Process chemist vs quality control analyst

The differences between process chemists and quality control analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a process chemist has an average salary of $81,542, which is higher than the $59,217 average annual salary of a quality control analyst.

The top three skills for a process chemist include lab equipment, HPLC and R. The most important skills for a quality control analyst are QC, lab equipment, and microbiology.

Process chemist vs quality control analyst overview

	Process Chemist	Quality Control Analyst
Yearly salary	$81,542	$59,217
Hourly rate	$39.20	$28.47
Growth rate	6%	9%
Number of jobs	29,813	85,546
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	42	38
Years of experience	-	-

What does a process chemist do?

Process chemists are lab professionals who perform qualitative and quantitative analyses of chemicals in laboratories for quality control or to develop new products. These chemists are required to develop synthetic plans and run experiments to test their suitability for large-scale use. They must use different analytical methods and modeling software to monitor the reaction processes of chemicals as well as determine how changes in the process affect the final product. Process chemists must also be familiar with regulations from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA).

What does a quality control analyst do?

Quality assurance representatives are professionals who are responsible for ensuring the quality of units produced or manufactured is following the standards set by the industry. These representatives supervise the entire production process to identify erroneous methods or tools being used by workers and observing produced for visible defects. They are required to perform various tests to check for the durability of the product and other desirable characteristics. Quality assurance representatives must also collaborate with the manufacturing engineer to implement quality control programs and preparing training manuals and quality guidelines.

Process chemist vs quality control analyst salary

Process chemists and quality control analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Process Chemist	Quality Control Analyst
Average salary	$81,542	$59,217
Salary range	Between $54,000 And $121,000	Between $40,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City	Wilmington, DE	Raleigh, NC
Highest paying state	Delaware	North Carolina
Best paying company	Bio-Rad Laboratories	Barclays
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Manufacturing

Differences between process chemist and quality control analyst education

There are a few differences between a process chemist and a quality control analyst in terms of educational background:

	Process Chemist	Quality Control Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Chemistry	Biology
Most common college	University of Southern California	Stanford University

Process chemist vs quality control analyst demographics

Here are the differences between process chemists' and quality control analysts' demographics:

	Process Chemist	Quality Control Analyst
Average age	42	38
Gender ratio	Male, 77.3% Female, 22.7%	Male, 45.7% Female, 54.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 20.5% White, 57.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 12.8% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	5%	8%

Differences between process chemist and quality control analyst duties and responsibilities

Process chemist example responsibilities.

Manage synthesis and production of specialty chemicals for carpet and textile industry.
Support new, modify and existing chemical processes by developing and validating HPLC and GC methods with a rapid turnaround time.
Analyze unknown materials with FTIR, Raman, and SEM-EDS.
Display improving working knowledge of business processes as they relate to GMP manufacturing.
Create titration solution and other solutions such as stock solutions used in analysis.
Show a desire to learn about and understand advance chemistry principles underlying project assignments.

Quality control analyst example responsibilities.

SAP, Trackwise and outlook manage.
Approve QC laboratory data ensuring correct GLP and GMP guidelines are follow and validate procedures are utilize.
Train and assist junior chemist to ensure completion of all testing on HPLC, GC, and UPLC.
Detect unknown concentrations of metals and toluene in waste water by AA and GC with purge and trap attachments.
Contract for environmental monitoring need to qualify facilities for GMP operations.
Monitor, calibrate and troubleshoot laboratory equipment to ensure proper compliance with procedures and accuracy of test results.

Process chemist vs quality control analyst skills

Common process chemist skills

Lab Equipment, 7%
HPLC, 6%
R, 5%
GMP, 5%
NMR, 4%
Sigma, 4%

Common quality control analyst skills

QC, 13%
Lab Equipment, 5%
Microbiology, 4%
Test Methods, 4%
HPLC, 3%
FDA, 3%

Process Chemist vs. similar jobs

Process Chemist related careers

Process Chemist related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Life, Physical, and Social Science Industry
Process Chemist
Process Chemist vs Quality Control Analyst

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse life, physical, and social science jobs