Water chemist vs field chemist

The differences between water chemists and field chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a field chemist has an average salary of $66,162, which is higher than the $57,165 average annual salary of a water chemist.

The top three skills for a water chemist include water samples, QC and laboratory equipment. The most important skills for a field chemist are CDL, non-hazardous waste, and customer sites.

Water chemist vs field chemist overview

	Water Chemist	Field Chemist
Yearly salary	$57,165	$66,162
Hourly rate	$27.48	$31.81
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	8,829	51,922
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Water chemist vs field chemist salary

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

	Water Chemist	Field Chemist
Average salary	$57,165	$66,162
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $83,000	Between $43,000 And $101,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between water chemist and field chemist education

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

	Water Chemist	Field 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 field chemist demographics

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

	Water Chemist	Field Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 59.1% Female, 40.9%	Male, 82.6% Female, 17.4%
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, 8.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 18.1% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between water chemist and field 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.

Field chemist example responsibilities.

Manage and audit projects to ensure compliance of state, federal and OSHA regulations.
Manage projects involving the development of GC/MS methods, particle collection systems, and Raman spectral database creation.
Achieve and maintain ISO 9001-2000 certification by creating and implementing policies and serving as management representative.
Utilize analytic testing on new compounds using the following techniques: GC-MS, HPLC and ICP.
Test products for QC using standard procedures.
Analyze air samples by HPLC following EPA methods.

Water chemist vs field 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 field chemist skills

CDL, 39%
Non-Hazardous Waste, 7%
Customer Sites, 7%
Household Hazardous Waste, 6%
OSHA, 5%
Laboratory Equipment, 5%

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Water Chemist vs Field Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

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