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Principal chemist vs principal scientist

The differences between principal chemists and principal scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a principal scientist has an average salary of $119,982, which is higher than the $74,065 average annual salary of a principal chemist.

The top three skills for a principal chemist include analytical chemistry, R and product development. The most important skills for a principal scientist are oncology, data analysis, and drug discovery.

Principal chemist vs principal scientist overview

Principal ChemistPrincipal Scientist
Yearly salary$74,065$119,982
Hourly rate$35.61$57.68
Growth rate6%17%
Number of jobs42,12180,899
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age4241
Years of experience-4

What does a principal chemist do?

Principal chemists require a bachelor's or master's degree, or even a doctorate, with a post-doctoral fellowship to gain hands-on experience doing research and chemistry, math, science, communication, problem-solving, and analytical skills. They will be expected to conduct quantitative and qualitative experiments on chemical substances for quality control, as well as develop new products or knowledge about said products, and conduct a battery of experiments on organic and inorganic compounds.

What does a principal scientist do?

A Principal Scientist is focused on leading scientific teams and conducting research. They ensure that their teams have the resources to properly perform research tasks.

Principal chemist vs principal scientist salary

Principal chemists and principal scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Principal ChemistPrincipal Scientist
Average salary$74,065$119,982
Salary rangeBetween $52,000 And $105,000Between $84,000 And $169,000
Highest paying CityRichland, WASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyEdwards LifesciencesPayPal
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between principal chemist and principal scientist education

There are a few differences between a principal chemist and a principal scientist in terms of educational background:

Principal ChemistPrincipal Scientist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common majorChemistryChemistry
Most common collegeUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillDuke University

Principal chemist vs principal scientist demographics

Here are the differences between principal chemists' and principal scientists' demographics:

Principal ChemistPrincipal Scientist
Average age4241
Gender ratioMale, 72.6% Female, 27.4%Male, 76.8% Female, 23.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.5% Asian, 29.2% White, 51.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 26.4% White, 53.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage5%8%

Differences between principal chemist and principal scientist duties and responsibilities

Principal chemist example responsibilities.

  • Accomplish ISO and CFR certifications for laboratory operations.
  • Ensure compliance with regulate standards to comply with FDA regulations.
  • Train individuals on dissolution, HPLC, and other general analytical techniques.
  • Implement systems and procedures per FDA guidance, ICH requirements, and CFR regulations.
  • Establish statistical quality controls in the laboratory to bring data and laboratory practices in compliance with ISO regulations.
  • Evaluate efficacy of extraction solvents and dosing methodology for soil degradation studies, determining reduction of chemical compounds in control environment.
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Principal scientist example responsibilities.

  • Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
  • Provide development of and line support for assign immunoassay reagents, calibrators and controls.
  • Transfer controls to manufacturing for product launch and include all require studies, testing and documentation under GMP guidelines.
  • Maintain several lab documents for ISO certification.
  • Understand drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics and design stable molecules.
  • Image visualization and manipulation of background plates for animation and post-processing.
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Principal chemist vs principal scientist skills

Common principal chemist skills
  • Analytical Chemistry, 13%
  • R, 10%
  • Product Development, 6%
  • HPLC, 6%
  • Sops, 5%
  • USP, 5%
Common principal scientist skills
  • Oncology, 7%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • Drug Discovery, 5%
  • GMP, 3%
  • Experimental Design, 3%
  • Clinical Trials, 3%

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