The chemist's work depends on his or her specialty-analytical chemistry, biochemistry, etc. Today's chemists work, often in teams, in large, well-equipped laboratories. Many are employed by private industry or by government. Others teach. Some chemists concentrate on research, on testing, or on selling chemical products.

A successful chemist must have an orderly mind, curiosity, initiative, patience, and keen powers of observation. Training includes four years or more of college with a major in chemistry or chemical engineering and a strong emphasis on mathematics. Those who wish to pursue research as a career need to have a doctoral degree. Chemists and chemical engineers have been in great demand since World War II and are generally well-paid. The professional association of chemists and chemical engineers is the American Chemical Society.

Chemists use many kinds of techniques and instruments. A mass spectrometer is used for calculating the mass of molecules. For isolating minute traces of components in a mixture, chemists use chromatography. Spectroscopy is another technique related to the study of arrangement of atoms in a molecule.