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The differences between medicinal chemists and senior chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior chemist has an average salary of $91,008, which is higher than the $65,248 average annual salary of a medicinal chemist.
The top three skills for a medicinal chemist include NMR, SAR and HPLC. The most important skills for a senior chemist are method development, laboratory equipment, and HPLC.
| Medicinal Chemist | Senior Chemist | |
| Yearly salary | $65,248 | $91,008 |
| Hourly rate | $31.37 | $43.75 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 2,662 | 12,823 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| 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.
Senior Chemists are responsible for designing, developing, and testing formulations and compounds. They also maintain and troubleshoot laboratory equipment and relevant documentation.
Medicinal chemists and senior chemists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medicinal Chemist | Senior Chemist | |
| Average salary | $65,248 | $91,008 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $96,000 | Between $67,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Fremont, CA |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | Vermont |
| Best paying company | Novartis | |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a medicinal chemist and a senior chemist in terms of educational background:
| Medicinal Chemist | Senior Chemist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Most common college | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Here are the differences between medicinal chemists' and senior chemists' demographics:
| Medicinal Chemist | Senior Chemist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.5% Female, 19.5% | Male, 67.6% Female, 32.4% |
| 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, 7.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 22.3% White, 55.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |