Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses pertaining to the chemical and physical properties and compositional changes of substances. Work may include providing instruction in the methods of qualitative and quantitative chemical analysis. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching, and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Also Known As:
Assistant Professor
Associate Professor
Biochemistry Professor
Chemistry Faculty Member
Chemistry Instructor
Chemistry Professor
Instructor
Lecturer
Organic Chemistry Professor
Professor
Wages
Annual wages for Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary in United States
Job Outlook
Average
New job opportunities are likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
26,200
3% Change From 2023
Explore Business Teachers, Postsecondary video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Clean laboratory facilities.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
- Establish, teach, and monitor students' compliance with safety rules for handling chemicals, equipment, and other hazardous materials.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory performance, assignments, and papers.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Select, order, and maintain materials and supplies for teaching and research, such as textbooks, chemicals, and laboratory equipment.
- Establish, teach, and monitor students' compliance with safety rules for handling chemicals, equipment, and other hazardous materials.
- Provide professional consulting services to government or industry.
- Prepare and submit required reports related to instruction.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Act as advisers to student organizations.
- Supervise students' laboratory work.
- Serve on committees or in professional societies.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction.
- Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments.
- Write letters of recommendation for students.
- Clean laboratory facilities.
- Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
- Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.
- Establish, teach, and monitor students' compliance with safety rules for handling chemicals, equipment, and other hazardous materials.
- Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.
- Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
- Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
- Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
- Participate in campus and community events.
- Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Select, order, and maintain materials and supplies for teaching and research, such as textbooks, chemicals, and laboratory equipment.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, and chemical separation.
- Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
- Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
- Perform administrative duties, such as serving as a department head.
- Select, order, and maintain materials and supplies for teaching and research, such as textbooks, chemicals, and laboratory equipment.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Write letters of recommendation for students.
- Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")