How To Become A Bench Chemist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a bench chemist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted Expert

Dr. Betsy Smith

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a bench chemist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $27.6 an hour? That's $57,401 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 5,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Bench Chemist?

Dr. Betsy Smith

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Elmira College

I would advise students just graduating to be flexible and open-minded in their job search. Chemistry is a challenging major, and students who succeed in it have learned how to learn, so they shouldn't assume that pure chemistry is the only thing they can do. One growing field is biomedical research, and chemistry majors are often qualified for jobs in that area. If you have other strengths like writing, there are often jobs that can combine them as a technical writer or work for a science journal. There are jobs out there that might be perfect for you that you haven't heard of until you see an ad for it, so be open to different possibilities.

ScoreBench ChemistUS Average

Salary

4.5

Avg. Salary $57,401

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

5.7

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.25%

Asian 18.24%

Black or African American 7.90%

Hispanic or Latino 9.40%

Unknown 4.40%

White 59.81%

Gender

female 41.79%

male 58.21%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress Level

5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

10.0

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.2

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a bench chemist

Explore bench chemist education requirements

Most common bench chemist degrees

Bachelor's

71.6 %

Associate

12.7 %

Master's

4.9 %

Start to develop specific bench chemist skills

Skills	Percentages
Analytical Methods	12.40%
HPLC	9.89%
Wet Chemistry	9.68%
Method Development	8.93%
GC	8.44%

Complete relevant bench chemist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New bench chemists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a bench chemist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real bench chemist resumes.

Research bench chemist duties and responsibilities

Test developmental compounds to ASTM standards and manage certification submissions.
Prepare ASTM samples and test physical properties.
Perform USP testing on a wide variety of pharmaceuticals to guarantee product quality.
Analyze intermediates and products through analytical data such as LCMS, NMR, etc.

Prepare your bench chemist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your bench chemist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a bench chemist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Bench Chemist Resume templates

Build a professional Bench Chemist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Bench Chemist resume.

Apply for bench chemist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a bench chemist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do bench chemists rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Bench Chemist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019

Pros

To discover new formulas and mixtures thats can break through the science world

Cons

I do not have a bachelor in chemistry but i do have a associate's in biology from the university of belize.