Manufacturing Chemist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Manufacturing Chemist studies chemical processes used in manufacturing and products created through chemical processes. Conducts research to help improve products and develop cost effective production processes. Tests products used in manufacturing for quality and environmental standards.
Job Outlook
There were 133 Manufacturing Chemist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 2772 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Chemist industry, which includes the Manufacturing Chemist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new Manufacturing 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 $83,397.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $77,590.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Manufacturing Chemist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $64,652.
Education and Experience
Posted Manufacturing 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 | 66.88% |
| Master's Degree | 22.08% |
| Doctoral Degree | 11.94% |
| Other | 10.82% |
Posted Manufacturing 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 | 43.55% |
| 3 to 5 years | 40.29% |
| 6 to 8 years | 9.74% |
| 9+ years | 6.42% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Manufacturing 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.
- Communication (36.8%)
- Operations (32.32%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (30.92%)
- Management (30.45%)
- Detail Oriented (23.7%)
- Problem Solving (20.63%)
- Investigation (17.71%)
- Quality Control (16.31%)
- Writing (15.55%)
- Leadership (14.68%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Process Improvement (18.81%)
- Pharmaceuticals (25.55%)
- Manufacturing Processes (39.05%)
- Good Manufacturing Practices (62.89%)
- Biochemistry (20.9%)
- Biology (31.1%)
- Chemistry (58.05%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Industry Standards (2.83%)
- Effective Communication (2.4%)
- Environment Health And Safety (10.24%)
- Technical Writing (7.83%)
- Technology Transfer (11.59%)
- SAP Applications (6.59%)
- Process Development (15.39%)
- Safety Standards (3.26%)
- Production Equipment (6.82%)
- Production Process (6.59%)
- Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (9.89%)
- Pharmaceutical Sciences (7.83%)
- Organic Chemistry (6.36%)
- New Product Development (15.82%)
- Microbiology (10.12%)
- Machinery (5.47%)
- Manufacturing Operations (17.37%)
- Scale (Map) (5.66%)
- Project Management (16.01%)
- Life Sciences (8.96%)
- High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (10.66%)
- Standard Operating Procedure (23.11%)
- Process Engineering (2.95%)
- Regulatory Compliance (5.43%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (16.21%)
- Change Control (12.14%)
- Chemical Engineering (21.99%)
- Housekeeping (4.15%)
- Cleanrooms (5.43%)
- Corrective And Preventive Action (CAPA) (11.55%)
- Automation (4.38%)
- Biotechnology (12.64%)
- Biopharmaceuticals (9.89%)
- Analytical Chemistry (4.73%)
- Data Analysis (9.65%)
- Cell Cultures (11.67%)
- Asepsis (7.13%)
- Auditing (7.25%)
- Chromatography (8.03%)
- Application Programming Interface (API) (6.24%)
- Quality Management Systems (7.72%)
- Workflow Management (2.95%)
- Laboratory Equipment (12.64%)
- Analytical Testing (3.18%)
- Materials Science (4.46%)
- Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) (10.93%)
- Process Validation (6.79%)
- Regulatory Affairs (2.44%)
- Laboratory Experience (9.62%)
- Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPS) (10.39%)
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.
- Biology (100%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Manufacturing Chemist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Chemist
- Manufacturing Scientist
- Scientist
- Production Chemist
- Principal Scientist
- Process Chemist
- Formulation Technician
- Associate Scientist
- Production Scientist
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.
- Quality Control Chemist
- Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Process Engineer
- Research and Development Chemist
- Analytical Chemist
- Validation Specialist
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Manufacturing Chemist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Cardinal Health (144)
- Eli Lilly (95)
- Actalent (94)
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (63)
- Kelly Services (43)
- Lonza (38)
- Danaher (31)
- Randstad (29)
- Fujifilm (27)
- Bio-Rad Laboratories (26)
North Carolina
- Fujifilm (23)
- Grifols (10)
- Biomerieux (7)
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (6)
- Sun Chemical Co.Ltd (5)
- Actalent (4)
- Novartis (4)
- Cole Parmer Instrument Company (3)
- AkzoNobel (3)
- Cardinal Health (3)
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.