Food chemist vs chemist

The differences between food chemists and chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a chemist has an average salary of $64,961, which is higher than the $62,727 average annual salary of a food chemist.

The top three skills for a food chemist include laboratory equipment, FDA and sops. The most important skills for a chemist are chemistry, lab equipment, and test results.

Food chemist vs chemist overview

	Food Chemist	Chemist
Yearly salary	$62,727	$64,961
Hourly rate	$30.16	$31.23
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	61,028	20,221
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 80%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Food chemist vs chemist salary

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

	Food Chemist	Chemist
Average salary	$62,727	$64,961
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $87,000	Between $46,000 And $90,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	Wilmington, DE
Highest paying state	Delaware	Delaware
Best paying company	Cargill	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between food chemist and chemist education

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

	Food Chemist	Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 80%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Food chemist vs chemist demographics

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

	Food Chemist	Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 57.3% Female, 42.7%	Male, 59.6% Female, 40.4%
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, 7.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 18.2% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between food chemist and 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.

Chemist example responsibilities.

Lead QA, engineering, and operations training events.
Achieve and maintain ISO 9001-2000 certification by creating and implementing policies and serving as management representative.
Perform analysis of drug substance and drug product using HPLC, GC, dissolution and UV/VIS.
Utilize IR, AA, UV, HPLC and other chemical analysis equipment to assess product quality.
Prepare solutions to run on HPLC, ICP and AA instruments.
Involve in operation and preventative maintenance of LC/MS, GC/FID, and HPLC instrumentation.

Food chemist vs chemist skills

Common food chemist skills

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

Common chemist skills

Chemistry, 20%
Lab Equipment, 7%
Test Results, 7%
Product Development, 5%
Method Development, 5%
HPLC, 5%

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Food Chemist
Food Chemist vs Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

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