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Chief scientist vs research fellow

The differences between chief scientists and research fellows can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a chief scientist and a research fellow. Additionally, a chief scientist has an average salary of $108,046, which is higher than the $53,823 average annual salary of a research fellow.

The top three skills for a chief scientist include DOD, RF and IC. The most important skills for a research fellow are patients, research projects, and data analysis.

Chief scientist vs research fellow overview

Chief ScientistResearch Fellow
Yearly salary$108,046$53,823
Hourly rate$51.95$25.88
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs60,74159,746
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age4141
Years of experience44

What does a chief scientist do?

Chief scientists supervise, plan, and budget the funds for research activities to publish their discoveries with influential publication companies. By doing commentaries with the press and media, they spread their knowledge about science to the public. They are mentors or coaches to non-professional scientists and help them build a case to get their promotion. For their subordinates to feel motivated to reach their goals when working on research projects, chief scientists must maintain a professional, creative, but engaging environment.

What does a research fellow do?

A research fellow is an academic researcher who conducts research and analysis of comprehensive literature, data, and results and provides literature reviews. He/She supervises research assistants and recruits study participants to interview them for a particular study. To become a research fellow, a candidate should have a doctorate in a relevant discipline and publish peer-reviewed papers. Also, a research fellow can be an independent investigator or be supervised by a principal investigator.

Chief scientist vs research fellow salary

Chief scientists and research fellows have different pay scales, as shown below.

Chief ScientistResearch Fellow
Average salary$108,046$53,823
Salary rangeBetween $69,000 And $168,000Between $39,000 And $72,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASouth San Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew JerseyHawaii
Best paying companyUber TechnologiesMcKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industryTechnologyNon Profits

Differences between chief scientist and research fellow education

There are a few differences between a chief scientist and a research fellow in terms of educational background:

Chief ScientistResearch Fellow
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorPhysicsChemistry
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

Chief scientist vs research fellow demographics

Here are the differences between chief scientists' and research fellows' demographics:

Chief ScientistResearch Fellow
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 86.1% Female, 13.9%Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 26.4% White, 53.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 27.1% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between chief scientist and research fellow duties and responsibilities

Chief scientist example responsibilities.

  • Manage sample inventory via in-house laboratory information management system (LIMS) and implement additional systems for sample and chemical organization.
  • Conduct research and analyze data to identify potential biomarkers and provide input for selection of candidates for non-clinical studies development.
  • Manage sample inventory via in-house laboratory information management system (LIMS) and implement additional systems for sample and chemical organization.

Research fellow example responsibilities.

  • Collaborate with software engineers to automate identification of 15N- and 13C- labele LC-MS features.
  • Process and manage GIS databases to contribute towards research in human transportation behavior.
  • Manage investigator initiate and cooperative group correlative studies to identify biomarkers to ascertain tumor burden and clinical outcomes in lymphoma.
  • Analyze quantitative and qualitative data through statistical software SAS and SPSS.
  • Conduct sampling, PCR, data analysis and oral presentations of the work
  • Implement python and C++ codes for numerical computation of transport properties in models and materials.
  • Show more

Chief scientist vs research fellow skills

Common chief scientist skills
  • DOD, 12%
  • RF, 11%
  • IC, 7%
  • R, 6%
  • Strategic Plan, 5%
  • Technical Direction, 5%
Common research fellow skills
  • Patients, 10%
  • Research Projects, 6%
  • Data Analysis, 5%
  • Cell Culture, 5%
  • Immunology, 4%
  • CRISPR, 4%

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