Chemical Technician

A Chemical Technician is the person who works underneath a Chemical Engineer or a Chemist. You set up and help run experiments, process chemical orders, and keep an eye on the safety of the lab.

Most Chemical Technicians work in research and development, so you deal with products before all their kinks have been ironed out. You collect samples or subjects for tests, and prepare the lab by cleaning equipment and making sure it’s in good working order. You find more beakers as needed, and perform general prep or clean-up work.

Chemicals are used in all sorts of things. Cleaning products, manufactured food, steel, and drugs are all examples of goods that started in a lab somewhere. Before they can be deemed safe for consumers, a Chemist creates an experiment to test the product-to-be. Then you, as a Chemical Technician, assist them by setting up the experiment, monitoring the tests, and writing up the reports about your findings.

This field offers a lot of options in terms of job choices. You can work for government agencies, universities, or private companies—basically any organization that runs tests using chemicals. And since there are so many options for Chemical Technicians, you can pick one area to specialize in. For example, you can specialize in medicine and help in a school’s biochemistry lab, doing research for a new cancer drug. Or you can work in manufacturing, finding the best chemical combination for paint that won’t peel.