Chemicals manufacturing: roles for doctoral graduates

Research and development, and manufacturing roles are key areas for doctoral graduates, and there is currently demand for a range of highly-specialist technical skills and also for managers. In addition there are roles available in finance and recruitment. The sector has more direct opportunities for doctoral graduates from STEM backgrounds (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), particularly from the physical sciences and engineering.

‘What Do Researchers Do?' shows that 8.5% of UK-employed doctoral graduates were in manufacturing (of which the chemicals industry is part) three and a half years after graduation, compared to 8.1% six months after graduation, a small movement from elsewhere into the sector as careers progress.

Doctoral graduates from recent years are known to have worked in the sector in the following profiled roles:

• Analytical chemists
• Biologists
• Biochemist
• Chemists and physicists
• Financial analyst
  
• Marketing executives
• Mechanical engineers
• Metallurgists and material scientists
• Pharmacologists
• Production and process engineers
• Production, works and maintenance managers
• Quality assurance managers
• Science and engineering technicians
• Software designers, programmer and engineers
• Statisticians