If you’re heading toward picking subjects (senior or otherwise) it can be difficult to get unbiased advice from people around you. Teachers want students in their classes, peers who already study it often love or hate it, and those who have never studied it, don’t have enough knowledge to offer decent advice. We’ve decided to start a new article series to fill the gap, talking about what to expect in the subject, some pathways they can lead you on, challenges that might arise and important skills learning will offer you.
In this article, we’ll be discussing the subject I hope everyone colour codes as blue: Chemistry!
Chemistry is often called the “central science” because it connects physics, biology and everything in between. The word chemistry stems all the way back to the ancient pursuit of alchemy, the pursuit of transforming base metals into gold. As you move from junior schooling into senior, chemistry is focused on working out how and why substances behave the way they do at an atomic level.
What you are actually studying in chemistry will depend on what state you are studying in, but generally you can expect to see topics such as chemical reactions, bonding, energy changes, equilibrium, acids and bases, and organic chemistry. There will be a strong mix of theory, practical work, and problem-solving, often involving calculations and multi-step thinking.
Chemistry is the subject for you if you have always been curious about how and why things work; it explains cooking, how medicine works, how batteries store energy, and even how materials like plastics and metals are designed. It is a science that you can see and hold all around you, every day.
If you want to pursue STEM beyond school, Chem opens up many avenues. You will find its influence in medicine, pharmacy, chemical engineering, biomedical science, environmental science, forensic science, and nutrition. A lot of science-based degrees assume you’ve done Chemistry because it includes so many foundational concepts in it.
If you’re worried you’ll be spending the next two years up to your eyeballs in hard skills only in Chem, don’t worry, it actually is a deep pool for soft skills. Chemistry really builds logical thinking and problem-solving. You learn how to break down complex problems into steps, work accurately with numbers, and follow detailed processes in the lab. Perhaps most importantly, it builds persistence. You aren’t going to get the answer straight away, and that’s actually the point!
We want to be honest, which means it wouldn’t be fair to write this article without articulating some of the challenges that come with studying this subject. Chemistry can be tough. It often will feel abstract, and you work with atoms and reactions you can’t always see. Calculations are also a common pain point for a lot of students, particularly when multiple concepts are combined in the same question. It’s a subject where small misunderstandings can snowball if you don’t clear them up early.
But if you’re someone who likes puzzles, patterns, and figuring out how things work at a deeper level, Chem will be a very satisfying choice! It certainly helps that you’ll likely have to set something on fire at least once.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
If you’d like to pursue one of the careers mentioned above, but are nervous about studying Chemistry (or have studied it and not enjoyed it) don’t feel like you are backed into a corner. Bridging Courses are becoming a more commonplace tool for getting students into courses they haven’t got the prereqs for. Often taking place across 6 weeks in the Summer Hols, look into your university of choice’s offerings for them.
Happy studying Chemists!
