Contract chemist vs formulation chemist

The differences between contract chemists and formulation 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 $66,678 average annual salary of a formulation chemist.

The top three skills for a contract chemist include laboratory equipment, method development and R. The most important skills for a formulation chemist are scale-up, R, and product development.

Contract chemist vs formulation chemist overview

	Contract Chemist	Formulation Chemist
Yearly salary	$67,064	$66,678
Hourly rate	$32.24	$32.06
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	11,286	3,011
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 84%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Contract chemist vs formulation chemist salary

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

	Contract Chemist	Formulation Chemist
Average salary	$67,064	$66,678
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $100,000	Between $46,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	-	Frederick, MD
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Apple
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between contract chemist and formulation chemist education

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

	Contract Chemist	Formulation Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 84%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Contract chemist vs formulation chemist demographics

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

	Contract Chemist	Formulation Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 58.7% Female, 41.3%	Male, 60.6% Female, 39.4%
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, 7.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 18.6% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between contract chemist and formulation 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.

Formulation chemist example responsibilities.

Utilize Citrix LIMS to register, manage, enter and release sample results for supervisor review.
Provide key data in GLP testing of in-house samples using GC, AA, and UV-Vis.
Follow ASTM procedures and criteria for analyzing products.
Create internal sensory training according to the ASTM method.
Help to aid the plant in becoming compliant with EPA standards.
Perform analysis of pharmaceutical drug products in compliance cGMP and GLP procedures.

Contract chemist vs formulation chemist skills

Common contract chemist skills

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

Common formulation chemist skills

Scale-Up, 8%
R, 7%
Product Development, 6%
Lab Notebook, 6%
Formulation Development, 5%
QC, 4%

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Contract Chemist
Contract Chemist vs Formulation Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

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