An industrial chemist is a scientist that is charged with the duties of developing and manufacturing chemical products for their companies. Aside from developing and manufacturing chemicals some of their other duties includes qualitative and quantitative analysis of chemical compounds, carrying out research, and teaching students since some of them function as lecturers in the tertiary education sector.
Industrial chemists are referred to as scientists by some people, chemical engineers by others, and sometimes, simply chemists. The demand for industrial chemists in Nigeria is very high given the various chemical plants and companies available in the country.
Where can an Industrial Chemist Work in Nigeria?
If you are an industrial chemist you can work in various sectors of the Nigerian economy. You can work in the food sector, the petroleum sector, the Agricultural sector, the educational sector, the power/energy sector, and the healthcare sector. These are only a few of the job opportunities open to industrial chemists to choose from when thinking of where to work.
Career Opportunities for Industrial Chemists in Nigeria
An industrial chemist in Nigeria has a variety of career and job opportunities – the versatility of their profession makes it possible for them to work pretty much anywhere. Here are some sectors where an industrial chemist can find a Job in Nigeria.
The Food Sector
An industrial chemist can work in the food sector of the economy. There are so many companies that specialize in the manufacturing and production of food products that are going to be ingested by people and these companies need the services of a well-trained industrial chemist or chemical engineer to ensure that their products are safe enough to consume as well as ensure they make effective sales as well as good profits.
Agricultural Sector
Various chemicals are used in the Agricultural industry as fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, animal feed, and animal and plant supplements. The Agricultural sector relies a lot on these chemicals for effective output of farm produce. Industrial chemists are the ones whose expertise is employed in these companies to produce these chemicals that would be used by livestock and crop farmers.
Educational Sector
The educational sector employs industrial chemists mostly those with a master’s degree or a doctorate as lecturers that teach students or as laboratory scientist that investigates the causes and effects of chemical compounds. They also study the makeup or composition of these chemicals. In the educational sector, their exact role is to discover new things and record them for reference purposes.
Healthcare Sector
The healthcare industry relies a lot on the services of the industrial chemist as all the drugs prescribed and used by hospitals need to be made by the chemist. These drugs are manufactured or produced, studied, and tested by industrial chemists to make sure they are safe before they are released into the market for hospitals, pharmacists, and consumers to use. The industrial chemist knows the composition of the drugs and their effects. The industrial chemist works for drug production companies in the country.
Petroleum Sector
In the petroleum sector, industrial chemists place a very important role in the refinement process of crude oil to the petroleum industry. Industrial chemists in the petroleum industry play different roles like;
- Checking of quality of both refined and unrefined crude oil.
- Carrying out laboratory analysis of byproducts from crude oil.
- Carrying out Hydrocarbon cracking process of crude oil.
- Supervision and overseeing the fractional distillation process.
- Handling of crude oil, crude oil byproducts, and other chemicals.
- Crude oil Treatment
Industrial chemists in the petroleum industry play a lot of roles but the ones listed above are the most important.
Building Industry
In the building sector, industrial chemists are very important as they check and supervise the manufacturing of building materials like roofs, PVCs (Polyvinyl Chloride), Light switches, etc. industrial chemists are also useful in the cement manufacturing industry to inspect the quality of limestone used to make cement and also inspect the manufacturing process of cement to ensure the right proportion of additional chemicals are added and that the final product meets standards. Overall, in the building sector, industrial chemists are useful in manufacturing, quality inspection, and standard inspection of building materials.
How much do industrial chemists make in Nigeria?
Industrial chemists in Nigeria make from about fifty thousand naira minimum to a maximum of five hundred thousand naira in Nigeria.
Are industrial chemists engineers?
Yes, an industrial chemist can also be called a chemical engineer. Chemical engineers can work as industrial chemists.