Research and development chemists specialize in the study of chemistry and chemistry-related operations. You will find yourself in the laboratory conducting extensive tests and experiments to develop new chemical formulations, which could be drugs. You will also observe chemical reactions, collaborate with other chemists, identify weaknesses of former formulations and come up with updated formulations.
Some of your key duties might include managing the laboratory's SPC and TQM programs, reviewing all protocols to ensure that all procedures follow ICH and GMP guidelines. Keep in mind that you will also be expected to maintain records and databases.
The most wanted skills and traits for a research and development chemist are communication skills, analytical skills, and product development. You will earn $34.28 an hour, which amounts to about $71,000 yearly. Most research and development chemists have bachelor's degrees in chemistry. You may decide to work in a manufacturing, pharmaceutical, or retail company.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Research And Development Chemist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $35.28 an hour? That's $73,381 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 3,500 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many Research And Development Chemists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Analytical skills, Interpersonal skills and Math skills.
If you're interested in becoming a Research And Development Chemist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 76.3% of Research And Development Chemists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 15.0% of Research And Development Chemists have master's degrees. Even though most Research And Development Chemists have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Research And Development Chemist. When we researched the most common majors for a Research And Development Chemist, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Master's Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Research And Development Chemist resumes include Doctoral Degree degrees or Associate Degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Research And Development Chemist. In fact, many Research And Development Chemist jobs require experience in a role such as Chemist. Meanwhile, many Research And Development Chemists also have previous career experience in roles such as Research Assistant or Quality Control Chemist.