Chemical laboratory scientist vs chemical technician

The differences between chemical laboratory scientists and chemical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a chemical laboratory scientist has an average salary of $69,602, which is higher than the $42,584 average annual salary of a chemical technician.

The top three skills for a chemical laboratory scientist include sample preparation, gas chromatography and extraction. The most important skills for a chemical technician are lab equipment, safety procedures, and hazardous materials.

Chemical laboratory scientist vs chemical technician overview

	Chemical Laboratory Scientist	Chemical Technician
Yearly salary	$69,602	$42,584
Hourly rate	$33.46	$20.47
Growth rate	6%	4%
Number of jobs	77,291	40,191
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age	42	44
Years of experience	-	2

Chemical laboratory scientist vs chemical technician salary

Chemical laboratory scientists and chemical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Chemical Laboratory Scientist	Chemical Technician
Average salary	$69,602	$42,584
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $108,000	Between $30,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City	Cambridge, MA	Baltimore, MD
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Maryland
Best paying company	Biogen	Calpine
Best paying industry	-	Pharmaceutical

Differences between chemical laboratory scientist and chemical technician education

There are a few differences between a chemical laboratory scientist and a chemical technician in terms of educational background:

	Chemical Laboratory Scientist	Chemical Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	Inter American University of Puerto Rico Bayamon

Chemical laboratory scientist vs chemical technician demographics

Here are the differences between chemical laboratory scientists' and chemical technicians' demographics:

	Chemical Laboratory Scientist	Chemical Technician
Average age	42	44
Gender ratio	Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7%	Male, 80.5% Female, 19.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 19.5% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 6.9% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	5%	9%

Differences between chemical laboratory scientist and chemical technician duties and responsibilities

Chemical laboratory scientist example responsibilities.

Design and conduct experiments at a chemistry lab in order to monitor the continuous growing of a genetically modify bacterium.
Develop a binding experiment utilizing fluorescence polarization to screen discovery compounds for interaction with various RNA constructs.

Chemical technician example responsibilities.

Manage daily production schedule, monitor machine operation, addressed any etching machinery problems.
Used the FTIR to determine the consistency of the BPA.
Sample preparation for ICP, ICPMS, FLAA, and IC.
Metal analysis through ICP OES testing.
Perform GC/MS analyses using sw846, EPA and CLP methodologies.
Maintain, organize, and update MSDS database for entire company.

Chemical laboratory scientist vs chemical technician skills

Common chemical laboratory scientist skills

Sample Preparation, 24%
Gas Chromatography, 22%
Extraction, 17%
Absorption, 14%
Chemical Analysis, 11%
Ms, 8%

Common chemical technician skills

Lab Equipment, 10%
Safety Procedures, 8%
Hazardous Materials, 5%
OSHA, 5%
Math, 5%
Troubleshoot, 3%

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Chemical Laboratory Scientist
Chemical Laboratory Scientist vs Chemical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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