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The differences between clinical scientists 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 clinical scientist and a medical science liaison. Additionally, a medical science liaison has an average salary of $145,718, 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 medical science liaison are patients, medical affairs, and MSL.
| Clinical Scientist | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Yearly salary | $122,388 | $145,718 |
| Hourly rate | $58.84 | $70.06 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 96,923 | 57,208 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
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.
Clinical scientists and medical science liaisons have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Clinical Scientist | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Average salary | $122,388 | $145,718 |
| Salary range | Between $94,000 And $157,000 | Between $59,000 And $359,000 |
| Highest paying City | Indianapolis, IN | Jackson, TN |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Tennessee |
| Best paying company | Reata Pharmaceuticals | Saint Luke's Health System |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a clinical scientist and a medical science liaison in terms of educational background:
| Clinical Scientist | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Biology | Nursing |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between clinical scientists' and medical science liaisons' demographics:
| Clinical Scientist | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.0% Female, 63.0% | Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4% |
| 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, 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% |