<p>Hello. I'm going to be a senior in high school this Fall, and I'm still not sure what I should do with my life. After finishing my second year of high school chemistry, I've realized that I want to pursue a degree that involves it. I'm really interested in its applications to the medical research field. I'm thinking that it would be nice to do some type of laboratory research for a living and hopefully help to cure some major disease/problem in the world. I thought about becoming a chemical engineer at one point, but I don't think it's right for me anymore because it seems so industrial rather than medical. What type of careers do you think I should look into? Also, what degree(s)? I intended on getting a BS in Chemistry, but I've read that most physical science majors have to get an advanced degree (ie, PhD) if they want to do research for a living. I intend to eventually get one, but I'd like to work before I'm 30 years old :-P. Please help me. Give me ideas/feedback/SOMETHING. Like I said, I'm going to be a senior in high school this coming Fall, so time is somewhat running out. Thank you in advance for any help you give!</p>
<p>I know some of you have something to add :-P Please do.</p>
<p>Well, a lot of people who plan to go to science grad school take a year/a few years off after undergrad and work as laboratory technicians until they're ready to go back to graduate school; that's a perfectly viable and common option.</p>
<p>You can probably relax a little. If you know you want to do something with chemistry then you can choose colleges based on chemistry programs and research opportunities within those programs. By checking out chemistry department websites for those colleges that interest you, you can get a sense of where their graduates go after college in terms of graduate school, prospective jobs, etc. You can also get a sense of whether the chemistry faculty have ongoing grants for students who work in their labs. It's probably too early to try and plan out your career in advance. You have a pretty good idea of a direction now find the best college for you in moving in that direction.</p>
<p>My Grandparents were chemists, thats how they met (how romantic!) My Grandfather was also a bomber pilot and instructed young pilots how to fly during WWII.
They say that they loved what they did, I am not sure exactly what they did, but I think it was for something medical related. :)</p>