How To Become An Environmental Chemist: What It Is and Career Path

What is an environmental chemist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dennis Province Ph.D.

It's no secret that chemical pollution affects the environment. We see the evidence with every oil spill, sick animal, or increase in certain diseases among humans. It is the job of environmental chemists to isolate the effects of chemicals on the environment, trace them back to their source, and even come up with ways to stop pollution.

The daily tasks of an environmental chemist often involve getting muddy. Environmental chemists gather water, dirt, and air samples from the field in order to identify possible areas of pollution. Back in the lab, environmental chemists test those samples and use that information to develop procedures to prevent pollution.

Once an environmental chemist's discoveries are communicated to the public, they could change the world. They help stop pollution, manage hazardous waste, and even respond to emergencies such as oil spills. The job of an environmental chemist is crucial to protecting our planet from pollution.

What general advice would you give to an environmental chemist?

Dennis Province Ph.D.

Professor, Harding University

You never know where you will end up later in life and what skills you will need in the future. Open your mind and become a lifelong learner. Be a student of life and learn from others at every step of the journey. Employers are always looking for workers that show initiative. Decide where you want to work and what you think you might want to do and have the courage to contact someone, and let them know! Most jobs or opportunities are found and decided with an informal conversation. Employers want the best people and those tend to be type that take the initiative.

ScoreEnvironmental ChemistUS Average

Salary

4.4

Avg. Salary $56,956

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.7

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.25%

Asian 18.07%

Black or African American 8.20%

Hispanic or Latino 9.54%

Unknown 4.64%

White 59.30%

Gender

female 37.95%

male 62.05%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an environmental chemist

Explore environmental chemist education requirements

Most common environmental chemist degrees

Bachelor's

81.8 %

Master's

10.1 %

Associate

4.8 %

Start to develop specific environmental chemist skills

Skills	Percentages
Data Validation	8.08%
GC	5.75%
Ms	5.75%
Laboratory Equipment	5.58%
ICP-MS	5.30%

Complete relevant environmental chemist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New environmental chemists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an environmental chemist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real environmental chemist resumes.

Research environmental chemist duties and responsibilities

Manage storage of hazardous waste for compliance with RCRA regulations.
Manage and operate mobile laboratories analyzing a wide range of samples utilizing USEPA SW846 GC/MS and HPLC methods.
Achieve expertise with hydrogenations and catalysts, low temp reactions, TLC, reactions done with UV and infrare lights.
Achieve expertise with organic techniques like steam distillation, recrystallization, vacuum sublimation/distillation.

Prepare your environmental chemist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your environmental chemist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an environmental chemist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable environmental chemist resume templates

Build a professional environmental chemist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your environmental chemist resume.