Food chemist vs associate chemist

The differences between food chemists and associate chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food chemist has an average salary of $62,727, which is higher than the $61,544 average annual salary of an associate chemist.

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

Food chemist vs associate chemist overview

	Food Chemist	Associate Chemist
Yearly salary	$62,727	$61,544
Hourly rate	$30.16	$29.59
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	61,028	7,387
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Food chemist vs associate chemist salary

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

	Food Chemist	Associate Chemist
Average salary	$62,727	$61,544
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $87,000	Between $39,000 And $97,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	Worcester, MA
Highest paying state	Delaware	Virginia
Best paying company	Cargill	Alere
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between food chemist and associate chemist education

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

	Food Chemist	Associate Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Food chemist vs associate chemist demographics

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

	Food Chemist	Associate Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 57.3% Female, 42.7%	Male, 54.9% Female, 45.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 18.2% White, 59.7% 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 food chemist and associate chemist duties and responsibilities

Food chemist example responsibilities.

Manage food chemistry testing laboratory and measure clenbuterol levels in beef samples by HPLC
Position are focused around ensuring that the different products being test pass the specifications put in place by the FDA.
Provide calculated electronic absorption (UV/Vis) spectra for molecular candidates suspect to be impurity chromophores in a commercial nylon process.
Establish extraction profiles and develop appropriate QC methods for product certification and annual qualification.

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.

Food chemist vs associate chemist skills

Common food chemist skills

Laboratory Equipment, 18%
FDA, 17%
Sops, 13%
R, 9%
HPLC, 9%
Food Products, 8%

Common associate chemist skills

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

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Food Chemist vs Associate Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

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