Process chemist vs staff scientist

The differences between process chemists and staff scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a staff scientist has an average salary of $93,941, which is higher than the $81,542 average annual salary of a process chemist.

The top three skills for a process chemist include lab equipment, HPLC and R. The most important skills for a staff scientist are data analysis, research projects, and molecular biology.

Process chemist vs staff scientist overview

	Process Chemist	Staff Scientist
Yearly salary	$81,542	$93,941
Hourly rate	$39.20	$45.16
Growth rate	6%	17%
Number of jobs	29,813	121,054
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	42	41
Years of experience	-	4

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 staff scientist do?

The primary role of a Staff Scientist is to develop and manage scientific research projects with minimal supervision. They are also responsible for the technical and budgetary aspects of scientific research projects.

Process chemist vs staff scientist salary

Process chemists and staff scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Process Chemist	Staff Scientist
Average salary	$81,542	$93,941
Salary range	Between $54,000 And $121,000	Between $63,000 And $137,000
Highest paying City	Wilmington, DE	Redwood City, CA
Highest paying state	Delaware	California
Best paying company	Bio-Rad Laboratories	Etsy
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Technology

Differences between process chemist and staff scientist education

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

	Process Chemist	Staff Scientist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	Duke University

Process chemist vs staff scientist demographics

Here are the differences between process chemists' and staff scientists' demographics:

	Process Chemist	Staff Scientist
Average age	42	41
Gender ratio	Male, 77.3% Female, 22.7%	Male, 67.8% Female, 32.2%
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, 6.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 26.5% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	5%	8%

Differences between process chemist and staff scientist 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.

Staff scientist example responsibilities.

Lead efforts to replace a critical radioactive immunoassay with a non-radioactive format to measure clinical samples.
Manage clinical sample testing using MSD and ELISA in LIMS, including data review and approval using LIMS.
Assist in managing and maintenance of HPLC and Prep-HPLC systems to ensure maximum productivity for the process development group.
Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
Assist with RNA and DNA extractions from FFPE tissue and blood.
Supervise temps performing HPLC assays and validations during development and production campaigns under GMP conditions.

Process chemist vs staff scientist skills

Common process chemist skills

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

Common staff scientist skills

Data Analysis, 9%
Research Projects, 7%
Molecular Biology, 5%
Next-Generation Sequencing, 4%
Statistical Analysis, 4%
RNA, 4%

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Process Chemist
Process Chemist vs Staff Scientist

Updated January 8, 2025

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