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The differences between bioinformaticians and medical science liaisons can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a bioinformatician and a medical science liaison. Additionally, a medical science liaison has an average salary of $145,718, which is higher than the $71,359 average annual salary of a bioinformatician.
The top three skills for a bioinformatician include python, data analysis and next-generation sequencing. The most important skills for a medical science liaison are patients, medical affairs, and MSL.
| Bioinformatician | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Yearly salary | $71,359 | $145,718 |
| Hourly rate | $34.31 | $70.06 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 16,034 | 57,208 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Bioinformaticians are experts who are responsible for developing and conducting research by using methods and software tools to collect and analyze complex biological data. By combining their research in biology, medicine, and health-related studies with information technology, these bioinformaticians are required to interpret data that covers areas such as genetics or pharmaceutics. They must develop databases to compile a large amount of information from activities such as gene expression profiling and protein expression. Bioinformaticians must also maintain laboratory documents and keep updated with scientific or medical journals.
A medical science liaison (MSL) is a scientific professional who facilitates a working relationship between healthcare companies and leading physicians, researchers, and clinicians. Also referred to as key opinion leaders (KOL), medical science liaisons represent their company to the decision-makers in the medical community as well as to investors and government regulatory agencies. They analyze clinical trends and monitor the scientific literature for new developments in the medical community. Medical science liaisons also prepare medical samples and data to investigate the causes of chronic diseases, pathogens, and toxicity.
Bioinformaticians and medical science liaisons have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Bioinformatician | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Average salary | $71,359 | $145,718 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $127,000 | Between $59,000 And $359,000 |
| Highest paying City | Branford, CT | Jackson, TN |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Tennessee |
| Best paying company | AstraZeneca | Saint Luke's Health System |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a bioinformatician and a medical science liaison in terms of educational background:
| Bioinformatician | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Biostatistics | Nursing |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between bioinformaticians' and medical science liaisons' demographics:
| Bioinformatician | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.1% Female, 16.9% | Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 39.0% White, 42.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 23.4% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |