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Astronaut vs scientist

The differences between astronauts and 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 astronaut and a scientist. Additionally, a scientist has an average salary of $97,344, which is higher than the $73,142 average annual salary of an astronaut.

Astronaut vs scientist overview

AstronautScientist
Yearly salary$73,142$97,344
Hourly rate$35.16$46.80
Growth rate6%17%
Number of jobs19862,467
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 100%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age4441
Years of experience44

Astronaut vs scientist salary

Astronauts and scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

AstronautScientist
Average salary$73,142$97,344
Salary rangeBetween $47,000 And $111,000Between $67,000 And $140,000
Highest paying City-Redwood City, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-Airbnb
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between astronaut and scientist education

There are a few differences between an astronaut and a scientist in terms of educational background:

AstronautScientist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 100%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common majorAerospace EngineeringChemistry
Most common collegeUniversity of Texas at AustinUniversity of Southern California

Astronaut vs scientist demographics

Here are the differences between astronauts' and scientists' demographics:

AstronautScientist
Average age4441
Gender ratioMale, 87.5% Female, 12.5%Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 2.2% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 5.2% Asian, 2.5% White, 84.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage9%8%

Differences between astronaut and scientist duties and responsibilities

Astronaut example responsibilities.

  • Spearhead implementation of new scheduling tool that eliminate syllabus deviations, adopt as squadron standard.
  • Coordinate bi-national testing of aircraft countermeasures against next-generation missile seekers.

Scientist example responsibilities.

  • Lead a cross-functional team to return an HIV combination product to market on random-access instrument.
  • Design the VERIS HIV-1 quantitative PCR assay which achieve Conformit Europ enne (CE) marking.
  • Manage an elemental analytical laboratory that include operating, maintaining and troubleshooting an ICP-OES, ICPMS, MXRF, and IC.
  • Develop and manage third party claim investigations and contractor remedial oversight for various insurance companies.
  • Manage study protocols and study conduct, intimately involve in the toxicology and pharmacokinetic study protocol development process.
  • Manage sample inventory via in-house laboratory information management system (LIMS) and implement additional systems for sample and chemical organization.
  • Show more

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