[1] After leaving Hillsdale, he taught school in Oakland County, and in 1864 moved to Detroit where he attended a commercial college.

[1] After leaving college in 1865, Chamberlain began work for a wholesale liquor company[2] F. A. Stokes, first as a bookkeeper and then as a travelling salesman.

The next year, Marvin Chamberlain helped organize the Commercial Traveler's Association of Michigan, and was elected its first president.

[1] Chamberlain expanded his business interests, and was one of the original directors of the Central Savings Bank.

[3] In 1898, Chamberlain patented a "liquid separating process" for reduction of garbage, and received the contract to collect garbage in Detroit under the company name of Detroit Liquid Separating Co.[4] He later built similar plants in other cities.