Polymer Chemist

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A Polymer Chemist studies large complex molecules or polymers. May work to develop new products or chemical processes in aerospace, biomedical, agricultural or manufacturing industries.

Job Outlook

There were 6 Polymer Chemist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 266 in the United States.

In combination with other careers in the Chemist industry, which includes the Polymer Chemist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:

Salary

Many new Polymer 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 $108,031.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $108,031.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Polymer Chemist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $82,968.

Education and Experience

Posted Polymer 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	51.88%
Master's Degree	36.47%
Doctoral Degree	50.75%
Other	1.88%

Posted Polymer 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	45.1%
3 to 5 years	32.03%
6 to 8 years	5.88%
9+ years	16.99%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Polymer 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 (50.38%)
Communication (27.82%)
Innovation (23.68%)
Problem Solving (21.05%)
Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (19.17%)
Writing (19.17%)
Leadership (16.92%)
Presentations (15.79%)
Sales (15.04%)
Self-Motivation (13.91%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

Materials Science (34.85%)
Synthetic Polymers (6.06%)
Chemistry (81.06%)
New Product Development (32.58%)
Polymer Chemistry (82.95%)
Polymer Synthesis (24.24%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

Nanoparticles (2.65%)
Laboratory Experience (6.06%)
Laboratory Equipment (7.95%)
Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) (4.17%)
Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy (UV/VIS) (3.03%)
Supply Chain (1.89%)
Chromatography (2.27%)
Analytical Techniques (7.2%)
Experimental Design (9.47%)
Analytical Chemistry (6.82%)
Composite Materials (9.09%)
Biochemistry (7.95%)
Microscopy (3.41%)
Business Development (1.89%)
Good Manufacturing Practices (5.3%)
Data Collection (5.68%)
Chemical Synthesis (4.55%)
Scale (Map) (8.71%)
Experimentation (14.02%)
High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (5.68%)
Commercialization (14.02%)
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (19.7%)
Data Analysis (10.98%)
Injection Molding (0.76%)
Organic Chemistry (18.94%)
Spectroscopy (9.85%)
Chemical Engineering (42.8%)
Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (8.33%)
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (11.74%)
Extrusion (7.58%)
Process Development (8.33%)
Process Optimization (3.79%)
Project Management (10.61%)
Patents (4.55%)
Research Experiences (6.82%)
Composites (3.41%)
Technology Transfer (4.55%)
Molding (Manufacturing Process) (5.68%)
Organic Synthesis (11.36%)
Research And Development (7.2%)
Technical Leadership (6.82%)
Product Quality (QA/QC) (3.79%)
Effective Communication (1.89%)
Rheology (8.71%)
Environment Health And Safety (12.5%)

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.

Materials Science (38.66%)
New Product Development (36.13%)
Polymer Chemistry (92.02%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with Polymer Chemist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

Chemist
Polymer Scientist
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Polymer Engineer
Formulation Chemist
Synthetic Chemist
Principal Scientist
Postdoctoral Researcher
Director of Chemistry

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.

Common Employers

Here are the employers that have posted the most Polymer Chemist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

Actalent (13)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (13)
The University of Alabama (9)
PPG (6)
Belzona (5)
Medtronic (5)
Sherwin-Williams (5)
Solenis (5)
Alcon (4)
Carlisle Construction Materials (4)

North Carolina

Schneider Electric (1)
SYRE (1)
Kao Specialties Americas (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!

Textile Chemistry Master's Degrees

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.

Science and Research