Also called: QC Chemist, Instrumentation Chemist
Measures exactly what is in a sample and how much, for drug safety, food testing, and the environment.
You prepare samples, run instruments like HPLC and mass spectrometers, and check whether a batch of medicine is pure enough to ship. Precise record-keeping is a must because regulators audit your work.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. A bachelor's in chemistry with lab experience in instruments like chromatography; many later earn a master's or PhD to lead research.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Chemistry, Biochemistry.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years). Growth is for chemists and materials scientists overall.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. Instruments with AI now run and interpret routine tests; fewer bench analysts, more for method fixes and audits.
Classes: AP Chemistry, Statistics, Physics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-2031.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.