Inspire the next generation of chemical scientists through teaching
Teaching chemistry is an exciting, challenging and hugely rewarding career. There is no “typical” chemistry teacher – recent graduates as well as career changers from across the chemical sciences all make excellent teachers. All teachers should be passionate about their subject, great communicators and be able inspire the next generation of scientists.
There are plenty of benefits to becoming a teacher, such as:
As well as teaching a range of age groups and abilities, a career in teaching will involve planning lessons, marking students’ work and assessments, and providing pastoral care.
"The youth of today are not just the future but our future and they need a good solid science education. Even if the students do not pursue a science career, it is vital that they have a good science education because it teaches them to think with an open mind."
Lyndsey Vernon, trainee chemistry teacher and Royal Society of Chemistry Scholar
The best way to decide if teaching is for you is to gain some experience in a school. Observing lessons will help you gain a better understanding of what teaching is like today and develop your own ideas about education. It will also make your teacher training application much stronger.
Organise a time to shadow a teacher that you know, or get in touch with schools in your local area. It’s helpful to visit more than one school, to gain experience in different teaching environments. In England, you can gain classroom experience by applying for the School Experience Programme.
If you want to become a chemistry teacher, it is best to study an undergraduate degree containing at least 50% chemistry. Different teacher training courses will have different entry requirements - you can find about more about the many different routes into teacher training across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Fiona leads research and development efforts to explore and validate non-animal testing approaches and advocates for the adoption of these alternatives while ensuring safety evaluations are accurate and reliable.
Hazem examines how toxic substances can harm the skin and potentially enter the body. He evaluates the effects of chemicals and other agents on the skin and their capacity to cause harm.
George uses computer modelling to make sure products such as food and drink, medicines, pesticides, cosmetics and household products don’t cause harm and haven’t been contaminated by toxic materials
Stephanie leads the Microplastics Team at Imperial College London, where they investigate the potential toxicity of plastic fragments smaller than 5mm when they are present in the air, as well as understanding their impact on human health