Bench chemist vs product development chemist

The differences between bench chemists and product development chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a product development chemist has an average salary of $73,084, 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 product development chemist are lab equipment, product development, and analytical methods.

Bench chemist vs product development chemist overview

	Bench Chemist	Product Development Chemist
Yearly salary	$57,401	$73,084
Hourly rate	$27.60	$35.14
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	3,038	109,244
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 81%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Bench chemist vs product development chemist salary

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

	Bench Chemist	Product Development Chemist
Average salary	$57,401	$73,084
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $84,000	Between $51,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City	-	Vacaville, CA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Cargill
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between bench chemist and product development chemist education

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

	Bench Chemist	Product Development Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 81%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of California, Berkeley	University of Southern California

Bench chemist vs product development chemist demographics

Here are the differences between bench chemists' and product development chemists' demographics:

	Bench Chemist	Product Development Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 58.2% Female, 41.8%	Male, 61.6% Female, 38.4%
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, 8.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 18.1% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between bench chemist and product development 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.

Product development chemist example responsibilities.

Lead a collaboration with another biotechnology company to design ELISAs for the purpose of evaluating novel reagents.
Execute HPLC method development and method validation to provide data toward supporting specification, and testing of reference materials.
Write and review work instructions and maintain ISO paperwork.
Develop and implement CAPA as an outcome of investigations.
Create validation protocols, OOS reports and final reports for test methods.
Authore and revise operating procedures to reflect changes in the testing methods to comply with ISO requirements.

Bench chemist vs product development chemist skills

Common bench chemist skills

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

Common product development chemist skills

Lab Equipment, 10%
Product Development, 8%
Analytical Methods, 7%
HPLC, 5%
QC, 5%
Test Methods, 5%

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Bench Chemist vs Product Development Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

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