Organic chemist vs associate scientist

The differences between organic chemists and associate scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an organic chemist has an average salary of $76,894, which is higher than the $76,461 average annual salary of an associate scientist.

The top three skills for an organic chemist include NMR, method development and HPLC. The most important skills for an associate scientist are chemistry, patients, and cell culture.

Organic chemist vs associate scientist overview

	Organic Chemist	Associate Scientist
Yearly salary	$76,894	$76,461
Hourly rate	$36.97	$36.76
Growth rate	6%	17%
Number of jobs	2,680	54,950
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age	42	41
Years of experience	-	4

What does an organic chemist do?

An organic chemist studies the properties of chemicals with carbon. This type of chemistry is vital for industries concerning products and services related to living organisms, such as plants, animals, and people. Pharmaceuticals, the food industry, and agriculture all require an organic chemist's skill to create and develop products suitable for living organisms. The organic chemist's role is to help in the development phase of a product, determine its effects on biological life, and note all side-effects: many companies, especially those concerned in medicine and food production.

What does an associate scientist do?

An Associate Scientist assists in various experiments and research, working under the direction of a lead scientist. Their specialties may include biological life sciences, geo-science, atmospheric physics, and computing.

Organic chemist vs associate scientist salary

Organic chemists and associate scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Organic Chemist	Associate Scientist
Average salary	$76,894	$76,461
Salary range	Between $50,000 And $116,000	Between $53,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	Newark, DE	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Delaware	California
Best paying company	Entegris	Phillips 66
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Manufacturing

Differences between organic chemist and associate scientist education

There are a few differences between an organic chemist and an associate scientist in terms of educational background:

	Organic Chemist	Associate Scientist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common major	Chemistry	Biology
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Organic chemist vs associate scientist demographics

Here are the differences between organic chemists' and associate scientists' demographics:

	Organic Chemist	Associate Scientist
Average age	42	41
Gender ratio	Male, 65.7% Female, 34.3%	Male, 48.6% Female, 51.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 19.0% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	5%	8%

Differences between organic chemist and associate scientist duties and responsibilities

Organic chemist example responsibilities.

Achieve and maintain ISO 9001-2000 certification by creating and implementing policies and serving as management representative.
Ensure compounds are of the highest possible purity using LCMS, NMR spectroscopy, GC, and HPLC.
Perform organic analysis for semi-volatile and acid-base-neutrals using GCMS, HPLC, GCFID, GCNPD, GCECD and IR.
Perform GC analyses for gas, diesel, BTEX and PCB analyses in Washington and remote sites of Alaska.
Facilitate routine analyses in organic analytic chemistry - distillation, extraction, separation, crystallization, and purification.
Utilize 1H-NMR , 13C-NMR, GC/MS, HPLC, MALDI-TOF, ChemDraw, and ChemWindow.

Associate scientist example responsibilities.

Manage study protocols and study conduct, intimately involve in the toxicology and pharmacokinetic study protocol development process.
Generate crispr knockout STAT1, STAT3 and STAT1 & 3double knockout cell lines.
Use CRISPR technology to create target knockout cell line.
Direct ISO 9000 4.10 team registration activities and perform internal audits.
Prepare stock reagents and buffers for use in manufacturing assay kits.
Confirm the quality of product meet specifications according to cGMP and ICH guidelines.

Organic chemist vs associate scientist skills

Common organic chemist skills

NMR, 8%
Method Development, 8%
HPLC, 7%
Organic Synthesis, 7%
Laboratory Equipment, 6%
Sample Preparation, 5%

Common associate scientist skills

Chemistry, 9%
Patients, 8%
Cell Culture, 5%
Data Analysis, 5%
GMP, 4%
Lab Equipment, 3%

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Organic Chemist
Organic Chemist vs Associate Scientist

Updated January 8, 2025

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