Chemical research worker vs research technician

The differences between chemical research workers and research technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a chemical research worker, becoming a research technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a chemical research worker has an average salary of $61,345, which is higher than the $43,034 average annual salary of a research technician.

The top three skills for a chemical research worker include elisa, R and GIS. The most important skills for a research technician are patients, data collection, and cell culture.

Chemical research worker vs research technician overview

	Chemical Research Worker	Research Technician
Yearly salary	$61,345	$43,034
Hourly rate	$29.49	$20.69
Growth rate	4%	9%
Number of jobs	66,892	64,786
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age	44	40
Years of experience	2	4

Chemical research worker vs research technician salary

Chemical research workers and research technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Chemical Research Worker	Research Technician
Average salary	$61,345	$43,034
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $91,000	Between $31,000 And $59,000
Highest paying City	Austin, TX	Pasadena, CA
Highest paying state	West Virginia	Connecticut
Best paying company	VMware	GCP Applied Technologies
Best paying industry	Education	Manufacturing

Differences between chemical research worker and research technician education

There are a few differences between a chemical research worker and a research technician in terms of educational background:

	Chemical Research Worker	Research Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	Stanford University	Cornell University

Chemical research worker vs research technician demographics

Here are the differences between chemical research workers' and research technicians' demographics:

	Chemical Research Worker	Research Technician
Average age	44	40
Gender ratio	Male, 51.0% Female, 49.0%	Male, 49.3% Female, 50.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 9.5% White, 62.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 16.5% White, 49.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	6%

Differences between chemical research worker and research technician duties and responsibilities

Chemical research worker example responsibilities.

Manage all aspects of HPLC method development and analysis through interpretation of data ensuring accuracy of results.
Experience in NMR, GC-MS, LC-MS, FT-IR, AAS, ICPMS instruments.
Perform RNA analysis for well-known mouse virus.
Conduct genotyping experiments on known DNA segments.
Complete AFM, TEM and UV-vis spectroscopy to analyze these nanocomposites.
Work frequently performing cell culture, HPLC, confocal microscopy, flow cytometry

Research technician example responsibilities.

Manage a DNA database and work with researchers to retrieve or send out samples and results.
Lead experiments to assess survivor behavior differences in zebrafish contaminate with dietary mercury.
Prepare reagents for use in processing samples, DNA and RNA extractions, and QC.
Investigate and validate various acute phase protein assays as OA biomarkers in rodent animal models.
Perform DNA extraction and analysis for the purpose of identifying bacterial strand for waste stream characterization.
Extend course knowledge of CRISPR to experiment.

Chemical research worker vs research technician skills

Common chemical research worker skills

Elisa, 24%
R, 18%
GIS, 9%
Chemistry, 8%
Database Systems, 6%
RT-PCR, 5%

Common research technician skills

Patients, 9%
Data Collection, 6%
Cell Culture, 5%
Laboratory Equipment, 5%
Research Projects, 4%
Lab Equipment, 3%

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Chemical Research Worker
Chemical Research Worker vs Research Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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