• To become a successful teacher, you must first love your subject.laboratory image by Oleg Verbitsky from Fotolia.com
  
  If you love science and are seeking a secure and rewarding career, then becoming a chemistry teacher may be right for you. To become a successful teacher, you must first love your subject. You must also enjoy sharing information with others. Patience and empathy are important qualities in a teacher, as is a deep background in your subject. Designed lesson plans, presenting information, creating tests, devising lab experiments, and grading papers are common tasks of the chemistry teacher.
  
  

Get a Solid Background in Science

• Take science classes in middle school, high school, and in college so you have a good background in the sciences. Chemistry is a field that incorporates many other fields, so the more you know about all kinds of science, the easier upper-level chemistry classes will be.
  
  

Complete Requirements for a Bachelor's Degree

• Get a bachelor's degree in chemistry. A bachelor's degree and teacher certification are required to teach at the high school level. A semester of student teaching is generally required. Licensing of public school teachers is required in all states in the U.S. The Board of Education in the state where you wish to work will have information on licensing requirements. Some people get their bachelor's degree and then take graduate courses in education. Others simply take their bachelor's degree in chemistry and begin teaching in private schools where certification and graduate coursework are not required.
  
  

Get a Double Degree

• Another option is to get a double degree in both chemistry and education. This is done concurrently, and preparation for certification is part of the education coursework.
  
  

Research State Requirements for Certification

• Check requirements for teacher certification in the state where you plan to work. States vary on requirements, so plan in advance. For instance, the state of California requires completion of a bachelor's degree and completion of a teacher preparation program for preliminary teacher certification. Passing the California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST) is also required. In addition, you will be required to complete a teacher preparation program that includes student teaching and teacher prep courses. Fingerprints and a criminal background check are required. By contrast, Utah requires a bachelor's degree for a Level 1 teacher certification that is valid for four years if you teach for three of those four. Level 2 certification is awarded when a teacher preparation program is completed. Fingerprints and a background check are also part of Utah's requirements.
  
  

Get Graduate Degrees for University Level Teaching

• Graduate degrees are required for teaching chemistry at the university level. A master's degree or PhD is required in order to be hired at most colleges and universities.