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The differences between laboratory chemists and quality control analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a laboratory chemist has an average salary of $62,702, which is higher than the $59,217 average annual salary of a quality control analyst.
The top three skills for a laboratory chemist include lab equipment, chromatography and analytical methods. The most important skills for a quality control analyst are QC, lab equipment, and microbiology.
| Laboratory Chemist | Quality Control Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $62,702 | $59,217 |
| Hourly rate | $30.15 | $28.47 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 41,322 | 85,546 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 42 | 38 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Laboratory Chemists are licensed scientists who work with chemicals. They are usually found in academic institutions or research facilities. Laboratory Chemists create experiments based on the needs of the institution or company. They mix different chemicals to make the desired results. They would also analyze compounds borne out of the different mixtures and record their observations. They tabulate the results and present these to the body. Laboratory Chemists should have good organization skills. They should be able to document their experiments properly. This would help the company and future researchers.
Quality assurance representatives are professionals who are responsible for ensuring the quality of units produced or manufactured is following the standards set by the industry. These representatives supervise the entire production process to identify erroneous methods or tools being used by workers and observing produced for visible defects. They are required to perform various tests to check for the durability of the product and other desirable characteristics. Quality assurance representatives must also collaborate with the manufacturing engineer to implement quality control programs and preparing training manuals and quality guidelines.
Laboratory chemists and quality control analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Laboratory Chemist | Quality Control Analyst | |
| Average salary | $62,702 | $59,217 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $86,000 | Between $40,000 And $86,000 |
| Highest paying City | Nutley, NJ | Raleigh, NC |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | North Carolina |
| Best paying company | BASF | Barclays |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a laboratory chemist and a quality control analyst in terms of educational background:
| Laboratory Chemist | Quality Control Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Chemistry | Biology |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between laboratory chemists' and quality control analysts' demographics:
| Laboratory Chemist | Quality Control Analyst | |
| Average age | 42 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 63.9% Female, 36.1% | Male, 45.7% Female, 54.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 18.3% White, 60.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 12.8% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 8% |