Process development chemist vs formulation chemist

The differences between process development chemists and formulation chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a process development chemist has an average salary of $75,273, which is higher than the $66,678 average annual salary of a formulation chemist.

The top three skills for a process development chemist include R, HPLC and analytical techniques. The most important skills for a formulation chemist are scale-up, R, and product development.

Process development chemist vs formulation chemist overview

	Process Development Chemist	Formulation Chemist
Yearly salary	$75,273	$66,678
Hourly rate	$36.19	$32.06
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	70,622	3,011
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Process development chemist vs formulation chemist salary

Process development chemists and formulation chemists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Process Development Chemist	Formulation Chemist
Average salary	$75,273	$66,678
Salary range	Between $54,000 And $104,000	Between $46,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	South San Francisco, CA	Frederick, MD
Highest paying state	Washington	Washington
Best paying company	PerkinElmer	Apple
Best paying industry	Health Care	Manufacturing

Differences between process development chemist and formulation chemist education

There are a few differences between a process development chemist and a formulation chemist in terms of educational background:

	Process Development Chemist	Formulation Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Process development chemist vs formulation chemist demographics

Here are the differences between process development chemists' and formulation chemists' demographics:

	Process Development Chemist	Formulation Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 82.4% Female, 17.6%	Male, 60.6% Female, 39.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 18.2% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 18.6% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between process development chemist and formulation chemist duties and responsibilities

Process development chemist example responsibilities.

Manage synthesis and production of specialty chemicals for carpet and textile industry.
Perform lab audits to make sure lab are in compliance with FDA regulations.
Train plant operators to run the new circuit in accordance to company's GMP.
Gain working experience with FDA, EPA, and government safety regulations and requirements.
Work also includes in QC department to analysis raw material, in-process and finish products.
Purify oligos on HPLC units that collect either manually or automatically.

Formulation chemist example responsibilities.

Utilize Citrix LIMS to register, manage, enter and release sample results for supervisor review.
Provide key data in GLP testing of in-house samples using GC, AA, and UV-Vis.
Follow ASTM procedures and criteria for analyzing products.
Create internal sensory training according to the ASTM method.
Help to aid the plant in becoming compliant with EPA standards.
Perform analysis of pharmaceutical drug products in compliance cGMP and GLP procedures.

Process development chemist vs formulation chemist skills

Common process development chemist skills

R, 14%
HPLC, 9%
Analytical Techniques, 8%
Process Support, 7%
GMP, 6%
NMR, 5%

Common formulation chemist skills

Scale-Up, 8%
R, 7%
Product Development, 6%
Lab Notebook, 6%
Formulation Development, 5%
QC, 4%

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Process Development Chemist
Process Development Chemist vs Formulation Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

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