Principal chemist vs wet chemistry analyst

The differences between principal chemists and wet chemistry analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a principal chemist has an average salary of $74,065, which is higher than the $50,615 average annual salary of a wet chemistry analyst.

The top three skills for a principal chemist include analytical chemistry, R and product development. The most important skills for a wet chemistry analyst are AA, wet chemistry, and analytical methods.

Principal chemist vs wet chemistry analyst overview

	Principal Chemist	Wet Chemistry Analyst
Yearly salary	$74,065	$50,615
Hourly rate	$35.61	$24.33
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	42,121	2,826
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Principal chemist vs wet chemistry analyst salary

Principal chemists and wet chemistry analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Principal Chemist	Wet Chemistry Analyst
Average salary	$74,065	$50,615
Salary range	Between $52,000 And $105,000	Between $36,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City	Richland, WA	-
Highest paying state	Washington	-
Best paying company	Edwards Lifesciences	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between principal chemist and wet chemistry analyst education

There are a few differences between a principal chemist and a wet chemistry analyst in terms of educational background:

	Principal Chemist	Wet Chemistry Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	University of California, Berkeley

Principal chemist vs wet chemistry analyst demographics

Here are the differences between principal chemists' and wet chemistry analysts' demographics:

	Principal Chemist	Wet Chemistry Analyst
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 72.6% Female, 27.4%	Male, 44.2% Female, 55.8%
Race ratio	Black 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, 8.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 18.1% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between principal chemist and wet chemistry analyst 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.

Wet chemistry analyst example responsibilities.

Perform manual analysis of soil, water and waste samples using distillation, titration, and absorbance reading methods for contaminates.
Follow GMP and GLP regulatory requirements.
Verify purity of receive chemicals by FTIR.
Perform purify water and USP raw materials testing.
Train new employees on GMP and GLP regulations.
Ensure quality of sunscreen products by analysis on HPLC.

Principal chemist vs wet chemistry analyst skills

Common principal chemist skills

Analytical Chemistry, 13%
R, 10%
Product Development, 6%
HPLC, 6%
Sops, 5%
USP, 5%

Common wet chemistry analyst skills

AA, 9%
Wet Chemistry, 8%
Analytical Methods, 8%
Laboratory Equipment, 7%
Lims, 4%
Analyze Samples, 4%

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Principal Chemist vs Wet Chemistry Analyst

Updated January 8, 2025

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