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General Chemistry

Types of Degrees General Chemistry Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing General Chemistry may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	9
Associate’s Degree	1,012
Bachelor’s Degree	11,773
Master’s Degree	2,501
Doctor’s Degree	3,028

What General Chemistry Majors Need to Know

Coursework for General Chemistry emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that General Chemistry graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in General Chemistry emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set developed in a General Chemistry program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to General Chemistry careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, General Chemistry graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Working with Computers	4.3 / 7
Getting Information	4.2 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.1 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.1 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.1 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.1 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.1 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	3.9 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	3.9 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	3.8 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by General Chemistry professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Google Meet	Video conferencing software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Moodle	Computer based training software	—
R	Object or component oriented development software	✓
SAS	Analytical or scientific software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for General Chemistry graduates include:

• Research Coordinator
• Clinical Trials Manager
• Clinical Project Manager
• Typing Teacher
• World Language Teacher
• Military Science Instructor
• Biology Teacher
• High School History Teacher
• Health and PE Teacher (Health and Physical Education Teacher)
• World History Teacher
• Religion Teacher
• Manual Arts Teacher
• Ceramics Teacher
• Classroom Teacher
• After School Teacher

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to General Chemistry graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	48.2%
Master’s degree	13.0%
Post-doctoral training	8.0%
Doctoral degree	7.4%
High school diploma or equivalent	5.1%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	4.6%
Some college courses	4.4%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	3.8%
Postsecondary certificate	3.3%
Post-master’s certificate	2.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in General Chemistry?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 52.1% women and 47.9% men among General Chemistry graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	9,551	52.1%
Men	8,772	47.9%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of General Chemistry graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	8,710	47.5%
Asian	2,265	12.4%
Hispanic or Latino	2,482	13.5%
Black or African American	1,003	5.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native	46	0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	15	0.1%
Two or More Races	749	4.1%
Race Unknown	418	2.3%
International Students	2,635	14.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do General Chemistry Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of General Chemistry graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$46,286
4 years	$61,499
5 years	$72,069

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $72,069 — roughly 56% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online General Chemistry Programs

Fully online options is tracked by IPEDS for General Chemistry. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	9	14
Bachelor’s	3	16
Master’s	9	11

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in General Chemistry Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, General Chemistry graduates earn a median of $61,499 four years after completion — roughly 62% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Chemistry	40.05
Analytical Chemistry	40.0502
Chemical Physics	40.0508
Cheminformatics/Chemistry Informatics	40.0512
Chemistry, Other	40.0599
Environmental Chemistry	40.0509
Forensic Chemistry	40.0510
Inorganic Chemistry	40.0503
Organic Chemistry	40.0504
Physical Chemistry	40.0506
Polymer Chemistry	40.0507
Theoretical Chemistry	40.0511

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.