Going to college? Want to major in something cool? Want to actually have a job when you get out? Answer's simple. Major in chemistry!

Anyone I've told this to has thought I'm crazy. I'm serious. Chemistry covers just about everything you can imagine. Let's have a look.

Use plastic stuff a lot? Of course you do. Just about everything is made of plastic. Plastic is complicated stuff. It's long polymer chains made into the various stuff plastic gets made into. Varying thickness. Varying hardiness. Varying uses. Plastic manufacturing might make you think of blue collar folks molding melted plastic, but there's more to it than that. Someone has to test the quality of it. Someone has to design it based on its use. Someone has to make up the specifications. That someone is the chem major.

Don't forget pharmaceuticals! All those little boxes of pills and syrups you see in the medicine aisle at the grocery store? A chem major was behind that! They were working hard in their drug labs running the machinery and measuring out ingredients so you can have temporary four to six hour relief from your nasty cold.

Pharmacists? Chem majors. Toxicologists, testing for toxicity of various substances and items? Chem majors. Food testing and safety? Chem majors. Detergent manufacturing? Chem majors. Environmental condition testing? Chem majors. Working on finding alternative fuels? Chem majors. Soap, shampoo, and other body care necessities? You better believe the folks making and testing those were chem majors.

List goes on! And all of those areas are constantly looking for employees. Chemistry degree, depending on your curriculum, can also mean American Chemical Society certification, which is awesome.

Yeah, I majored in biology, yet here I am promoting the chemistry major (it was my minor, at least). Do I regret my choice? No. I don't. It has worked well for me. However, biology, despite popular opinion, doesn't have as many options as chemistry, especially if you have nothing higher than a bachelor's degree. And in a sense, biology is just a branch of chemistry anyway, just with a very different curriculum. They're both good, don't get me wrong, but chemistry has got to be the best overlooked career choice out there.

So go with chemistry! It's fun.