compliant.
Enrich your understanding and appreciation of the fascinating world of science by actively engaging in your chemistry class, where knowledge transforms into discovery and curiosity ignites a passion for learning.
Occupational Health and Safety Specialist
An occupational health and safety specialist is in a similar line of work to an industrial hygienist but with less of a focus on just chemicals.
They also need to consider other factors that could affect health and safety beyond the presence of chemicals or hazardous materials. This could include ventilation, materials, lighting, fire hazards, etc.
For this kind of work, your understanding of how chemicals interact with the human body would be invaluable, but that isn't the only thing you'll need to consider.
How Much Do Medicinal Chemists Earn?
With such a broad range of potential careers, it can be difficult to estimate exactly how much a medicinal or pharmaceutical chemist earns and with all the varying levels and salaries that come with a promotion in each field, an exact figure can be even harder to find.
That said, the figures we've found are quite good and the average medicinal chemist is earning around $95k a year with the most common ranges being between $84k and $111k a year, which is mostly due to medicinal chemistry being a difficult and specialist area.
The important thing to remember is that salary increases with experience and seniority so while your first jobs in medicinal chemistry may be lower than this average, by the later stages of your career, provided you continue to move up the ladder, you should be earning beyond the average.
It's also important that these figures are for medicinal chemists now and the market is expected to grow. Generally, the more the market grows, the more you can expect to earn by working in that industry.
The medicinal chemistry market is expected to continue growing throughout the 2020s more quickly than the national average so not only is it a good industry to get into now, but it'll also be a good industry to be in as you gain experience and increase your earning potential!
As long as you have the right education, a good attitude towards work and the skills and experience these careers require, you should be spoilt for choice with a background in medicinal chemistry, even if you don't decide to immediately get a job working in that industry.
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