Clinical scientist vs doctor

The differences between clinical scientists and doctors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a doctor has an average salary of $208,582, which is higher than the $122,388 average annual salary of a clinical scientist.

The top three skills for a clinical scientist include patients, informed consent and clinical operations. The most important skills for a doctor are patients, customer service, and emergency medicine.

Clinical scientist vs doctor overview

	Clinical Scientist	Doctor
Yearly salary	$122,388	$208,582
Hourly rate	$58.84	$100.28
Growth rate	17%	7%
Number of jobs	96,923	14,571
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	41	48
Years of experience	4	-

What does a clinical scientist do?

A clinical scientist's duties depend on their line of work or place of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around conducting experiments and research, gathering and preparing samples such as blood and tissues, analyzing and examining specimens through different processes, reviewing data and results, and coordinating with other scientists to develop medicines or treatments. They may also train new scientists, oversee assistants' performance, and maintain order in a laboratory. Furthermore, a clinical scientist may work in hospitals, clinics, private laboratories, learning institutions, or research facilities.

What does a doctor do?

A doctor is a medical expert who diagnoses and treats illnesses and injuries, often specializing in particular areas. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting initial interviews and examinations, studying a patient's medical history and laboratory results, providing consultations and care advice, prescribing medication, and referring patients to specialists when necessary. They must also coordinate and maintain an active communication line with nurses, administrators, and technicians for a smooth workflow. Moreover, a doctor must educate patients about their health conditions, helping them understand their situation better.

Clinical scientist vs doctor salary

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

	Clinical Scientist	Doctor
Average salary	$122,388	$208,582
Salary range	Between $94,000 And $157,000	Between $106,000 And $408,000
Highest paying City	Indianapolis, IN	Green Bay, WI
Highest paying state	Alaska	Ohio
Best paying company	Reata Pharmaceuticals	Saint Luke's Health System
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Health Care

Differences between clinical scientist and doctor education

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

	Clinical Scientist	Doctor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Biology	Medicine
Most common college	University of Southern California	Duke University

Clinical scientist vs doctor demographics

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

	Clinical Scientist	Doctor
Average age	41	48
Gender ratio	Male, 37.0% Female, 63.0%	Male, 45.8% Female, 54.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 18.6% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	8%	13%

Differences between clinical scientist and doctor duties and responsibilities

Clinical scientist example responsibilities.

Manage clinical monitors in successful completion of large international hypertension study.
Manage and work collaboratively with CRO management to initiate and update contract/consultancy agreements/amendments on an ongoing basis.
Function as member of the FDA audit preparation team in support of the filed NDA.
Conduct multiple HIPAA training sessions.
Identify grant funding opportunities and prepare scientific grant applications (NIH and non-NIH).
Review serious adverse event reports receive from other local country sectors for expediting to the FDA.

Doctor example responsibilities.

Manage conditions including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hypothyroidism, asthma, and GERD.
Develop personalize treatment plans, rehabilitation plans, exercise plans, report of findings, nutritional plans and narrative reports.
Perform patient x-rays, provide MRI consultations.
Perform x-rays of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine.
Hire, train, educate and monitor staff in HIPPA policies and procedures.
Create, update, and maintain confidential patient EHRs in compliance with all HIPAA laws and regulations.

Clinical scientist vs doctor skills

Common clinical scientist skills

Patients, 9%
Informed Consent, 6%
Clinical Operations, 5%
Oncology, 5%
Clinical Development, 5%
Clinical Data, 5%

Common doctor skills

Patients, 33%
Customer Service, 12%
Emergency Medicine, 5%
Surgery, 5%
DR, 4%
Cleanliness, 3%

Clinical Scientist vs. similar jobs

Clinical Scientist related careers

Clinical Scientist related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Life, Physical, and Social Science Industry
Clinical Scientist
Clinical Scientist vs Doctor

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse life, physical, and social science jobs