Food chemist vs research chemist

The differences between food chemists and research chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a research chemist has an average salary of $75,843, 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 research chemist are laboratory equipment, method development, and R.

Food chemist vs research chemist overview

	Food Chemist	Research Chemist
Yearly salary	$62,727	$75,843
Hourly rate	$30.16	$36.46
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	61,028	53,769
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Food chemist vs research chemist salary

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

	Food Chemist	Research Chemist
Average salary	$62,727	$75,843
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $87,000	Between $53,000 And $108,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	McLean, VA
Highest paying state	Delaware	Virginia
Best paying company	Cargill	BP America Inc
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between food chemist and research chemist education

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

	Food Chemist	Research Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Food chemist vs research chemist demographics

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

	Food Chemist	Research Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 57.3% Female, 42.7%	Male, 68.5% Female, 31.5%
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, 7.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 22.2% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between food chemist and research 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.

Research chemist example responsibilities.

Manage the CDS and LIMS systems for the institute.
Manage and record experimental data with lab management software (LIMS).
Manage projects involving the development of GC/MS methods, particle collection systems, and Raman spectral database creation.
Characterize the particles using SEM, DSC, IR, and UV-Vis.
Identify sample structure using microscopy, crystallography, NMR, UV/VIS, GC and AAS.
Develop GC & FTIR instrumental methods of analysis to support quality of incoming raw materials to ensure quality of finish products.

Food chemist vs research chemist skills

Common food chemist skills

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

Common research chemist skills

Laboratory Equipment, 10%
Method Development, 10%
R, 9%
HPLC, 5%
Analytical Chemistry, 5%
Polymer, 5%

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Food Chemist vs Research Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

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