Inorganic chemistry is the study of the synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic compounds. It has applications in every aspect of the chemical industry–including catalysis, materials science, pigments, surfactants, coatings, medicine, fuel, and agriculture. Inorganic chemists are employed in fields as diverse as the mining and microchip industries, environmental science, and education. Their work is based on understanding the behavior and the analogues for inorganic elements, and how these materials can be modified, separated or used–often in product applications. It includes developing methods to recover metals from waste streams; employment as analytical chemists specializing in analysis of mined ores; performing research on the use of inorganic chemicals for treating soil. Many inorganic chemists go into industry, but they are also at universities and in government labs. Inorganic chemists who work in government say their time is increasingly spent writing grant proposals and competing for a small pool of research money.