Field chemist vs senior research chemist

The differences between field chemists and senior research chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior research chemist has an average salary of $95,520, which is higher than the $66,162 average annual salary of a field chemist.

The top three skills for a field chemist include CDL, non-hazardous waste and customer sites. The most important skills for a senior research chemist are R, chemistry, and product development.

Field chemist vs senior research chemist overview

	Field Chemist	Senior Research Chemist
Yearly salary	$66,162	$95,520
Hourly rate	$31.81	$45.92
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	51,922	55,511
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 82%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Field chemist vs senior research chemist salary

Field chemists and senior research chemists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Field Chemist	Senior Research Chemist
Average salary	$66,162	$95,520
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $101,000	Between $69,000 And $130,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Crunchbase
Best paying industry	-	Pharmaceutical

Differences between field chemist and senior research chemist education

There are a few differences between a field chemist and a senior research chemist in terms of educational background:

	Field Chemist	Senior Research Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 82%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of California, Berkeley	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Field chemist vs senior research chemist demographics

Here are the differences between field chemists' and senior research chemists' demographics:

	Field Chemist	Senior Research Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 82.6% Female, 17.4%	Male, 79.1% Female, 20.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 18.1% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 27.5% White, 52.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between field chemist and senior research chemist duties and responsibilities

Field chemist example responsibilities.

Manage and audit projects to ensure compliance of state, federal and OSHA regulations.
Manage projects involving the development of GC/MS methods, particle collection systems, and Raman spectral database creation.
Achieve and maintain ISO 9001-2000 certification by creating and implementing policies and serving as management representative.
Utilize analytic testing on new compounds using the following techniques: GC-MS, HPLC and ICP.
Test products for QC using standard procedures.
Analyze air samples by HPLC following EPA methods.

Senior research chemist example responsibilities.

Manage an analytical laboratory, which include SEM-EDS, GC-MS, GPC, FT-IR, ICP-MS, TGA and DSC equipment.
Conduct HPLC analysis of two main products to support equivalency programs.
Establish the fast HPLC column screening system and serve as super user.
Calculate amounts of unknown components of a distillation bottoms mixture using NMR.
Train over twenty plant operators and scientists to use the FTIR system.
Act as leading analyst to provide analytical services to several GMP API productions.

Field chemist vs senior research chemist skills

Common field chemist skills

CDL, 39%
Non-Hazardous Waste, 7%
Customer Sites, 7%
Household Hazardous Waste, 6%
OSHA, 5%
Laboratory Equipment, 5%

Common senior research chemist skills

R, 16%
Chemistry, 14%
Product Development, 8%
Analytical Laboratory, 6%
Organic Synthesis, 4%
Polymer, 4%

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Field Chemist vs Senior Research Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

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