How To Become A Project Chemist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a project chemist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Betsy Smith

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a project chemist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $26.1 an hour? That's $54,278 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 5,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a project chemist?

Dr. Betsy Smith

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Elmira College

I would advise students just graduating to be flexible and open-minded in their job search. Chemistry is a challenging major, and students who succeed in it have learned how to learn, so they shouldn't assume that pure chemistry is the only thing they can do. One growing field is biomedical research, and chemistry majors are often qualified for jobs in that area. If you have other strengths like writing, there are often jobs that can combine them as a technical writer or work for a science journal. There are jobs out there that might be perfect for you that you haven't heard of until you see an ad for it, so be open to different possibilities.

ScoreProject ChemistUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $54,278

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.7

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.25%

Asian 18.26%

Black or African American 7.73%

Hispanic or Latino 9.33%

Unknown 4.57%

White 59.87%

Gender

female 37.16%

male 62.84%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a project chemist

Explore project chemist education requirements

Most common project chemist degrees

Bachelor's

75.7 %

Master's

10.8 %

Doctorate

7.0 %

Start to develop specific project chemist skills

Skills	Percentages
Gas Chromatography	8.57%
Method Development	7.79%
Laboratory Services	7.71%
DOD	7.06%
Analytical Methods	5.90%

Complete relevant project chemist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New project chemists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a project chemist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real project chemist resumes.

Research project chemist duties and responsibilities

Achieve and maintain ISO 9001-2000 certification by creating and implementing policies and serving as management representative.
Use LIMS to monitor samples world-wide and communicate with global sites in order to keep track of data for specific projects.
Review project-specific sampling and analysis plans and subsequent translation of those requirements into the laboratory information management system (LIMS).
Take initiative to be cross-train in chemistry methods used by the company to perform additional tests that ensure uninterrupt laboratory operation.

Prepare your project chemist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your project chemist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a project chemist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable project chemist resume templates

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