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The differences between production chemists and scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a scientist has an average salary of $97,344, which is higher than the $62,937 average annual salary of a production chemist.
The top three skills for a production chemist include GMP, laboratory equipment and synthesis. The most important skills for a scientist are chemistry, data analysis, and patients.
| Production Chemist | Scientist | |
| Yearly salary | $62,937 | $97,344 |
| Hourly rate | $30.26 | $46.80 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 58,948 | 62,467 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 83% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
A production chemist is responsible for conducting research and laboratory experiments to identify chemical resources that support the manufacturing of industrial products and services. Production chemists strategize on effective methods to maximize the product's quality and efficiency, following safety regulations and legislation procedures. They also run quality checks on the components to verify their safety and minimize their environmental effect. A production chemist must have excellent organizational and critical-thinking skills, as well as having extensive knowledge of the scientific industry.
A scientist is responsible for researching and analyzing the nature and complexities of the physical world to identify discoveries that would improve people's lives and ignite scientific knowledge for society. Scientists' duties differ in their different areas of expertise, but all of them must have a broad comprehension of scientific disciplines and methods to support their experiments and investigations. They collect the sample for their research, record findings, create research proposals, and release publications. A scientist must know how to utilize laboratory equipment to support the study and drive results efficiently and accurately.
Production chemists and scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Chemist | Scientist | |
| Average salary | $62,937 | $97,344 |
| Salary range | Between $38,000 And $101,000 | Between $67,000 And $140,000 |
| Highest paying City | Pennsauken, NJ | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | California |
| Best paying company | Bio-Rad Laboratories | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Technology |
There are a few differences between a production chemist and a scientist in terms of educational background:
| Production Chemist | Scientist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 83% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between production chemists' and scientists' demographics:
| Production Chemist | Scientist | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 70.4% Female, 29.6% | Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 24.4% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 8% |