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The differences between medicinal chemists and production chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a medicinal chemist has an average salary of $65,248, which is higher than the $62,937 average annual salary of a production chemist.
The top three skills for a medicinal chemist include NMR, SAR and HPLC. The most important skills for a production chemist are GMP, laboratory equipment, and synthesis.
| Medicinal Chemist | Production Chemist | |
| Yearly salary | $65,248 | $62,937 |
| Hourly rate | $31.37 | $30.26 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 2,662 | 58,948 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 83% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A medicinal chemist applies their chemistry training to processing and synthesizing new pharmaceuticals. Their duties include developing new drugs, improving the processes through which pharmaceuticals are made, isolating medicinal agents, creating new synthetic drug compounds, and working with scientists in other disciplines. They are also required to develop products and production processes that are cost effective and environmentally friendly.
A production chemist is responsible for conducting research and laboratory experiments to identify chemical resources that support the manufacturing of industrial products and services. Production chemists strategize on effective methods to maximize the product's quality and efficiency, following safety regulations and legislation procedures. They also run quality checks on the components to verify their safety and minimize their environmental effect. A production chemist must have excellent organizational and critical-thinking skills, as well as having extensive knowledge of the scientific industry.
Medicinal chemists and production chemists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medicinal Chemist | Production Chemist | |
| Average salary | $65,248 | $62,937 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $96,000 | Between $38,000 And $101,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Pennsauken, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | Delaware |
| Best paying company | Novartis | Bio-Rad Laboratories |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a medicinal chemist and a production chemist in terms of educational background:
| Medicinal Chemist | Production Chemist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 83% |
| Most common major | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Most common college | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between medicinal chemists' and production chemists' demographics:
| Medicinal Chemist | Production Chemist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.5% Female, 19.5% | Male, 70.4% Female, 29.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 26.8% White, 52.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 7.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 24.4% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |