Careers in Textile Chemistry

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Careers in Textile Chemistry

• Kevin Tomasko

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What is Textile Chemistry?

• Textile Chemistry applies the principles of basic
  chemical fields to the understanding of textile
  materials and their modification into useful and
  desirable items.
• Textile materials are used in clothing, carpet,
  tire yarn, sewing thread, upholstery, airbags,
  etc.

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What Does a Textile Chemist Do?

• A textile chemists spend their entire career
  working with textile materials.
• This involves the dyeing, printing, and finishing
  of textiles using chemicals such as dyes,
  surfactants, fire retardants, fluorochemicals,
  detergents, fiber fabric lubricants, etc.

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Where can a Textile Chemist find a Job?

• Textile chemists must be ready to move overseas
  because chemists are employed globally by
  chemical companies that manufacture the basic
  polymer from which synthetic fibers are made.
• In the 1980s many major US textile companies
  moved overseas in search of cheap labor.
• Today, many textiles of the world come from
  countries like Turkey, China, India, and Pakistan

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Personal Characteristics of a Textile Chemist.

• Textile Chemists are generally people interested
  in the intersection between chemistry and the
  kind of engineering that goes into textile
  marketing.
• They enjoy the modification and improvement of
  basic polymers and like using their knowledge of
  materials to solve problems.

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The future in Textile Chemistry

• The job outlook is much more promising
  internationally than it is in the US, although
  significant positions for bright students still
  exist today.
• Jobs at dye companies are harder to find -
  although most have moved overseas, there are
  still a few US-basses companies.

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What it takes to be a Textile Chemist.

• Although a number of schools specialize in
  textile chemistry, a textile degree is not a
  prerequisite for a job in the field. Many
  chemists in the field have been trained as
  polymer chemists.
• Important courses of study include organic,
  analytical, and colloid chemistry
• Textile chemistry is a highly competitive field,
  and an M.S. or Ph.D. degree is very valuable as a
  potential employee.

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Additional Information and References.

• How to Become a Textiles Chemist.
  http//www.ehow.com/how_2068986_become-textiles-ch
  emist.html
• American Chemical Society - Textile Chemistry.
  http//portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content -
  search textiles chemistry
• Textile Expertise. http//www.intota.com/viewbio.a
  sp?bioID616166perID718196strQuerytextilechem
  istry
• Answers.com - Textile Chemistry.
  http//www.answers.com/topic/textile-chemistry?cat
  technology