Metallurgist

If combining soil samples, hiking into the middle of nowhere, and playing the mad Scientist in a lab all sound like the elements of a dream job, then you might want to pursue a career as a Metallurgist. As a Metallurgist, you do everything from pulling ore out of the earth to creating new products for the store shelf.

You know about metals if you’re a Metallurgist. And not just their names, but their chemical make-up, what happens to them in different temperatures, how much force they can endure, how environmental factors affect them, and how they react to being combined with another substance. But nobody knows everything, so you run tests to prove or disprove theories and learn more about metals known and unknown.

That’s right, you might even create a new metal. Considering you play with raw ore, you (and those funding your research) have so many options in what you can create with it. Speaking of those who pay you, you might work for a mining company, teach or perform research at a university, or create new metals for a large manufacturer.

Wherever you don your lab coat and muddy boots, you have a wide range of opportunities in the field. You could start out as a Metallurgical Technician, gathering samples from the remotest places on the planet, or become a Metallurgical Engineer and run the show. There are many options in between, all of which will benefit from a love of science, a passion for metals, and a desire to make new discoveries.