Computational Chemist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Computational Chemist studies and solves problems in chemistry using computer programs and modelling. May use computational analysis in research to develop new products or chemical processes.
Job Outlook
There were 2 Computational Chemist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 299 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Chemist industry, which includes the Computational Chemist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Computational Chemist jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $143,261.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $143,261.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Computational Chemist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $91,312.
Education and Experience
Posted Computational Chemist jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 25.08% |
| Master's Degree | 30.77% |
| Doctoral Degree | 82.61% |
| Other | 1.34% |
Posted Computational Chemist jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 24.32% |
| 3 to 5 years | 37.84% |
| 6 to 8 years | 8.78% |
| 9+ years | 29.05% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Computational Chemist positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Research (62.21%)
- Communication (42.47%)
- Leadership (26.42%)
- Innovation (26.09%)
- Problem Solving (17.73%)
- Influencing Skills (16.05%)
- Presentations (15.05%)
- Verbal Communication Skills (14.72%)
- Writing (14.72%)
- Forecasting (14.38%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Workflow Management (21.11%)
- Artificial Intelligence (42.21%)
- Chemistry (65.4%)
- Ligand (31.14%)
- Biology (29.76%)
- Python (Programming Language) (46.37%)
- Drug Discovery (49.48%)
- Molecular Dynamics (37.37%)
- Conformational Isomerism (7.96%)
- Computational Chemistry (82.35%)
- Data Analysis (21.45%)
- Medicinal Chemistry (30.1%)
- Machine Learning (55.71%)
- Homology Modeling (10.73%)
- Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship (10.38%)
- Molecular Modeling (14.53%)
- Physics (24.57%)
- Pharmaceuticals (17.65%)
- Cheminformatics (29.07%)
- Computer-Aided Drug Design & Discovery (8.3%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Computational Tools (13.15%)
- Materials Science (9.34%)
- Computational Modeling (7.27%)
- Small Molecules (35.64%)
- Biotechnology (12.8%)
- Quantum Mechanics (12.8%)
- Computer-Aided Design (4.84%)
- Ab Initio (Software) (5.19%)
- Java (Programming Language) (7.96%)
- Agile Methodology (4.15%)
- C++ (Programming Language) (15.92%)
- JavaScript (Programming Language) (3.11%)
- Automation (8.3%)
- Algorithms (12.8%)
- Software Development (6.92%)
- Biopharmaceuticals (9.34%)
- Biochemistry (18.69%)
- Cloud Computing (6.57%)
- Data Mining (10.03%)
- Biophysics (13.84%)
- Chemical Biology (6.23%)
- Computer Science (15.57%)
- Computer Simulation (9.69%)
- Computational Biology (10.38%)
- R (Programming Language) (17.65%)
- Pipeline Pilot (8.3%)
- Fortran (Programming Language) (5.19%)
- Chemical Engineering (11.76%)
- Deep Learning (9.34%)
- Scientific Literature (8.65%)
- Software Engineering (4.5%)
- Simulations (9.34%)
- Structural Biology (12.11%)
- Protein Structures (6.92%)
- Research Experiences (6.23%)
- Scientific Computing (5.88%)
- Programming Languages (11.76%)
- Predictive Modeling (12.11%)
- PyTorch (Machine Learning Library) (7.61%)
- Quantum Computing (1.38%)
- Data Science (15.92%)
- Molecular Docking (11.42%)
- Scripting (18.34%)
- High Performance Computing (4.5%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- GROningen MAchine For Chemical Simulations (GROMACS) (6.57%)
- Molecular Mechanics (4.5%)
- Quantum Chemistry (7.27%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Molecular Modeling (41.58%)
- Cheminformatics (83.17%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Computational Chemist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Computational Scientist
- Research Chemist
- Assistant Professor of Chemistry
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- Adjunct Professor of Chemistry
- Medical Scientist
- Computational Biologist
- Associate Professor of Chemistry
- Documentum Developer
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Research Scientist
- Computer Scientist
- Computational Biologist
- Data Scientist
- Bioinformatician
- Research Associate (General)
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Computational Chemist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Meta (14)
- Merck KGaA Darmstadt Germany (12)
- Novartis (12)
- University of California (10)
- Amgen (10)
- The University of Texas System (9)
- Bristol-Myers Squibb (7)
- AstraZeneca (7)
- Pfizer (6)
- Eikon Therapeutics (6)
North Carolina
- Albemarle (1)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.