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

What is a chemist, development and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Betsy Smith

A Chemist, Development is in charge of developing customer-specific products. As a chemist development, you will conduct qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses for process or quality control. Your duties will include researching chemical substances, conducting laboratory experiments, and evaluating the effects of chemical compounds in different scenarios. Additionally, you will determine the chemical properties of unknown compounds by analyzing them and resolving quality issues. Also, you will be responsible for reviewing safety procedures in laboratories and maintaining laboratory equipment. Similarly, you will manage an analytical laboratory.

Most employers prefer applicants with a doctorate in chemistry with at least a year of experience in the chemical industry. The skills for this position include communication, project management, leadership, maths, and analytical skills. You can find employment in manufacturing, pharmaceutical, and automotive companies. Chemists, development earn an average salary of $71,904 per year or $34.57 per hour. It varies from $50,000 to $102,000.

What general advice would you give to a chemist, development?

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, DevelopmentUS Average

Salary

5.6

Avg. Salary $71,571

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 18.27%

Black or African American 7.70%

Hispanic or Latino 9.32%

Unknown 4.57%

White 59.90%

Gender

female 34.88%

male 65.12%

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, development

Explore chemist, development education requirements

Most common chemist, development degrees

Bachelor's

79.7 %

Master's

13.1 %

Doctorate

3.0 %

Start to develop specific chemist, development skills

Skills	Percentages
Laboratory Equipment	11.79%
Method Development	10.75%
R	9.91%
Product Development	6.66%
HPLC	6.15%

Complete relevant chemist, development training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New chemists, development 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, development based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real chemist, development resumes.

Research chemist, development duties and responsibilities

Manage an analytical laboratory, which include SEM-EDS, GC-MS, GPC, FT-IR, ICP-MS, TGA and DSC equipment.
Involve in FDA, vendor and foreign agencies audits and knowledgeable in USP and GMP regulations.
Work with analytical instruments such as FTIR, DSC, and TGA.
Follow all ISO quality and environmental standards as provided in the various procedural manuals.

Prepare your chemist, development resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your chemist, development 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, development resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable chemist, development resume templates

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