In 1851, he became instructor at the Yale (now Sheffield) Scientific School, and from 1853 to 1855 he was chemist to the geological survey of New Jersey.
He was chosen professor of chemistry at the medical college in Kingston, Canada in 1857, and a year later accepted a similar chair at the National Medical College in Washington, D. C. At the same time he was examiner in the chemical division of the United States Patent Office until 1861.
His original work included: Wurtz was engaged until 1888 in perfecting processes by means of which greater yields of the heavy paraffin oils, paraffin wax, carbolic acid, and other products can be obtained from coals of all kinds more quickly, also in developing the generation of electricity by methods the chemical products of which will be of sufficient value to pay all costs.
In 1876 he served as a judge on the international jury of awards at the World's fair in Philadelphia, making a special report on The Chemistry of Japan Porcelain and Porcelain Minerals, and in 1877 the degree of Ph.D. was conferred on him by Stevens Institute of Technology.
He has made numerous reports to various corporations, and is the author of about sixty scientific memoirs.