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

What is a senior research chemist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Kevin Belfield Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a senior research chemist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $45.92 an hour? That's $95,520 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 senior research chemist?

Kevin Belfield Ph.D.

Dean, College of Science and Liberal Arts Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Science Becton Dickinson Research Professor Fellow of the ACS and AAAS, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Keep learning, and stay curious. New information and technologies are being generated at an unprecedented rate. A grad's new degree is a great foundation. It's essential to continue learning, both in your field and in others. Suppose you have a particular interest, unrelated to your degree (perhaps it's robotics, music, economics, web design, history, or science fiction, for example). It's not a bad idea to dedicate some time each week reading in or pursuing this area, as one never knows when there may be a convergence of your interests that can lead to an unexpected professional opportunity.

ScoreSenior Research ChemistUS Average

Salary

7.5

Avg. Salary $95,520

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.7

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.25%

Asian 27.49%

Black or African American 6.50%

Hispanic or Latino 8.78%

Unknown 4.39%

White 52.60%

Gender

female 20.92%

male 79.08%

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 senior research chemist

Explore senior research chemist education requirements

Most common senior research chemist degrees

Bachelor's

58.0 %

Doctorate

23.4 %

Master's

16.5 %

Start to develop specific senior research chemist skills

Skills	Percentages
R	16.20%
Chemistry	14.41%
Product Development	7.96%
Analytical Laboratory	6.25%
Organic Synthesis	3.63%

Complete relevant senior research chemist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior research 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 senior research chemist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior research chemist resumes.

Research senior research chemist duties and responsibilities

Manage an analytical laboratory, which include SEM-EDS, GC-MS, GPC, FT-IR, ICP-MS, TGA and DSC equipment.
Conduct HPLC analysis of two main products to support equivalency programs.
Establish the fast HPLC column screening system and serve as super user.
Calculate amounts of unknown components of a distillation bottoms mixture using NMR.

Get senior research chemist experience

Prepare your senior research chemist resume

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

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