An assistant professor of chemistry has two primary responsibilities: to teach classes and conduct research, often under the mentorship of a fully tenured chemistry professor. As an assistant professor of chemistry, your job duties include planning course curriculum, teaching classes, holding office hours for students, grading student work, and overseeing experiments in the chemistry lab. Your teaching load is typically made up of undergraduate chemistry classes, while your chemical research is on a graduate level while you work toward your Ph.D.