How To Become A Formulation Chemist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a formulation chemist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Betsy Smith

Formulation Chemist creates innovative product design ideas that meet health and reliability criteria. Formulation chemists analyze current market trends, devise cost-cutting measures. In addition, they determine efficient formulations through in-depth research and laboratory trials to uncover product potential. Furthermore, they collaborate with the marketing and sales teams on brand promotion and awareness, writing formulation reports, and product processing. For desired results, a Formulation chemist must have a thorough understanding of scientific processes, including chemical mixing.

Chemistry understanding, including the safe use and disposal of chemicals, math skills, great verbal communication abilities, and science skills, are essential skills you must possess. You must be thorough and pay attention to detail. You must also have advanced problem-solving skills, abilities to think analytically. Plus, you must be able to collaborate effectively with others. A formulation chemist must have a bachelor's or master's degree in biochemistry, material science, chemistry, or a related field. Formulation Chemists earn between $30,000 and $107,000 yearly.

What general advice would you give to a formulation chemist?

Dr. Betsy Smith

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Elmira College

I would advise students just graduating to be flexible and open-minded in their job search. Chemistry is a challenging major, and students who succeed in it have learned how to learn, so they shouldn't assume that pure chemistry is the only thing they can do. One growing field is biomedical research, and chemistry majors are often qualified for jobs in that area. If you have other strengths like writing, there are often jobs that can combine them as a technical writer or work for a science journal. There are jobs out there that might be perfect for you that you haven't heard of until you see an ad for it, so be open to different possibilities.

ScoreFormulation ChemistUS Average

Salary

5.2

Avg. Salary $66,678

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.7

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.25%

Asian 18.62%

Black or African American 7.83%

Hispanic or Latino 9.37%

Unknown 4.59%

White 59.35%

Gender

female 39.41%

male 60.59%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a formulation chemist

Explore formulation chemist education requirements

Most common formulation chemist degrees

Bachelor's

78.8 %

Master's

13.2 %

Associate

4.0 %

Start to develop specific formulation chemist skills

Skills	Percentages
Scale-Up	8.03%
R	6.90%
Product Development	6.20%
Lab Notebook	5.76%
Formulation Development	5.00%

Complete relevant formulation chemist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New formulation chemists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a formulation chemist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real formulation chemist resumes.

Research formulation chemist duties and responsibilities

Utilize Citrix LIMS to register, manage, enter and release sample results for supervisor review.
Provide key data in GLP testing of in-house samples using GC, AA, and UV-Vis.
Follow ASTM procedures and criteria for analyzing products.
Create internal sensory training according to the ASTM method.

Prepare your formulation chemist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your formulation chemist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a formulation chemist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable formulation chemist resume templates

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