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The differences between quality assurance chemists and senior chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior chemist has an average salary of $91,008, which is higher than the $59,242 average annual salary of a quality assurance chemist.
The top three skills for a quality assurance chemist include lab equipment, R and HPLC. The most important skills for a senior chemist are method development, laboratory equipment, and HPLC.
| Quality Assurance Chemist | Senior Chemist | |
| Yearly salary | $59,242 | $91,008 |
| Hourly rate | $28.48 | $43.75 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 66,457 | 12,823 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 83% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Quality Assurance Chemists generally offer pay of around $54K per year and require strong skills in analysis and instrumentation and general knowledge of chemistry, attention to detail, and various organizational skills. Also, they must be able to investigate and analyze problems whenever they crop up. This career choice requires a bachelor's or advanced degree in chemistry, depending on the industry, and will often be offered in pharmaceutical fields, where standard duties consist of the measurement and testing of lab materials and products according to industry standards.
Senior Chemists are responsible for designing, developing, and testing formulations and compounds. They also maintain and troubleshoot laboratory equipment and relevant documentation.
Quality assurance chemists and senior chemists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Chemist | Senior Chemist | |
| Average salary | $59,242 | $91,008 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $82,000 | Between $67,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | East Windsor, NJ | Fremont, CA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | Vermont |
| Best paying company | Clariant | |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance chemist and a senior chemist in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Chemist | Senior Chemist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 83% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Here are the differences between quality assurance chemists' and senior chemists' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Chemist | Senior Chemist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 60.1% Female, 39.9% | Male, 67.6% Female, 32.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 18.2% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 22.3% White, 55.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |