Food chemist vs field chemist

The differences between food chemists and field chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a field chemist has an average salary of $66,162, 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 field chemist are CDL, non-hazardous waste, and customer sites.

Food chemist vs field chemist overview

	Food Chemist	Field Chemist
Yearly salary	$62,727	$66,162
Hourly rate	$30.16	$31.81
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	61,028	51,922
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Food chemist vs field chemist salary

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

	Food Chemist	Field Chemist
Average salary	$62,727	$66,162
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $87,000	Between $43,000 And $101,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	-
Highest paying state	Delaware	-
Best paying company	Cargill	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between food chemist and field chemist education

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

	Food Chemist	Field 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 California, Berkeley

Food chemist vs field chemist demographics

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

	Food Chemist	Field Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 57.3% Female, 42.7%	Male, 82.6% Female, 17.4%
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, 8.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 18.1% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between food chemist and field 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.

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.

Food chemist vs field chemist skills

Common food chemist skills

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

Common field chemist skills

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

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Food Chemist vs Field Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

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