How To Become A Chemist Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a chemist assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Betsy Smith

Just like what the job title says, the main job of a chemist assistant is to assist scientist in their works. These works include conducting chemical and physical laboratory tests, making solids' quantitative and qualitative analyses, and other experiment-related work.

Of course, a chemist assistant should be knowledgeable in science - making sure they know how to use and follow scientific rules and methods when solving problems. They should also be critical thinkers, have good reading comprehension skills, listening skills, writing and speaking skills, and should be able to perform quality control analysis, among others.

More than half of the population working as chemist assistants today possess a college degree, but this is not necessary for this job. Most employers look at the skills of the applicants, and some also consider the applicants' previous experiences.

A chemist assistant has an average salary of $52,158 with a job growth rate of 4%. Starting as a chemist assistant, one can become a quality systems manager later on.

What general advice would you give to a chemist assistant?

Dr. Betsy Smith

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Elmira College

I would advise students just graduating to be flexible and open-minded in their job search. Chemistry is a challenging major, and students who succeed in it have learned how to learn, so they shouldn't assume that pure chemistry is the only thing they can do. One growing field is biomedical research, and chemistry majors are often qualified for jobs in that area. If you have other strengths like writing, there are often jobs that can combine them as a technical writer or work for a science journal. There are jobs out there that might be perfect for you that you haven't heard of until you see an ad for it, so be open to different possibilities.

ScoreChemist AssistantUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,817

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.7

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.25%

Asian 18.26%

Black or African American 7.72%

Hispanic or Latino 9.33%

Unknown 4.57%

White 59.87%

Gender

female 43.72%

male 56.28%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a chemist assistant

Explore chemist assistant education requirements

Most common chemist assistant degrees

Bachelor's

71.5 %

Associate

10.8 %

High School Diploma

6.9 %

Start to develop specific chemist assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Laboratory Instruments	27.43%
Product Quality	13.38%
Chemical Analysis	5.53%
HPLC	4.52%
Analytical Instrumentation	4.21%

Complete relevant chemist assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New chemist assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a chemist assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real chemist assistant resumes.

Research chemist assistant duties and responsibilities

Test developmental compounds to ASTM standards and manage certification submissions.
Take initiative to be cross-train in chemistry methods used by the company to perform additional tests that ensure uninterrupt laboratory operation.
Conduct enzyme assays and performance testing with different enzymes in liquid and powder detergent formulations.

Prepare your chemist assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your chemist assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a chemist assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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