Process development chemist vs research chemist

The differences between process development chemists and research chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a research chemist has an average salary of $75,843, which is higher than the $75,273 average annual salary of a process development chemist.

The top three skills for a process development chemist include R, HPLC and analytical techniques. The most important skills for a research chemist are laboratory equipment, method development, and R.

Process development chemist vs research chemist overview

	Process Development Chemist	Research Chemist
Yearly salary	$75,273	$75,843
Hourly rate	$36.19	$36.46
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	70,622	53,769
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Process development chemist vs research chemist salary

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

	Process Development Chemist	Research Chemist
Average salary	$75,273	$75,843
Salary range	Between $54,000 And $104,000	Between $53,000 And $108,000
Highest paying City	South San Francisco, CA	McLean, VA
Highest paying state	Washington	Virginia
Best paying company	PerkinElmer	BP America Inc
Best paying industry	Health Care	Energy

Differences between process development chemist and research chemist education

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

	Process Development Chemist	Research Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Process development chemist vs research chemist demographics

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

	Process Development Chemist	Research Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 82.4% Female, 17.6%	Male, 68.5% Female, 31.5%
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, 7.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 22.2% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between process development chemist and research 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.

Research chemist example responsibilities.

Manage the CDS and LIMS systems for the institute.
Manage and record experimental data with lab management software (LIMS).
Manage projects involving the development of GC/MS methods, particle collection systems, and Raman spectral database creation.
Characterize the particles using SEM, DSC, IR, and UV-Vis.
Identify sample structure using microscopy, crystallography, NMR, UV/VIS, GC and AAS.
Develop GC & FTIR instrumental methods of analysis to support quality of incoming raw materials to ensure quality of finish products.

Process development chemist vs research chemist skills

Common process development chemist skills

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

Common research chemist skills

Laboratory Equipment, 10%
Method Development, 10%
R, 9%
HPLC, 5%
Analytical Chemistry, 5%
Polymer, 5%

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Process Development Chemist
Process Development Chemist vs Research Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

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