Junior chemist vs chemistry laboratory assistant

The differences between junior chemists and chemistry laboratory assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a junior chemist has an average salary of $64,002, which is higher than the $30,971 average annual salary of a chemistry laboratory assistant.

The top three skills for a junior chemist include lab equipment, R and HPLC. The most important skills for a chemistry laboratory assistant are lab equipment, lab safety, and chemistry lab.

Junior chemist vs chemistry laboratory assistant overview

	Junior Chemist	Chemistry Laboratory Assistant
Yearly salary	$64,002	$30,971
Hourly rate	$30.77	$14.89
Growth rate	6%	4%
Number of jobs	13,461	40,180
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age	42	44
Years of experience	-	2

What does a junior chemist do?

A Junior Chemist prepares test solutions, compounds, and reagents for laboratory personnel to conduct the test. They work under the supervision of a senior chemist.

What does a chemistry laboratory assistant do?

Chemical Laboratory Assistants are professionals who help researchers and scientists in performing lab experiments and tests. Their tasks involve the maintenance, cleanliness, or sterilization of laboratory equipment or instruments. They perform physical or chemical laboratory tests assisting scientists in the quantitative or qualitative analyses of liquids, gaseous materials, and solids. The necessary skills and knowledge for this job include chemistry, lab reporting, chemical solutions, and safety procedures.

Junior chemist vs chemistry laboratory assistant salary

Junior chemists and chemistry laboratory assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Junior Chemist	Chemistry Laboratory Assistant
Average salary	$64,002	$30,971
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $110,000	Between $16,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City	East Windsor, NJ	Hartford, CT
Highest paying state	Delaware	Rhode Island
Best paying company	APTIM	Pace University
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Education

Differences between junior chemist and chemistry laboratory assistant education

There are a few differences between a junior chemist and a chemistry laboratory assistant in terms of educational background:

	Junior Chemist	Chemistry Laboratory Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	Stanford University

Junior chemist vs chemistry laboratory assistant demographics

Here are the differences between junior chemists' and chemistry laboratory assistants' demographics:

	Junior Chemist	Chemistry Laboratory Assistant
Average age	42	44
Gender ratio	Male, 58.2% Female, 41.8%	Male, 45.5% Female, 54.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 19.7% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 9.5% White, 62.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	5%	9%

Differences between junior chemist and chemistry laboratory assistant duties and responsibilities

Junior chemist example responsibilities.

Achieve and maintain ISO 9001-2000 certification by creating and implementing policies and serving as management representative.
Process laboratory data to ensure efficiency of plant operations and troubleshoot unexpect conditions to prevent an upset within the plant.
Solve the quality issues with Zithromax SDD extrusion during a systems audit of the start up process, in Vega Baja.
Provide general support to the custom mixing and extrusion departments in day-to-day operations.

Chemistry laboratory assistant example responsibilities.

Comfort frighten patients and maintain an exceptionally bright professional demeanor to accomplish a procedure that makes most people very uncomfortable.
Prepare buffer solutions, separate DNA, dissect baby mice, and perform general lab procedures.
Facilitate placement and organization of equipment for new laboratory including HPLC, GC-MS, UV-VIS, and DSC.
Maintain GC/FID, GC/MS and LC/MS systems.
Purify total RNA out of scallop muscle tissue.
Maintain proper records and documentation of DNA sequencing products.

Junior chemist vs chemistry laboratory assistant skills

Common junior chemist skills

Lab Equipment, 17%
R, 8%
HPLC, 6%
PH Meter, 5%
QC, 5%
Analytical Instruments, 5%

Common chemistry laboratory assistant skills

Lab Equipment, 39%
Lab Safety, 13%
Chemistry Lab, 6%
Lab Experiments, 4%
Lab Reports, 3%
Analytical Chemistry, 2%

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Junior Chemist vs Chemistry Laboratory Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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