Side-by-side distribution
Chemist
$95,200
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 54.2%
- Live roles
- 24
Researcher
$160,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 36.1%
- Live roles
- 1,105
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Materials Chemist
9.2. Senior R&D Chemist
Computational Chemist, Senior Scientist II / Principal Scientist I
Chemist
Analytical Chemist, R&D
Soft Products Formulation Chemist
Soft Products Formulation Chemist
9.6. R&D Analytical Chemist
Analytical Chemist
Analytical Chemist
Highest-paying jobs
Researcher, Training - London
Member of Technical Staff (AI Researcher)
Researcher, Synthetic RL
Researcher, Alignment CoT Monitorability
Researcher, Frontier Biological and Chemical Risks
Researcher, Alignment Science
Researcher, Misalignment Research
Researcher, Alignment Training
Researcher, Automated Red Teaming
Researcher, Alignment Oversight
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Phoenix Tailings
|
$115,000 | 2 |
|
PBI-Gordon Corporation
|
$70,200 | 2 |
|
Helion
|
$218,000 | 1 |
| SC Schrödinger | $142,500 | 1 |
|
Hims & Hers
|
$97,500 | 1 |
|
Harry's
|
$95,400 | 1 |
|
Mammoth Brands
|
$95,400 | 1 |
|
Neuralink
|
$95,000 | 1 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
OpenAI
|
$370,000 | 14 |
STR
|
$194,500 | 14 |
Egon Zehnder
|
$90,000 | 13 |
Two Six Technologies
|
$169,561 | 10 |
GiveWell
|
$308,000 | 9 |
Stevens Capital Management LP
|
$225,000 | 9 |
IMC
|
$275,000 | 8 |
Arc Institute
|
$80,000 | 8 |
Researcher salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | $237,500 | 9 |
| San Francisco | $200,000 | 65 |
| London | $200,000 | 17 |
| New York | $197,500 | 98 |
| Chicago | $183,750 | 48 |
| Austin | $161,175 | 12 |
| Atlanta | $154,500 | 9 |
| Seattle | $114,400 | 5 |
| Boston | $110,000 | 16 |
| Los Angeles | $109,750 | 6 |
Chemist vs Researcher: which pays more?
The median for Chemist is $95,200 per year (typically $69,525–$108,750), versus $160,000 for Researcher ($100,750–$220,000). That puts Researcher about 68% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Chemist and Researcher are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.