Why study chemistry?

Why study chemistry?

School is a fantastic place where everybody can try to learn something new about this world. You can study literature and enjoy reading the great masterpieces written by the most talented poets and writers in history; you can register in a geography class and ‘travel’ around the world with your fellow students led by your professor and realize that there are countries with such amazing cultures which you could not even imagine. You can start playing basketball and find out that you may be a very talented player. And if such brilliant shows as The Big Bang Theory and Breaking Bad have not inspired you to enroll into a class in physics or chemistry, then we want to give you other reasons why these subjects are so worth studying them. In today’s article we are going to talk about chemistry and the opportunities which students have if they pay more attention to this subject.

Chemistry Is Everywhere

To begin with, chemistry is around us. Chemical processes are happening inside of us as well. In other words, chemistry is life. If you analyze your life from this prospective, you will understand that everything that is happening to you is chemistry. When you have a cup of hot black coffee in the morning to get more energy, you have certain chemical process happening in your body which let you become more alert. Our happiness is inseparably bound with a number of chemical processes and production of different hormones that are responsible for this beautiful feeling. All our emotions are pure science. All our illnesses, depressions, and malcontent can be easily explained from the point of view of this amazing science which is called chemistry.

Which Schools Give the Best Training in Chemistry?

There are a number of schools that are considered the best academic institutions for those who are eager to choose chemistry as the subject that they want to connect their career with. So the university that offers the best education in this discipline is Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is often ranked as the top world university. Such schools as Berkeley, Harvard, Oxford, and Cambridge have very high positions in the ranking as well. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, the University of Tokyo and the University of Hong Kong are also mentioned in this list as the institutions that provide students with excellent education in the field of chemistry.

Different Specializations for All Tastes

If you decide to choose chemistry as the field in which you want to build your career, then you need to think about the specialization that looks more attractive for you. The specialization that opens this list is biochemistry. This looks like a hybrid of biology and chemistry: biochemistry is the study of different chemical processes which are related to living organisms.

By using various chemical techniques, professionals in this area can analyze biological problems and solve them. This is a very important area of study because biochemists’ goal is to understand how humans’ life work, why people get sick and how this can be changed. Professionals in this industry can work in universities, hospital, can provide forensic research and develop new medications. Another great specialization that opens a lot of doors for chemistry students is chemical engineering. Chemical engineering can be called a practical application of chemistry. Specialists in this field are designing and constructing machines which perform different chemical processes. They are finding ways of using chemistry for solving problems and creating useful products. Paper, fertilizers, foods – all these products are the result of the work of chemical engineers. Today these specialists are in great demand because a lot of industries are looking for people who are able to synthesize chemicals in order to produce new materials.

Our next specialization which prospective students can choose is medicinal chemistry which combines both chemistry and pharmacology. You may agree with us that this field is especially important because it is directly related to human health and life. What medicinal chemists do is research and development of new drugs. Not only do they produce new drugs but also look for the way to improve the existing techniques and make them more effective. These specialists usually work closely with professionals from other industries such as pharmacology, microbiology, toxicology, etc. There are two more very exciting specializations that might draw your attention. One of them is nuclear chemistry. These chemists work with the tiniest part of all elements – the nucleus. They study which changes take place in this tiny part and how they can produce nuclear power and radioactivity.

There is no doubt that great specialists in this field are in great demand in our era of nuclear power. And the last, but not least, specialization has to deal with elements and processes that take place far away from our planet – in the outer space. This discipline is called astrochemistry. Students who choose this area of studies will learn about reactions of molecules and different chemical elements in the universe. It is very exciting because astrochemists use telescopes to measure size and composition of space objects. These professionals provide humanity with the knowledge about our gigantic universe.

Nobody said that studying chemistry is easy, but nothing that brings so much use and makes so much sense can be easy. Chemists acquire a number of great skills during their education process – research, analytical, mathematical, problem solving, critical thinking and many other brilliant skills which can be useful in any discipline. Need help? Ask us!