Chemist
Investigate the composition and properties of substances and develop new materials, formulations and processes.
Salary
Cited figures only: median full-time weekly earnings for the ANZSCO unit group Chemists, and Food and Wine Scientists (2342) from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia), and where available the QILT graduate starting salary for the matching study area.
| Figure | AUD | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median full-time weekly earnings | $1828 | Your Career (2026-09-23) |
| Graduate starting salary | $73,100 | QILT (2026-08-31) |
Jobs, demand and who does this work
Figures for the ANZSCO occupation Chemist (234211), the closest official match for chemist, from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia data, sourced 2026-09-23).
- People employed
- 3,700
- Future demand
- Moderate
- Work full-time
- 80%
- Average full-time hours
- 41 a week
- Women
- 42%
- Median age
- 40
Where the jobs are (share of workers)
| NSW | 29.6% |
| VIC | 31.5% |
| QLD | 16.8% |
| WA | 13% |
| SA | 4.9% |
| TAS | 1.5% |
| ACT | 1.9% |
| NT | 0.8% |
Highest qualification held by workers
| Postgraduate qualification | 33% |
| Bachelor degree | 52.8% |
| Diploma or advanced diploma | 4.5% |
| Certificate I-IV | 1.4% |
| Year 12 | 3.9% |
| Below Year 12 | 2.2% |
What a chemist actually does
Chemists spend a lot of the day in a lab coat at a bench or fume hood, running reactions, prepping samples and operating analytical instruments such as NMR, mass spectrometers, GC-MS and HPLC. Mornings usually start with a planning huddle, then setting up the day's experiments and queueing instruments. Afternoons shift to interpreting spectra, working up data in Excel or Python, and writing experimental records into a lab notebook or electronic lab system. Quality-control chemists in manufacturing follow tighter routines tied to batch testing, while research chemists in pharmaceuticals, materials or universities have more variable days driven by experimental campaigns. Hours sit around 38 to 42 per week in industry and government labs. Academic and PhD-era chemists often stretch longer, particularly during reaction sequences or write-up periods. Most roles are on-site five days a week because the work is bench-based; remote work is rare outside of writing and modelling roles.
Typical tasks
- Plan and conduct laboratory experiments.
- Analyse samples using spectroscopy and chromatography.
- Write technical reports and patents.
Skills you'll use
- Synthetic and analytical chemistry techniques
- Operating NMR, mass spectrometry, HPLC, GC and IR instruments
- Lab safety, risk assessments and chemical waste handling
- Statistical data analysis in Excel, R or Python
- Reading and writing for peer-reviewed and technical literature
- Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) in pharma and food labs
- Translating chemistry into written technical reports for non-chemists
How to become one
- 1Finish Year 12 with English, Chemistry and Maths Methods or Advanced; Physics or Biology helps for some specialisations
- 2Complete a 3-year Bachelor of Science with a chemistry major, or a Bachelor of Advanced Science / Bachelor of Science (Honours) program
- 3Add an Honours year (1 year of research project plus thesis) since most professional chemist roles in Australia expect at least Honours
- 4Gain practical lab experience through internships, summer scholarships, or research-assistant placements during your degree
- 5Apply for graduate roles in pharmaceuticals, materials, mining, defence, food or government labs, or move into a PhD for research-led careers
- 6Complete a PhD (3-4 years) if you plan to lead research at CSIRO, DSTG or a university, or join Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) for membership and CPD
Where you can work
- CSIRO and ANSTO research divisions
- Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG)
- Pharmaceutical, biotech and medical-device companies
- Mining, minerals processing and metallurgical labs
- Food, beverage and agricultural product manufacturers
- Universities (teaching and research-active institutions)
- State and federal government regulatory and forensic labs (NMI, AGAL, state forensic services)
Career progression
Typical stages and roles. Years of experience are a rough guide; pay at each stage depends on the employer, award or agreement.
- Graduate0-2 yearsTypical roles: Graduate chemist, QC chemist, Analytical chemist
- PhD candidate0-4 yearsTypical roles: PhD student on stipend, Research scholar
- Senior chemist3-8 yearsTypical roles: Senior analytical chemist, Senior R&D chemist, Formulation scientist
- Principal chemist or Lab manager9-15 yearsTypical roles: Principal scientist, Laboratory manager, R&D team leader
- Director or Chief Scientist15+ yearsTypical roles: Director of R&D, Chief scientist, Head of analytical sciences
Is this for you?
You might love this if
- You enjoy bench work and find satisfaction in clean, reproducible data
- You are methodical and patient with multi-step procedures
- You are comfortable with long-tail study (Honours and often a PhD)
- You can write up methods and findings clearly for non-chemists
- You are happy working largely on-site in a lab rather than from home
This might not suit you if
- You want a mostly outdoors or people-facing job
- You dislike repetitive procedure and tight quality controls
- You want a high starting salary straight out of a 3-year degree
- You are not comfortable handling hazardous chemicals or solvents
Ways in
Uni and TAFE routes for chemist. We only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.
University
Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.
TAFE / VET
Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.
No direct TAFE pathway to this career.
Sources
ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Your Career (yourcareer.gov.au) directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.