I took AP Chemistry in high school, and loved the material, all while doing very well. I got a 5 on the exam, and so as a freshman, I am taking organic chemistry. I don’t find much of the information so far interesting, and looking back at topics in AP Chem, they were so much more interesting. I loved the math and theories, which I know would be covered more in P Chem.
Secondly, I don’t really enjoy working in the lab. I find learning and discussing material while doing practice problems to kind of be my niche. With a chemistry degree, and even graduate school, I know career options are bleak, but do these options all entail working exclusively in a lab?
To summarize, I love studying the subject of chemistry, besides orgo, but don’t enjoy working in the lab. Is chemistry then not right for me as a major?
Categorized | Affiliate Marketing 101
Is Chemistry The Right Major For Me?
Posted on September 10, 2012.
Most chemists wind up doing labwork. The few that don’t are typically involved in the theoretical side of chemistry. P chem is about thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, and statistical mechanics. If what you’ve seen of those subjects has appealed to you, then you might want to take P chem and see if you like it. Talk to those professors about your likes and dislikes.
Since businesses are not prone to hire people who are into purely theoretical topics, your job prospects would be pretty limited to academia. It’s tough these days to get an academic job, and once you get it there’s the pressure to publish and get tenure. But if you really know your stuff you could thrive there.
Another thought: You say you like the math of chemistry. Would you be interested in being a math major and becoming an actuary? It’s a low stress job that provides a ton of money.
You might consider having Chem as you undergraduate major but then switching to another field, such as patent law in graduate school. There are a number of fields where a chemistry background would be useful.