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The differences between analytical scientists and research scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an analytical scientist and a research scientist. Additionally, an analytical scientist has an average salary of $90,807, which is higher than the $89,998 average annual salary of a research scientist.
The top three skills for an analytical scientist include HPLC, GMP and analytical chemistry. The most important skills for a research scientist are python, data analysis, and patients.
| Analytical Scientist | Research Scientist | |
| Yearly salary | $90,807 | $89,998 |
| Hourly rate | $43.66 | $43.27 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 52,832 | 93,013 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
The duties of an analytical scientist depend on their place or industry of employment. An analytical scientist specializes in conducting tests and experiments using different analytical techniques to identify or develop chemical compositions. Their tasks typically revolve around maintaining extensive documentation of all procedures, reviewing and interpreting results, and summarizing them for reports and other documentation. Moreover, an analytical scientist may coordinate with other scientists on projects, prepare presentations for different audiences, and even train junior scientists.
The job of research scientists is to design, undertake, and analyze information from experiments, trials, and laboratory-based investigations. They usually perform experiments in different areas, including medical research, pharmacology, and geoscience. They have varied duties and responsibilities that include planning and carrying out experiments, conducting fieldwork, and overseeing junior staff members like the technicians. They are typically working for a government laboratory, an environmental agency, and other organizations. Many of these scientists also work in teams and support staff.
Analytical scientists and research scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Analytical Scientist | Research Scientist | |
| Average salary | $90,807 | $89,998 |
| Salary range | Between $65,000 And $125,000 | Between $58,000 And $137,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Rafael, CA | Menlo Park, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Lyft | |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | - |
There are a few differences between an analytical scientist and a research scientist in terms of educational background:
| Analytical Scientist | Research Scientist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | Duke University |
Here are the differences between analytical scientists' and research scientists' demographics:
| Analytical Scientist | Research Scientist | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 56.2% Female, 43.8% | Male, 62.5% Female, 37.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 26.7% White, 53.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 29.6% White, 50.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |