Clinical research scientist vs scientist

The differences between clinical research scientists and scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a clinical research scientist, becoming a scientist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a clinical research scientist has an average salary of $99,160, which is higher than the $97,344 average annual salary of a scientist.

The top three skills for a clinical research scientist include clinical research, clinical trials and clinical development. The most important skills for a scientist are chemistry, data analysis, and patients.

Clinical research scientist vs scientist overview

	Clinical Research Scientist	Scientist
Yearly salary	$99,160	$97,344
Hourly rate	$47.67	$46.80
Growth rate	6%	17%
Number of jobs	128,547	62,467
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	44	41
Years of experience	2	4

What does a clinical research scientist do?

A clinical research scientist is responsible for assisting physicians in conducting laboratory research and examinations to identify diseases and establish treatment plans. They also inspect medical tools and equipment to prevent hazards and operational delays. A clinical research scientist must have excellent communication skills and extensive knowledge of the medical industry to provide the highest quality care services for the patients.

What does a scientist do?

A scientist is responsible for researching and analyzing the nature and complexities of the physical world to identify discoveries that would improve people's lives and ignite scientific knowledge for society. Scientists' duties differ in their different areas of expertise, but all of them must have a broad comprehension of scientific disciplines and methods to support their experiments and investigations. They collect the sample for their research, record findings, create research proposals, and release publications. A scientist must know how to utilize laboratory equipment to support the study and drive results efficiently and accurately.

Clinical research scientist vs scientist salary

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

	Clinical Research Scientist	Scientist
Average salary	$99,160	$97,344
Salary range	Between $63,000 And $154,000	Between $67,000 And $140,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Redwood City, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Meta	Airbnb
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Technology

Differences between clinical research scientist and scientist education

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

	Clinical Research Scientist	Scientist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Biology	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Southern California

Clinical research scientist vs scientist demographics

Here are the differences between clinical research scientists' and scientists' demographics:

	Clinical Research Scientist	Scientist
Average age	44	41
Gender ratio	Male, 35.4% Female, 64.6%	Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 2.5% Unknown, 7.4% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 13.5% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	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 Percentage	9%	8%

Differences between clinical research scientist and scientist duties and responsibilities

Clinical research scientist example responsibilities.

Supervise and manage planning, implementation, conduct and reporting of assign early phase international clinical studies in oncology.
Facilitate IRB approval, when require.
Compile and submit reports to U.S. FDA.
Provide draft responses to FDA questions to senior management.
Resolve IRB issues and implement IRB mandate changes in the protocol with amendments.
Recruit investigators perform pre-study visits, negotiate budgets, initiate and monitor studies and verify data for accuracy and completeness.

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.

Clinical research scientist vs scientist skills

Common clinical research scientist skills

Clinical Research, 11%
Clinical Trials, 7%
Clinical Development, 6%
Data Management, 5%
Oncology, 5%
Clinical Data, 5%

Common scientist skills

Chemistry, 9%
Data Analysis, 7%
Patients, 7%
Molecular Biology, 4%
Cell Culture, 4%
Java, 3%

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Clinical Research Scientist
Clinical Research Scientist vs Scientist

Updated January 8, 2025

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