Chemists endeavour to find new and useful properties and reactions of matter, and to find theories to explain these phenomena. They may be found working in laboratories to synthesise new compounds, or using sophisticated instruments and computing to determine molecular structure and predict reactions and properties.
Chemists also work on environmental problems, collecting samples of plants and animals for analysis.
Chemists usually work as part of a team. They also work as patent attorneys, plant managers, environmental consultants and instrument designers. Ch emi stry is offered as an area of specialisation within the Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Melbourne. I am part of a marketing team that turns an idea into a specification that is then developed by a group of engineers. My responsibilities include gathering market information so that the correct features can be incorporated into new products, writing technical papers about our instrumentation and software, and preparing material for training or customer presentations.