A List of the 5 Best Paying Jobs in Specialty Chemicals

Do you fancy a career in the chemical sector? Why not delve into the specialty chemicals industry? Research firm MRFR projects the market value of this sector to grow at a 4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to about $900 billion by 2030.

So, what are specialty chemicals anyways? They are formulations manufactured for very specific functions, such as adhesives, food additives, explosives, fragrances, flavors, and sealants.

Generally, the specialty chemicals market will grow very quickly over the next ten years, meaning those who strategically position themselves can benefit from this development. Read on for a roundup of the best-paying jobs in specialty chemicals.

👩‍🔬 Chemical Engineers

As a chemical engineer, you’ll spend most of your time working in industrial plants, laboratories, refineries, and similar settings to solve problems involving the use or production of chemicals.

Your responsibilities include:

• Researching, developing, and improving manufacturing processes
• Setting safety procedures for working with dangerous chemicals
• Designing equipment layouts
• Diagnosing and fixing problems in manufacturing processes
• Evaluating equipment and manufacturing processes to ensure compliance with various regulations

To be a chemical engineer, you need a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, preferably an ABET-accredited program.

Chemical engineering is one of the best-paying jobs in specialty chemicals, with a median annual salary of $105,550.

As a chemical engineer, you can advance your career into more senior roles, including working on more complex projects or going into management and sales engineering. The job is predicted to grow by 14% in the next ten years.

👨‍⚕️ Biophysicist

Becoming a biophysicist is a great career choice for those fascinated with the world’s biological systems and physics. Biophysicists combine these disciplines to create breakthroughs that impact our daily lives.

As a biophysicist, you’ll be at the forefront of developing medications and therapies for treating the world’s diseases. You will mainly work in laboratories conducting experiments, but you could also work in an office on tasks such as reviewing literature in your field.

Your day-to-day responsibilities as a biophysicist include project planning, managing lab teams, analyzing biological molecules, preparing technical reports, compiling research findings, and presenting your findings to other scientists and professionals.

You can remain in your position as a biophysicist, or you can pivot into teaching. To become a biophysicist, you must have a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry or other fields like biology, engineering, or physical science.

Becoming a biophysicist is also one of the best-paying jobs in specialty chemicals, with the median pay at $126,470 per year and projected growth of 15% within the next ten years.

🧪 Chemist

Another career option in the specialty chemicals realm is becoming a chemist. Chemists study substances and how they interact at the atomic and molecular levels.

Your responsibilities as a chemist will include planning and conducting complex research projects, preparing the chemicals used in lab procedures, analyzing substances to determine their composition, testing substances for safety, writing technical reports, and presenting research findings.

As a chemist, you can work in various capacities, including as a forensic, organic, inorganic, or theoretical chemist.

To become a chemist, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree in chemistry or a related field. During your bachelor’s, you’ll immerse yourself in courses related to math, physics, biology, and chemistry.

You must also take a few computer courses to prepare yourself to work with complex computer software and lab equipment. You could advance your studies to earn a Ph.D., which allows you to work in research positions.

As a chemist, you are looking at a median annual pay of $79,430 in a career path that is expected to grow 6% for the next ten years.

🧑‍🏫 Professor of Chemistry

Pursuing post-secondary teaching as a professor of chemistry can be a rewarding opportunity, especially if you want to mentor the new generation of chemistry professionals. You can also conduct research and publish papers based on your experiments.

As a professor, your duties will include developing an instruction plan, supervising graduate students, assessing student knowledge, giving lectures, guiding students during lab sessions, and grading tests.

To become a professor of chemistry, you need a doctorate in chemistry and hands-on experience as an instructor. That means you must first acquire a bachelor’s in chemistry or a related field, complete a master’s program, and then achieve a doctorate in your chosen specialty.

During your graduate studies, you will be exposed to many teaching apprenticeships and assistant professor positions that you can use to gain the necessary skills and experience to succeed as a professor.

Getting published will also help your career progression as it demonstrates your expertise and commitment to the advances in chemistry. Most professors of chemistry find rewarding career opportunities in colleges and universities. You can also work at research institutions where you’ll mostly work on products going to market.

As a professor, you can earn a mean salary of $93,980, depending on the institution. The job market for chemistry professors (and post-secondary teachers) is expected to grow by 12% by 2030.

🏭 Plant Operator

Plant operators in the specialty chemicals market work in chemical manufacturing facilities. These facilities produce industrial products, including paint, plastics, pesticides, and refined oil.

As a chemical plant operator, your duties and responsibilities include overseeing the facility’s operations, ensuring workplace safety standards are adhered to, setting work schedules, and ensuring all products meet the required safety and quality standards.

As a plant operator, your duties will involve regularly evaluating the facility to ensure that the equipment and facility remain clean. These managers have a regular 40-hour work week, but sometimes, they may work more hours and even weekends depending on a facility’s policies.

Entry-level plant operator positions need less education than the above examples, and getting previous experience working in a factory could definitely help you get your foot in the door.

On average, an entry-level position as a plant operator will earn you $49,114, and you potentially could make more than $80,000 per year as you gain more experience.

Whether you're looking to put your new STEM degree to work or pivot into a new field, the specialty chemicals industry is ripe with opportunity and has some of the best-paying jobs available. It's a solid career choice we highly recommend.