The Average Salary of a Quality Control Chemist

Salary

Quality control chemists perform valuable work for manufacturing companies and are rewarded with a salary that exceeds the national average of $43,460. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that chemists earn a median salary of $66,230 and the middle 50 percent of all chemists fall in the range of $ $48,630 and $89,660. The salary ranges for chemists are better than the average, but job growth in the field is expected to be slower than for other professions, at three percent.

The average salary of a quality control chemist is going to depend, in part, on the highest level of education obtained by the chemist. In order to become a chemist, a bachelor's degree is required at minimum. Those just entering the field with an undergraduate degree can expect to start at just under $40,000, as noted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Chemists who go on to earn a Ph.D. in the field can find themselves in the top ten percent of the pay scale and make more than $124,000 annually.

Chemists perform a certain amount of their work in laboratories, but there are also parts of their job that are taken care of in an office setting. In the labs, quality control chemists conduct tests on materials and finished goods. Laboratory work can be dangerous when harmful chemicals are used, but labs often have stringent safety measures and standard operating procedures. The office settings for quality control chemists are often similar to that of typical office employees.

Companies employ quality control chemists to verify that finished goods meet predetermined quality specifications and are safe and effective for their intended usage. When a pharmaceutical company brings in raw materials to make medicine, chemists perform tests to make sure that the materials are acceptable for further processing. Chemists are also responsible for conducting test method validation. This means that they have to provide established evidence that the tests used actually are able to perform their intended function. Method validation often entails spiking a sample with a known quantity of material and then making sure the test confirms that value.