What will I earn?

• The 2020/21 What Do Graduates Do report  showed that the salaries for chemistry graduates six months after graduation ranged between £20,226 - £27,156. 
• The Royal Society of Chemistry’s 2021 Pay & Reward survey showed a median salary of £46,700 for member-respondents*. Early career members earned a median salary of £34,000. The chemical sciences offers a high level of job security and stability with 70% of respondents saying they felt secure in their current job (up from 65% in 2019).
• Nearly 40% of all chemistry graduates in 20/21 became science professionals or associate professionals and technicians with roles in research and development in agrochemicals, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics and toiletries. 
• The contribution (direct, indirect and induced) of chemistry-using professionals to UK GDP was estimated to be £87 billion in 2019.
• There are estimated to have been 275,000 chemistry-using jobs in the UK in 2019, with a further 425,000 jobs supported by this workforce throughout the UK economy. See Chemistry’s Contribution: Workforce trends and economic impact

Salaries depend on a large number of factors, including qualifications required, location, experience, size and type of the organisation.

Useful websites to find out more about chemistry jobs and salaries

• Chemistry World Jobs
• Payscale.com
• Glassdoor
• LinkedIn

*Results based on 4,298 members of the Royal Society of Chemistry who responded to the 2021 survey with profiles representative of current membership.

Updated January 2020