Chemical laboratory scientist vs senior research chemist

The differences between chemical laboratory scientists and senior research chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior research chemist has an average salary of $95,520, which is higher than the $69,602 average annual salary of a chemical laboratory scientist.

The top three skills for a chemical laboratory scientist include sample preparation, gas chromatography and extraction. The most important skills for a senior research chemist are R, chemistry, and product development.

Chemical laboratory scientist vs senior research chemist overview

	Chemical Laboratory Scientist	Senior Research Chemist
Yearly salary	$69,602	$95,520
Hourly rate	$33.46	$45.92
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	77,291	55,511
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Chemical laboratory scientist vs senior research chemist salary

Chemical laboratory scientists and senior research chemists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Chemical Laboratory Scientist	Senior Research Chemist
Average salary	$69,602	$95,520
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $108,000	Between $69,000 And $130,000
Highest paying City	Cambridge, MA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Washington
Best paying company	Biogen	Crunchbase
Best paying industry	-	Pharmaceutical

Differences between chemical laboratory scientist and senior research chemist education

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

	Chemical Laboratory Scientist	Senior Research Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chemical laboratory scientist vs senior research chemist demographics

Here are the differences between chemical laboratory scientists' and senior research chemists' demographics:

	Chemical Laboratory Scientist	Senior Research Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7%	Male, 79.1% Female, 20.9%
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, 6.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 27.5% White, 52.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between chemical laboratory scientist and senior research chemist 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.

Senior research chemist example responsibilities.

Manage an analytical laboratory, which include SEM-EDS, GC-MS, GPC, FT-IR, ICP-MS, TGA and DSC equipment.
Conduct HPLC analysis of two main products to support equivalency programs.
Establish the fast HPLC column screening system and serve as super user.
Calculate amounts of unknown components of a distillation bottoms mixture using NMR.
Train over twenty plant operators and scientists to use the FTIR system.
Act as leading analyst to provide analytical services to several GMP API productions.

Chemical laboratory scientist vs senior research chemist skills

Common chemical laboratory scientist skills

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

Common senior research chemist skills

R, 16%
Chemistry, 14%
Product Development, 8%
Analytical Laboratory, 6%
Organic Synthesis, 4%
Polymer, 4%

Chemical Laboratory Scientist vs. similar jobs

Chemical Laboratory Scientist related careers

Chemical Laboratory Scientist related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Life, Physical, and Social Science Industry
Chemical Laboratory Scientist
Chemical Laboratory Scientist vs Senior Research Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse life, physical, and social science jobs