Associate chemist vs quality control analyst

The differences between associate chemists and quality control analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an associate chemist has an average salary of $61,544, which is higher than the $59,217 average annual salary of a quality control analyst.

The top three skills for an associate chemist include lab equipment, HPLC and method development. The most important skills for a quality control analyst are QC, lab equipment, and microbiology.

Associate chemist vs quality control analyst overview

	Associate Chemist	Quality Control Analyst
Yearly salary	$61,544	$59,217
Hourly rate	$29.59	$28.47
Growth rate	6%	9%
Number of jobs	7,387	85,546
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 82%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	42	38
Years of experience	-	-

What does an associate chemist do?

An Associate Chemist performs and analyzes chemical tests and procedures. They maintain the stock of drugs and ensure that they are stored in a secure place.

What does a quality control analyst do?

Quality assurance representatives are professionals who are responsible for ensuring the quality of units produced or manufactured is following the standards set by the industry. These representatives supervise the entire production process to identify erroneous methods or tools being used by workers and observing produced for visible defects. They are required to perform various tests to check for the durability of the product and other desirable characteristics. Quality assurance representatives must also collaborate with the manufacturing engineer to implement quality control programs and preparing training manuals and quality guidelines.

Associate chemist vs quality control analyst salary

Associate chemists and quality control analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Associate Chemist	Quality Control Analyst
Average salary	$61,544	$59,217
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $97,000	Between $40,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City	Worcester, MA	Raleigh, NC
Highest paying state	Virginia	North Carolina
Best paying company	Alere	Barclays
Best paying industry	Energy	Manufacturing

Differences between associate chemist and quality control analyst education

There are a few differences between an associate chemist and a quality control analyst in terms of educational background:

	Associate Chemist	Quality Control Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 82%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Chemistry	Biology
Most common college	University of Southern California	Stanford University

Associate chemist vs quality control analyst demographics

Here are the differences between associate chemists' and quality control analysts' demographics:

	Associate Chemist	Quality Control Analyst
Average age	42	38
Gender ratio	Male, 54.9% Female, 45.1%	Male, 45.7% Female, 54.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 18.1% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 12.8% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	5%	8%

Differences between associate chemist and quality control analyst duties and responsibilities

Associate chemist example responsibilities.

Achieve and maintain ISO 9001-2000 certification by creating and implementing policies and serving as management representative.
Utilize GC, UV/vis, FT-IR, pH meter, and titration
Assay ointments and liquids per company test methods and USP procedures.
Utilize and maintain, TLC, GC, IR, UV/VIS Spectro-photometer and Karl Fischer
Utilize GC, UV and FTIR spectroscopy for products identification of reaction of o-cresol with nitric acid.
Operate and maintain analytical instruments such as FTIR, DSC and TGA.

Quality control analyst example responsibilities.

SAP, Trackwise and outlook manage.
Approve QC laboratory data ensuring correct GLP and GMP guidelines are follow and validate procedures are utilize.
Train and assist junior chemist to ensure completion of all testing on HPLC, GC, and UPLC.
Detect unknown concentrations of metals and toluene in waste water by AA and GC with purge and trap attachments.
Contract for environmental monitoring need to qualify facilities for GMP operations.
Monitor, calibrate and troubleshoot laboratory equipment to ensure proper compliance with procedures and accuracy of test results.

Associate chemist vs quality control analyst skills

Common associate chemist skills

Lab Equipment, 9%
HPLC, 8%
Method Development, 6%
Ms, 4%
Product Development, 4%
Analytical Methods, 4%

Common quality control analyst skills

QC, 13%
Lab Equipment, 5%
Microbiology, 4%
Test Methods, 4%
HPLC, 3%
FDA, 3%

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Associate Chemist vs Quality Control Analyst

Updated January 8, 2025

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