Bench chemist vs associate chemist

The differences between bench chemists and associate chemists 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 $57,401 average annual salary of a bench chemist.

The top three skills for a bench chemist include analytical methods, HPLC and wet chemistry. The most important skills for an associate chemist are lab equipment, HPLC, and method development.

Bench chemist vs associate chemist overview

	Bench Chemist	Associate Chemist
Yearly salary	$57,401	$61,544
Hourly rate	$27.60	$29.59
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	3,038	7,387
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Bench chemist vs associate chemist salary

Bench chemists and associate chemists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Bench Chemist	Associate Chemist
Average salary	$57,401	$61,544
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $84,000	Between $39,000 And $97,000
Highest paying City	-	Worcester, MA
Highest paying state	-	Virginia
Best paying company	-	Alere
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between bench chemist and associate chemist education

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

	Bench Chemist	Associate Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of California, Berkeley	University of Southern California

Bench chemist vs associate chemist demographics

Here are the differences between bench chemists' and associate chemists' demographics:

	Bench Chemist	Associate Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 58.2% Female, 41.8%	Male, 54.9% Female, 45.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 18.2% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	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%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between bench chemist and associate chemist duties and responsibilities

Bench chemist example responsibilities.

Test developmental compounds to ASTM standards and manage certification submissions.
Prepare ASTM samples and test physical properties.
Perform USP testing on a wide variety of pharmaceuticals to guarantee product quality.
Analyze intermediates and products through analytical data such as LCMS, NMR, etc.
Maintain detailed notebooks containing results and transmit those results via LIMS to the proper plant personnel.
Perform final release testing on batch samples to establish conformance to company, third party, or FDA specifications.

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.

Bench chemist vs associate chemist skills

Common bench chemist skills

Analytical Methods, 12%
HPLC, 10%
Wet Chemistry, 10%
Method Development, 9%
GC, 8%
GMP, 8%

Common associate chemist skills

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

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Bench Chemist vs Associate Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

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