Why do Honours in Chemistry?
Honours in Chemistry will:
- enhance your immediate employment prospects and future career potential
- open the door to postgraduate study (PhD, Masters)
- add a new dimension to the skills that you have acquired during your undergraduate years
- develop invesitative and critical thinking skills
- provide opportunities to work as part of a team, using advanced instrumentation and scientific techniques
- develop communication and presentation skills
- introduce you to the fun of research!
In your Honours year you will develop individual investigative skills, critical thought and the ability to analyse experimental data. You will learn to evaluate scientific and professional literature, to articulate your knowledge and understanding in written and oral presentations and to work as part of a team.
For these and other reasons, an Honours degree in Chemistry is highly regarded by prospective employers. An Honours degree not only widens the range of employment possibilities, but it may lead to the opportunity to proceed to a postgraduate degree (MSc or PhD), with financial support from an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or other postgraduate scholarship.
An Honours degree is a necessary requirement for proceeding to further research work in Chemistry, either in a private company, a research institution such as CSIRO or a University. Most employers give preference to Honours graduates, particularly for the more interesting, non-routine jobs. Even in employment areas which do not utilise the specific scientific content, such as the Public Service, the value of the research training is never-the-less recognised. Students undertaking a Bachelor of Education should also consider the value added to their future teaching by being able to share their research experience with their students.
Nanotechnology degree students are strongly urged to consider a chemistry based honours project. Interdisciplinary projects co-supervised by staff in other departments are an exciting option.
All in all it is fair to say that the employment prospects for those graduating with an honours degree in Chemistry are, at the present time, excellent. It is thus strongly recommended that all pass degree students should give serious consideration to undertaking the Honours year.