Chemical sciences
Scotland has a world-class reputation for pioneering advances in chemical engineering. This ranges from creating medicine to working out how we can use alternative fuel sources to make our environment greener.
The impact you could make
- Be part of a team that creates products that we use in everyday life such as medicine, food products and packaging and cosmetics.
- Help Scotland achieve net zero ambitions by developing alternative green resources to fossil fuels.
The opportunities within chemical sciences
There are many things you could be working on within the industry. From developing and manufacturing cosmetics or soaps or turning waste into products, process, energy or chemicals. There are endless opportunities.
Employment
There are 24,600 people working in the life and chemical sciences industry.*
Job availability
Between January 2022 and September 2022, there were 3,500 job postings in the Life and Chemical Sciences sector.*
Job diversity
There are 74 Modern Apprentices in Scotland training in life sciences and related sciences.*
*Skills Sector Assessment 2022
I feel like I'm making a real impact on the world, and I get so excited to tell everyone about what I'm doing.
Jessica
Lab Trainee, IBioIC
Explore chemical sciences jobs
We’ve pulled together some popular chemical science jobs for you to explore.
Some things you may not know about chemical sciences
Scotland is home to more than 250 chemical science companies.
In 2019, Chemical sciences accounted for 14% of Scotland's research and development budget – that totals to £192 million!
Our chemical sciences sector exported over £4.4 billion of goods and services in 2018.
* Scottish Enterprise
What subjects to take
We’ve pulled together some examples of subjects that could be useful for getting into a chemical science career.
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Maths
- English
- Physics
- Computing
For most jobs, you might not need specific subjects. If your school does not provide all of these subjects or you're just unsure — do not worry. There are many more subjects you can explore by using the Option Choices tool or speaking to a careers adviser in your school.
What routes you can take
There are different options you can choose from after school. We’ve pulled together some of them to help you decide which is best for you.
Chemical science industry partners
Discover some of the partners within chemical sciences and find out how they’re contributing to the industry.
IBioIC
IBioIC is a networking and support organisation that connects industry, academic and government to bring biotechnology processes and products to the global market.
NIMS
NIMS is group of industry-led manufacturing research and development facilitates that works together to boost the manufacturing community.
Royal Society of Chemistry
RSC publish new research and develop, recognise and celebrate professional capabilities in chemistry.
ScotCHEM
ScotCHEM promotes international research, networking, training and knowledge for Scottish chemistry.