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

What is a production chemist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Dr. Betsy Smith

Production chemists are mostly employed by manufacturing industries that produce goods by manipulating substances with chemical reactions. They research materials and conditions that alter them to allow for their use in creating various products.

As a production chemist, you usually work in a lab experimenting with production processes. You will be expected to conduct research towards minimizing hazardous risks and negative environmental impacts of various chemicals and materials used in production.

You will need a degree in industrial chemistry if you are considering this career path. You will need to be level-headed and careful, paying attention to detail during your work. Displaying keen organizational skills and an affinity for teamwork will take you a long way.

What general advice would you give to a Production 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.

ScoreProduction ChemistUS Average

Salary

4.9

Avg. Salary $62,937

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

5.7

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.25%

Asian 24.40%

Black or African American 7.23%

Hispanic or Latino 9.31%

Unknown 4.57%

White 54.24%

Gender

female 29.60%

male 70.40%

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 production chemist

Explore production chemist education requirements

Most common production chemist degrees

Bachelor's

82.7 %

Master's

9.4 %

Associate

4.2 %

Start to develop specific production chemist skills

Skills	Percentages
GMP	12.74%
Laboratory Equipment	10.31%
Synthesis	8.03%
ISO	6.76%
R	5.18%

Complete relevant production chemist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New production 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 production chemist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real production chemist resumes.

Research production chemist duties and responsibilities

Lead the team in the isolation and purification of critical enzymes vital to the manufacture of diagnostic medical reagents.
Test developmental compounds to ASTM standards and manage certification submissions.
Experience with running ELISA as well as SDS-PAGE.
Coordinate with technicians on ELISA performance and troubleshooting.

Prepare your production chemist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your production 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 production 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 Production Chemist Resume templates

Build a professional Production 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 Production Chemist resume.

Apply for production chemist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a production 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 production chemists rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Production Chemist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019

Cons

Being a passion no resrevation regarding this feild.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019

Pros

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