With an M.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, you’ll gain entry into a wide range of careers that play a crucial part in developing new medicines and making them a reality. You might find yourself employed as a Research Scientist developing new chemical entities, or as a Quality Control Analyst ensuring every single tablet is safe and pure, or a Regulatory Affairs Executive taking care of the very important legal administration required to get new medicines approved for public consumption. Also, a good number of our students have been very successful as Formulation Chemists, which entail optimizing the delivery of a drug, such as a tablet, ensuring it dissolves at precisely the right moment. Regardless of your level of interest in the ‘wet lab’ aspects of synthesis or the ‘dry lab’ aspects of pharmaceutical safety and clinical trial studies, an M.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry puts you squarely within the midst of the global medical sector.

Even though the pharmaceutical industry is your largest source of employment, there is a great demand for your knowledge of chemical analysis and pharmaceutical interaction in a number of other industries. You may find opportunities to do important work in the Biotechnology and Clinical Research industry, working on life-saving vaccinations or managing human pharmaceutical trials. Other fields include the Cosmetics and Personal Care industry, which employs pharmaceutical chemists to develop safe skincare and hair care formulations, as well as the Food and Beverage industry, which seeks experts to test the safety of their offerings and develop dietary supplements. Other fields of employment may be Environmental Science, testing for contaminants in water, or even Forensics.

To help you understand what these sectors look like in reality, take a look at this video about High Salary Jobs for Chemistry Graduates. It’s an excellent resource for learning about what sectors you can apply your talents to, from specialty chemicals through regulatory affairs.

After your M.Sc., the next most popular thing for someone who enjoys working in the lab would be the completion of a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical or Organic Chemistry. This may become necessary if you have ambitions of being your own boss research-wise or of becoming a lecturer at the university level. If your interests lie more on the business or industry side of the pharmaceutical industry, an MBA degree with a focus on Pharmaceuticals would not only open doors to the top of the industry; it would also provide the necessary knowledge for the transition from the laboratory to working as a high-level employee within the industry itself, most likely within the marketing or hospital admin sections. To become specialized with the shortest possible course times, one may consider Post-Grad Diplomas within the field of Clinical Research or the like.

Absolutely. In fact, the biopharmaceutical industry is right now undergoing some kind of massive revival and growth spurt. In fact, if you have looked at the current ads in the field of pharma research, you would know that it has already experienced a massive increase of more than 60% in recent years. In fact, there is already an extreme dominance in the pharma area with an immediate need for specialized research and regulatory professionals. With the evolving needs in the healthcare sector as well as our advancements in successfully exploring the "undruggable" diseases with the aid of current technological breakthroughs in the pharma field, employers are already looking out for chemists who can handle these cutting-edge advancements in these areas.