Studying chemistry was one of the most difficult, challenging and frustrating experiences of my life and yet it was also one of the most satisfying. A Chemistry degree requires one to be hardworking and dedicated, especially, if like me, you choose to do an integrated undergraduate master’s degree which also includes a study year abroad and it’s all completed in four years as opposed to the usual five. An integrated master’s course is a four-year course, which combines three years of undergraduate study with an additional fourth year at postgraduate level, so instead of studying two separate degrees, I studied a single program that was more intensive.
To be able to excel in a chemistry degree you must be hardworking, motivated, resilient but most of all, have a passion for the subject. At times it can be tough, especially in the periods when the workload is so high and there are so many contact hours that it requires you to do an extra three or four hours of independent study every day. It’ll make you question why on earth you decided to put yourself through all this and it is the passion you have for learning and the subject that’ll help you push through. Although, at times, you will wonder, where has this passion gone?
I studied chemistry at The University of Bath and the average contact hours I had were around 24 hours per week. Now this probably doesn’t sound like much when you’ve just come right out of sixth form, but when all the independent studying is factored in, it can all add up to well over 40 hours per week; Just like a full-time job and you have to be prepared to put all this effort in, otherwise it is really easy to fall behind.
Chemistry also has more contact hours than other subjects, which are on average around 15/16 hours per week and some may be even less. However, this is all down to the number of hours spent in the lab as chemistry is a very practical subject which involves a lot of lab work. In my first year at Bath, a whole day from 9am-5pm was dedicated to lab work and it increased year on year. So, my second year was a day and a half, my third year was two to three days per week and my final year, which also included my master’s project, was anywhere between two to five days a week depending on how much work needed to be done.
Consequently, if you are thinking of doing a chemistry degree at university, make sure to consider whether you currently enjoy lab work or not as it will be a major part of your degree. There will also be a good amount of report writing and further calculations that will need completing in your spare time and so as a chemist not only do you have to have an analytical mind and be good with numbers, you must also have a good command of the English language and be able to communicate scientific concepts effectively. However, don’t let this deter you as you’ll gain all these skills as you progress through the degree.
Before embarking upon my degree, I was aware that chemistry involved three major sub-disciplines: organic, inorganic and physical chemistry. However, what I wasn’t aware of, was how many more fields of chemistry existed and how they overlapped with many other subjects, from physics and biology to engineering. I found it amazing and great that the degree gave me so many different skills and it wasn’t only focused on one skill set but made me more well-rounded. A lot of people have the stereotype of chemistry just being linked to developing drugs and the pharmaceutical industry but some of my favourite modules included functional materials, which focused on developing new materials which could be used in technology to increase the memory capacity of chips.
I also particularly enjoyed learning how to code and this is something that I would never think of doing but it was a compulsory module in my fourth year and I learnt so much. Chemistry isn’t just about mixing things together in a flask or naming ridiculously long drugs, it’s so much more than that and therefore people with a chemistry degree have skills that make them suitable for so many roles in different job industries, from banking, finance, software engineering to even being an attorney! So, if you aren’t particularly sure what you want to do in the future and you enjoy a challenge and love to push yourself, then a chemistry degree may just well be for you.
By Safa, A, Chemistry tutor in London.
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