Research and Development Chemist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Research and Development Chemist studies chemical compounds and uses research to support the development of products, including manufactured products, or processes, including industrial processes.
Job Outlook
There were 69 Research and Development Chemist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 2026 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Chemist industry, which includes the Research and Development Chemist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Research and Development 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 $93,621.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $94,536.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Research and Development Chemist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $78,702.
Education and Experience
Posted Research and Development 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 | 70.73% |
| Master's Degree | 36.23% |
| Doctoral Degree | 28.13% |
| Other | 1.48% |
Posted Research and Development 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 | 38.55% |
| 3 to 5 years | 42.89% |
| 6 to 8 years | 11.31% |
| 9+ years | 7.25% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Research and Development 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 (56.02%)
- Communication (36.77%)
- Problem Solving (24.38%)
- Innovation (22.75%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (20.34%)
- Management (20.14%)
- Presentations (20.04%)
- Detail Oriented (16.83%)
- Writing (15.94%)
- Leadership (14.51%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Chemistry (82.84%)
- New Product Development (40.26%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Materials Science (16.8%)
- Laboratory Experience (14.06%)
- Laboratory Equipment (15.04%)
- Analytical Testing (7.44%)
- Analytical Techniques (18.45%)
- Data Analysis (15.3%)
- Biology (14.11%)
- Chemical Engineering (24.44%)
- Commercialization (8.94%)
- Experimental Design (7.34%)
- High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (17.57%)
- Marketing (11.94%)
- Experimentation (11.27%)
- Chemical Synthesis (4.96%)
- Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (6.87%)
- Chromatography (9.25%)
- Organic Chemistry (8.68%)
- Analytical Chemistry (17.36%)
- Biochemistry (11.27%)
- Personal Care (3.98%)
- Good Manufacturing Practices (13.07%)
- Pharmaceuticals (10.75%)
- Standard Operating Procedure (6.98%)
- Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (8.37%)
- Process Development (10.08%)
- Project Management (14.68%)
- Polymer Chemistry (12.2%)
- Research And Development (13.39%)
- Environment Health And Safety (8.17%)
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.
- Chemical Engineering (46.24%)
- New Product Development (76.15%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Research and Development Chemist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Research Chemist
- Lead Chemist
- Product Development Chemist
- Development Chemist
- Chemist
- Analytical Chemist
- Process Development Chemist
- Formulation Chemist
- Method Development Chemist
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.
- Chemist (General)
- Polymer Chemist
- Chemistry Laboratory Supervisor
- Analytical Chemist
- Quality Control Chemist
- Organic Chemist
- Manufacturing Chemist
- Materials Research Engineer
- Inorganic Chemist
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Research and Development Chemist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- PPG (136)
- Actalent (112)
- Sherwin-Williams (82)
- Kelly Services (34)
- CHS (29)
- GPAC (19)
- Agricultural Research Service (19)
- Merck KGaA Darmstadt Germany (18)
- Kdc/One (18)
- Volt (16)
North Carolina
- Catalent (6)
- Goulston (4)
- GPAC (4)
- Actalent (3)
- Mrt International Limited (3)
- Sherwin-Williams (3)
- Tremco (3)
- Fujifilm (3)
- Covia (2)
- Jacobs Solutions (2)
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.