Chemist lead vs organic chemist

The differences between chemist leads and organic chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a chemist lead has an average salary of $83,663, which is higher than the $76,894 average annual salary of an organic chemist.

The top three skills for a chemist lead include laboratory instruments, analytical methods and R. The most important skills for an organic chemist are NMR, method development, and HPLC.

Chemist lead vs organic chemist overview

	Chemist Lead	Organic Chemist
Yearly salary	$83,663	$76,894
Hourly rate	$40.22	$36.97
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	3,860	2,680
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 81%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

What does a chemist lead do?

A Chemist Lead is responsible for conducting qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses and experiments. They generally work in laboratories.

What does an organic chemist do?

An organic chemist studies the properties of chemicals with carbon. This type of chemistry is vital for industries concerning products and services related to living organisms, such as plants, animals, and people. Pharmaceuticals, the food industry, and agriculture all require an organic chemist's skill to create and develop products suitable for living organisms. The organic chemist's role is to help in the development phase of a product, determine its effects on biological life, and note all side-effects: many companies, especially those concerned in medicine and food production.

Chemist lead vs organic chemist salary

Chemist leads and organic chemists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Chemist Lead	Organic Chemist
Average salary	$83,663	$76,894
Salary range	Between $59,000 And $117,000	Between $50,000 And $116,000
Highest paying City	Pleasanton, CA	Newark, DE
Highest paying state	Delaware	Delaware
Best paying company	Momentive	Entegris
Best paying industry	Health Care	Pharmaceutical

Differences between chemist lead and organic chemist education

There are a few differences between a chemist lead and an organic chemist in terms of educational background:

	Chemist Lead	Organic Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 81%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Chemist lead vs organic chemist demographics

Here are the differences between chemist leads' and organic chemists' demographics:

	Chemist Lead	Organic Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 65.2% Female, 34.8%	Male, 65.7% Female, 34.3%
Race ratio	Black 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, 7.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 19.0% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between chemist lead and organic chemist duties and responsibilities

Chemist lead example responsibilities.

Manage an analytical laboratory, which include SEM-EDS, GC-MS, GPC, FT-IR, ICP-MS, TGA and DSC equipment.
Ensure FDA and ISO certification due to attention to detail.
Prepare testing protocols for raw materials, finish products, and APIs utilizing classical wet chemistry and HPLC techniques.
Use LIMS system to input data.
Learned how to troubleshoot/maintain ICP-MS instruments.
Evaluate and propose changes to existing USP test methodologies.

Organic chemist example responsibilities.

Achieve and maintain ISO 9001-2000 certification by creating and implementing policies and serving as management representative.
Ensure compounds are of the highest possible purity using LCMS, NMR spectroscopy, GC, and HPLC.
Perform organic analysis for semi-volatile and acid-base-neutrals using GCMS, HPLC, GCFID, GCNPD, GCECD and IR.
Perform GC analyses for gas, diesel, BTEX and PCB analyses in Washington and remote sites of Alaska.
Facilitate routine analyses in organic analytic chemistry - distillation, extraction, separation, crystallization, and purification.
Utilize 1H-NMR , 13C-NMR, GC/MS, HPLC, MALDI-TOF, ChemDraw, and ChemWindow.

Chemist lead vs organic chemist skills

Common chemist lead skills

Laboratory Instruments, 13%
Analytical Methods, 7%
R, 6%
Method Development, 5%
Lab Equipment, 5%
HPLC, 4%

Common organic chemist skills

NMR, 8%
Method Development, 8%
HPLC, 7%
Organic Synthesis, 7%
Laboratory Equipment, 6%
Sample Preparation, 5%

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Chemist Lead vs Organic Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

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