Are you a food lover pursuing a STEM career? There are many areas of STEM jobs and food related opportunities are one of them! If you are looking to combine your love for food with a background in STEM, check out these STEM careers for foodies:

Molecular Gastronomer: You might think, what the heck does that mean? Molecular gastronomers make it easier for people to consume and make food safely. They are the ones who map out the steps to follow for recipes, which make it easier for people to cook! They also take time to study and analyze ingredients being used and the record the effects the cooking has on them, specifically physical and chemical changes due to heat.

Food Flavorist: Just the sound of the job title sounds good! Food flavorists improve taste and nutrition of products while ensuring any added chemicals don’t harm people when consuming. Many foods contain natural and artificial flavoring so these flavorists test the flavors chemicals are adequate for consumption. A chemistry background is a definite must for this field. You won’t spend much time in the office, as flavorists usually spend time in laboratories conducting experiments.

 

Food Researcher: Who wouldn’t want to research food? You can study different foods with a food science degree. The food science industry is all about research and with higher education people study things like food engineering and food microbiology and nutrition. Studying your favorite comfort foods… sounds like a pretty tasty field to get into!

Food Styling: Making food look good. A lot of science goes into making products look good. Scientists have to determine how long products can stand the bright lights of shooting commercials without melting or spoiling. Commercials can take a long time to shoot, so it’s necessary to determine these things and figure out if substitutes can be used. A food science degree is preferred for this field.