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Chemist vs assistant research scientist

The differences between chemists and assistant research scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a chemist has an average salary of $64,961, which is higher than the $62,780 average annual salary of an assistant research scientist.

The top three skills for a chemist include chemistry, lab equipment and test results. The most important skills for an assistant research scientist are research projects, data collection, and data analysis.

Chemist vs assistant research scientist overview

ChemistAssistant Research Scientist
Yearly salary$64,961$62,780
Hourly rate$31.23$30.18
Growth rate6%17%
Number of jobs20,22188,786
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 80%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age4238
Years of experience-2

What does a chemist do?

Chemists are generally responsible for observing and investigating chemical substances to create new and safe compounds essential for practical applications. They are often grouped depending on a particular area of specialization to focus and understand the complexities of the matter. A chemist usually takes time performing research and conducting experiments to test and further improve the quality and usage of a specific chemical substance. Chemists are expected to write on their observations and findings to establish scientific results.

What does an assistant research scientist do?

An Assistant Research Scientist assists in planning, conducting, and analyzing various research projects. They also order and manage lab inventory, materials, and equipment.

Chemist vs assistant research scientist salary

Chemists and assistant research scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

ChemistAssistant Research Scientist
Average salary$64,961$62,780
Salary rangeBetween $46,000 And $90,000Between $43,000 And $89,000
Highest paying CityWilmington, DESan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateDelawareMassachusetts
Best paying companyMetaUniversity of California
Best paying industryManufacturingEducation

Differences between chemist and assistant research scientist education

There are a few differences between a chemist and an assistant research scientist in terms of educational background:

ChemistAssistant Research Scientist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 80%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common majorChemistryBiology
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaHarvard University

Chemist vs assistant research scientist demographics

Here are the differences between chemists' and assistant research scientists' demographics:

ChemistAssistant Research Scientist
Average age4238
Gender ratioMale, 59.6% Female, 40.4%Male, 55.6% Female, 44.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 18.2% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 16.7% White, 52.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage5%8%

Differences between chemist and assistant research scientist duties and responsibilities

Chemist example responsibilities.

  • Lead QA, engineering, and operations training events.
  • Achieve and maintain ISO 9001-2000 certification by creating and implementing policies and serving as management representative.
  • Perform analysis of drug substance and drug product using HPLC, GC, dissolution and UV/VIS.
  • Utilize IR, AA, UV, HPLC and other chemical analysis equipment to assess product quality.
  • Prepare solutions to run on HPLC, ICP and AA instruments.
  • Involve in operation and preventative maintenance of LC/MS, GC/FID, and HPLC instrumentation.
  • Show more

Assistant research scientist example responsibilities.

  • Lead a group of four employees in optimizing DNA purification technologies for production DNA sequencing.
  • Evaluate patients' study eligibility via medical history, obtain informed consent, enroll patients, and achieve enrollment quotas.
  • Experience in SAS programming in biomedical research.
  • Prepare salivary samples for Cortisol ELISA assays.
  • Gather and code quantitative and qualitative data using SPSS and Atlas.ti.
  • Standardize assays to elucidate the mechanism of action of lead molecules.
  • Show more

Chemist vs assistant research scientist skills

Common chemist skills
  • Chemistry, 20%
  • Lab Equipment, 7%
  • Test Results, 7%
  • Product Development, 5%
  • Method Development, 5%
  • HPLC, 5%
Common assistant research scientist skills
  • Research Projects, 8%
  • Data Collection, 7%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • Lab Equipment, 4%
  • Cell Culture, 4%
  • Chemistry, 4%

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