Side-by-side distribution
Chemist
$95,400
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 53.6%
- Live roles
- 28
Researcher
$159,360
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 35.8%
- Live roles
- 1,100
Highest-paying jobs
Medicinal Chemist
Senior Materials Chemist
9.2. Senior R&D Chemist
Computational Chemist, Senior Scientist II / Principal Scientist I
Senior Computational Chemist, Drug Discovery (UK)
Analytical Chemist, R&D
Soft Products Formulation Chemist
Soft Products Formulation Chemist
Analytical Chemist
Analytical Chemist
Highest-paying jobs
Researcher, Training - London
UX Researcher
Member of Technical Staff (AI Researcher)
World Model / Action Policy Researcher
Researcher, Recursive Self-Improvement Safety
Researcher, Frontier Biological and Chemical Risks
Researcher, Alignment Training
Researcher, Automated Red Teaming
Researcher, Safety & Privacy
Researcher, Frontier Cybersecurity Risks
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
PBI-Gordon Corporation
|
$70,200 | 2 |
|
Inductive Bio
|
$230,000 | 1 |
|
Helion
|
$218,000 | 1 |
|
Phoenix Tailings
|
$150,000 | 1 |
| SC Schrödinger | $142,500 | 1 |
| SA SandboxAQ | $108,235 | 1 |
|
Hims & Hers
|
$97,500 | 1 |
|
Harry's
|
$95,400 | 1 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
OpenAI
|
$370,000 | 20 |
Egon Zehnder
|
$90,000 | 13 |
Two Six Technologies
|
$175,649 | 11 |
American Institutes for Research
|
$140,000 | 10 |
GiveWell
|
$308,000 | 9 |
Stevens Capital Management LP
|
$225,000 | 9 |
STR
|
$194,500 | 9 |
Arc Institute
|
$80,000 | 8 |
Chemist salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $142,500 | 3 |
Chemist vs Researcher: which pays more?
The median for Chemist is $95,400 per year (typically $67,125–$133,934), versus $159,360 for Researcher ($100,875–$216,250). That puts Researcher about 67% 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.