Chemical analyst vs research chemist

The differences between chemical analysts and research chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a research chemist has an average salary of $75,843, which is higher than the $53,769 average annual salary of a chemical analyst.

The top three skills for a chemical analyst include lab equipment, analytical methods and analytical procedures. The most important skills for a research chemist are laboratory equipment, method development, and R.

Chemical analyst vs research chemist overview

	Chemical Analyst	Research Chemist
Yearly salary	$53,769	$75,843
Hourly rate	$25.85	$36.46
Growth rate	4%	6%
Number of jobs	10,790	53,769
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	44	42
Years of experience	2	-

Chemical analyst vs research chemist salary

Chemical analysts and research chemists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Chemical Analyst	Research Chemist
Average salary	$53,769	$75,843
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $78,000	Between $53,000 And $108,000
Highest paying City	Ossining, NY	McLean, VA
Highest paying state	Maryland	Virginia
Best paying company	Koppers	BP America Inc
Best paying industry	Energy	Energy

Differences between chemical analyst and research chemist education

There are a few differences between a chemical analyst and a research chemist in terms of educational background:

	Chemical Analyst	Research Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	Stanford University	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chemical analyst vs research chemist demographics

Here are the differences between chemical analysts' and research chemists' demographics:

	Chemical Analyst	Research Chemist
Average age	44	42
Gender ratio	Male, 56.8% Female, 43.2%	Male, 68.5% Female, 31.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 9.0% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 7.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 22.2% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	9%	5%

Differences between chemical analyst and research chemist duties and responsibilities

Chemical analyst example responsibilities.

Manage the scheduling and the FTIR analysis for all blend protocol gases.
Manage daily production schedule, monitor machine operation, addressed any etching machinery problems.
Perform finish product and release testing for prescription drugs in the pharmaceutical industry using UV/VIS, UV/PDA, and HPLC.
Develop, validate and support transfer of stability-indicative methods for solid and liquid dosage forms using HPLC, GC and GC/MS.
Perform routine maintenance and troubleshooting of FTIR instrumentation and GC instrumentation.
Follow cGMP, GLP, FDA, regulations.

Research chemist example responsibilities.

Manage the CDS and LIMS systems for the institute.
Manage and record experimental data with lab management software (LIMS).
Manage projects involving the development of GC/MS methods, particle collection systems, and Raman spectral database creation.
Characterize the particles using SEM, DSC, IR, and UV-Vis.
Identify sample structure using microscopy, crystallography, NMR, UV/VIS, GC and AAS.
Develop GC & FTIR instrumental methods of analysis to support quality of incoming raw materials to ensure quality of finish products.

Chemical analyst vs research chemist skills

Common chemical analyst skills

Lab Equipment, 18%
Analytical Methods, 9%
Analytical Procedures, 6%
PH Meter, 5%
HPLC, 4%
R, 3%

Common research chemist skills

Laboratory Equipment, 10%
Method Development, 10%
R, 9%
HPLC, 5%
Analytical Chemistry, 5%
Polymer, 5%

Chemical Analyst vs. similar jobs

Chemical Analyst related careers

Chemical Analyst related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Life, Physical, and Social Science Industry
Chemical Analyst
Chemical Analyst vs Research Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse life, physical, and social science jobs