Bench chemist vs field chemist

The differences between bench chemists and field chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a field chemist has an average salary of $66,162, 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 a field chemist are CDL, non-hazardous waste, and customer sites.

Bench chemist vs field chemist overview

	Bench Chemist	Field Chemist
Yearly salary	$57,401	$66,162
Hourly rate	$27.60	$31.81
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	3,038	51,922
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Bench chemist vs field chemist salary

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

	Bench Chemist	Field Chemist
Average salary	$57,401	$66,162
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $84,000	Between $43,000 And $101,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between bench chemist and field chemist education

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

	Bench Chemist	Field 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 California, Berkeley

Bench chemist vs field chemist demographics

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

	Bench Chemist	Field Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 58.2% Female, 41.8%	Male, 82.6% Female, 17.4%
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, 8.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 18.1% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between bench chemist and field 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.

Field chemist example responsibilities.

Manage and audit projects to ensure compliance of state, federal and OSHA regulations.
Manage projects involving the development of GC/MS methods, particle collection systems, and Raman spectral database creation.
Achieve and maintain ISO 9001-2000 certification by creating and implementing policies and serving as management representative.
Utilize analytic testing on new compounds using the following techniques: GC-MS, HPLC and ICP.
Test products for QC using standard procedures.
Analyze air samples by HPLC following EPA methods.

Bench chemist vs field chemist skills

Common bench chemist skills

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

Common field chemist skills

CDL, 39%
Non-Hazardous Waste, 7%
Customer Sites, 7%
Household Hazardous Waste, 6%
OSHA, 5%
Laboratory Equipment, 5%

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Bench Chemist vs Field Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

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