Contract chemist vs associate chemist

The differences between contract chemists and associate chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a contract chemist has an average salary of $67,064, which is higher than the $61,544 average annual salary of an associate chemist.

The top three skills for a contract chemist include laboratory equipment, method development and R. The most important skills for an associate chemist are lab equipment, HPLC, and method development.

Contract chemist vs associate chemist overview

	Contract Chemist	Associate Chemist
Yearly salary	$67,064	$61,544
Hourly rate	$32.24	$29.59
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	11,286	7,387
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 84%	Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Contract chemist vs associate chemist salary

Contract chemists and associate chemists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Contract Chemist	Associate Chemist
Average salary	$67,064	$61,544
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $100,000	Between $39,000 And $97,000
Highest paying City	-	Worcester, MA
Highest paying state	-	Virginia
Best paying company	-	Alere
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between contract chemist and associate chemist education

There are a few differences between a contract chemist and an associate chemist in terms of educational background:

	Contract Chemist	Associate Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 84%	Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Contract chemist vs associate chemist demographics

Here are the differences between contract chemists' and associate chemists' demographics:

	Contract Chemist	Associate Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 58.7% Female, 41.3%	Male, 54.9% Female, 45.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 18.3% White, 59.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 18.1% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between contract chemist and associate chemist duties and responsibilities

Contract chemist example responsibilities.

Lead QA, engineering, and operations training events.
Develop HPLC methods for the analysis of drugs and relate substances in a GMP environment.
Analyze polymer materials using ASTM methods.
Review routine and validation projects under GMP guidelines.
Blend specialty carrier gases, complete GMP and safety checklists.
Log in samples into LIMS and generate reports for customers.

Associate chemist example responsibilities.

Achieve and maintain ISO 9001-2000 certification by creating and implementing policies and serving as management representative.
Utilize GC, UV/vis, FT-IR, pH meter, and titration
Assay ointments and liquids per company test methods and USP procedures.
Utilize and maintain, TLC, GC, IR, UV/VIS Spectro-photometer and Karl Fischer
Utilize GC, UV and FTIR spectroscopy for products identification of reaction of o-cresol with nitric acid.
Operate and maintain analytical instruments such as FTIR, DSC and TGA.

Contract chemist vs associate chemist skills

Common contract chemist skills

Laboratory Equipment, 17%
Method Development, 13%
R, 10%
Analytical Data, 7%
HPLC, 7%
Ms, 4%

Common associate chemist skills

Lab Equipment, 9%
HPLC, 8%
Method Development, 6%
Ms, 4%
Product Development, 4%
Analytical Methods, 4%

Contract Chemist vs. similar jobs

Contract Chemist related careers

Contract Chemist related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Life, Physical, and Social Science Industry
Contract Chemist
Contract Chemist vs Associate Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse life, physical, and social science jobs