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Chemistry

Knowledge · O*NET work requirement

Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

In the O*NET occupational database, Chemistry is an area of knowledge that work requires. O*NET rates how important it is (1–5) and what level of it a job needs (0–7) for every U.S. occupation. It is rated as important (3 or higher) in 119 of 894 occupations.

Breadth here means how widely O*NET rates this area of knowledge as important across occupations — not that it is rare, high-paying, or currently in employer demand.

Occupations that rely most on Chemistry

Ranked by O*NET importance to the occupation (1–5). Bars are sized against the 1–5 scale; the level column is what depth of the area of knowledge the job needs (0–7).

Occupation Importance Score Level
Chemists 4.9 6.0
Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary 4.8 6.3
Chemical Engineers 4.7 5.8
Materials Scientists 4.6 5.7
Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders 4.4 4.8
Biochemists and Biophysicists 4.3 5.7
Nurse Anesthetists 4.3 4.9
Nanosystems Engineers 4.3 5.8
Materials Engineers 4.3 5.8
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists 4.2 4.9
Molecular and Cellular Biologists 4.1 5.2
Pharmacists 4.1 4.7
Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary 4.1 4.6
Environmental Engineers 4.0 5.0
Food Scientists and Technologists 4.0 5.2
Nanotechnology Engineering Technologists and Technicians 4.0 4.7
Animal Scientists 4.0 5.1
Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers 4.0 4.9
Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary 4.0 5.0
Fuel Cell Engineers 4.0 5.2
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists 3.9 4.5
Quality Control Systems Managers 3.9 4.8
Nuclear Engineers 3.9 5.1
Histology Technicians 3.8 4.3
Soil and Plant Scientists 3.8 4.8
Microbiologists 3.8 4.8
Chemical Technicians 3.8 4.8
Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers 3.8 4.5
Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary 3.8 4.4
Nuclear Medicine Technologists 3.8 4.2
Quality Control Analysts 3.7 4.5
Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers 3.7 4.5
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians 3.7 4.4
Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators 3.7 3.6
Chemical Plant and System Operators 3.7 4.3
Biofuels Production Managers 3.7 4.7
Naturopathic Physicians 3.7 4.2
Anesthesiologist Assistants 3.6 3.7
Anesthesiologists 3.6 4.4
Embalmers 3.6 4.8

Showing the top 40 of 119 occupations where this is important.

How AI is used by roles that need Chemistry

This area of knowledge is not itself "being automated" — but we can look at the roles for which O*NET rates it important and ask how those people actually use AI. This rolls the Anthropic Economic Index per-role signal up across those roles (importance-weighted). 58.8% of the 119 roles where this is important carry observed AI-usage data (70 roles).

Across those roles, 50.0% of AI conversations are people working with AI and 28.8% hand a task to AI , with an average autonomy of 3.72 / 5.

Collaboration pattern Share What it means
learning 27.5% you ask AI to explain or teach
directive 26.3% AI does it; you give the instruction
task iteration 18.6% you and AI go back and forth
validation 3.9% you do it; AI checks your work
feedback loop 2.5% AI does it, then adjusts from your feedback

Roles behind this signal

The roles where this area of knowledge is most important and that also have the most AEI data. "Works with AI" is the role's share of conversations that augment rather than automate.

Occupation Importance Works with AI Autonomy
Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary 4.1 63.2% 4.0/5
Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary 3.8 66.3% 4.0/5
Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary 4.8 66.0% 4.0/5
Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary 4.0 66.3% 4.0/5
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary 3.1 66.2% 3.5/5
Physics Teachers, Postsecondary 3.4 65.9% 4.0/5
Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary 3.2 67.0% 4.0/5
Bioinformatics Scientists 3.6 44.5% 4.0/5
Vocational Education Teachers, Postsecondary 3.1 64.4% 4.0/5
Dietitians and Nutritionists 3.4 70.2% 4.0/5
Chemists 4.9 61.8% 4.0/5
Pharmacists 4.1 73.9% 3.5/5

Source: Anthropic Economic Index (2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2) over a sample of Claude.ai Free and Pro conversations — not all AI tools and not the whole workforce. Shares are of observed conversations, weighted by how important this area of knowledge is to each role; some conversations are left unclassified by Anthropic's taxonomy, so shares need not sum to 100.

Industries that concentrate this

Where Chemistry matters most across the economy. Employment reach is the share of an industry's workers in occupations that significantly rely on Chemistry (O*NET importance ≥ 3 of 5). Concentration compares that reach to the national average industry, so a value above 1× means the requirement is more pervasive here than across the economy as a whole.

Nationally, about 3.2% of workers are in occupations that significantly rely on Chemistry (measured across 64 industries).

Sectors with the most such workers

Sector Workers Employment reach
Health Care and Social Assistance 1,340,170 5.8%
Manufacturing 885,670 6.9%
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 825,150 7.7%
Educational Services 598,490 4.4%
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services 224,040 2.5%
Retail Trade 203,480 1.3%
Wholesale Trade 120,410 2.0%
Management of Companies and Enterprises 82,070 2.9%
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction 76,770 13.4%
Utilities 72,110 12.4%
Construction 66,540 0.8%
Transportation and Warehousing 38,750 0.5%

Industries where it is most concentrated

Industry Level Concentration Employment reach
Veterinary Services National industry 12.97× 41.5%
Nuclear Electric Power Generation National industry 11.66× 37.3%
Testing Laboratories and Services National industry 9.78× 31.3%
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation National industry 7.12× 22.8%
Pharmacies and Drug Retailers National industry 5.56× 17.8%
Engineering Services National industry 4.28× 13.7%
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction Sector 4.19× 13.4%
Utilities Sector 3.88× 12.4%
Landscaping Services National industry 3.34× 10.7%
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services Sector 2.41× 7.7%
Manufacturing Sector 2.16× 6.9%
Health Care and Social Assistance Sector 1.81× 5.8%

Reach is a measure of how widespread a requirement is across an industry's workforce, not how intensively any individual uses it. Sector worker counts come from BLS OEWS employment; the significance threshold and tool use come from O*NET. Industries shown by concentration are filtered to a real worker base so a tiny specialty cannot top the list on rounding.

Capabilities required by many of the same occupations — a measure of which skills, knowledge and abilities tend to travel together, not a judgment of similarity.

Capability Type Shared occupations
Science Basic skill 81
Biology Knowledge 67
Physics Knowledge 49
Mathematical Reasoning Ability 76
Number Facility Ability 67
Mathematics Basic skill 69
Perceptual Speed Ability 89
Learning Strategies Basic skill 81
Mathematics Knowledge 104
Systems Evaluation Cross-functional skill 75
Flexibility of Closure Ability 101
Systems Analysis Cross-functional skill 82

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Chemistry." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; Census NAICS 2022; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27). Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/knowledge/chemistry

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Chemistry. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/knowledge/chemistry

BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-chemistry,
  title  = {Chemistry},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; Census NAICS 2022; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27). Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/knowledge/chemistry}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.