Water chemist vs environmental chemist

The differences between water chemists and environmental chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a water chemist has an average salary of $57,165, which is higher than the $56,956 average annual salary of an environmental chemist.

The top three skills for a water chemist include water samples, QC and laboratory equipment. The most important skills for an environmental chemist are data validation, GC, and ms.

Water chemist vs environmental chemist overview

	Water Chemist	Environmental Chemist
Yearly salary	$57,165	$56,956
Hourly rate	$27.48	$27.38
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	8,829	22,234
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Water chemist vs environmental chemist salary

Water chemists and environmental chemists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Water Chemist	Environmental Chemist
Average salary	$57,165	$56,956
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $83,000	Between $38,000 And $84,000
Highest paying City	-	Olympia, WA
Highest paying state	-	Delaware
Best paying company	-	Southern California Edison
Best paying industry	-	Internet

Differences between water chemist and environmental chemist education

There are a few differences between a water chemist and an environmental chemist in terms of educational background:

	Water Chemist	Environmental Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of California, Berkeley

Water chemist vs environmental chemist demographics

Here are the differences between water chemists' and environmental chemists' demographics:

	Water Chemist	Environmental Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 59.1% Female, 40.9%	Male, 62.1% Female, 37.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 18.2% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 18.1% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between water chemist and environmental chemist duties and responsibilities

Water chemist example responsibilities.

Administer various laboratory safety audits with regard to OSHA rules and regulations to maintain adherence and manage necessary corrective actions.
Operate and maintain lab instrumentation such as pH meter, titration apparatus, spectrophotometer, etc.
Design FTIR chemical mapping/imaging experiments to evaluate sample heterogeneity, contamination, diffusion kinetics, dispersion quality and polymer cure uniformity.
Conduct laboratory analysis through the use of atomic absorption spectroscopy, titrations, and spectrophotometry.

Environmental chemist example responsibilities.

Manage storage of hazardous waste for compliance with RCRA regulations.
Manage and operate mobile laboratories analyzing a wide range of samples utilizing USEPA SW846 GC/MS and HPLC methods.
Achieve expertise with hydrogenations and catalysts, low temp reactions, TLC, reactions done with UV and infrare lights.
Achieve expertise with organic techniques like steam distillation, recrystallization, vacuum sublimation/distillation.
Administer various laboratory safety audits with regard to OSHA rules and regulations to maintain adherence and manage necessary corrective actions.
Conduct analysis of heavy metals in environmental soil and water samples using ICP-OES and ICP-MS

Water chemist vs environmental chemist skills

Common water chemist skills

Water Samples, 14%
QC, 13%
Laboratory Equipment, 12%
Water Treatment Plant, 12%
Water Quality, 11%
Laboratory Procedures, 9%

Common environmental chemist skills

Data Validation, 8%
GC, 6%
Ms, 6%
Laboratory Equipment, 6%
ICP-MS, 5%
Environmental Samples, 5%

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Water Chemist vs Environmental Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

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