Clinical scientist vs postdoctoral research associate

The differences between clinical scientists and postdoctoral research associates 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 postdoctoral research associate. Additionally, a clinical scientist has an average salary of $122,388, which is higher than the $52,785 average annual salary of a postdoctoral research associate.

The top three skills for a clinical scientist include patients, informed consent and clinical operations. The most important skills for a postdoctoral research associate are python, research projects, and chemistry.

Clinical scientist vs postdoctoral research associate overview

	Clinical Scientist	Postdoctoral Research Associate
Yearly salary	$122,388	$52,785
Hourly rate	$58.84	$25.38
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	96,923	59,377
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Doctoral Degree, 47%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	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 postdoctoral research associate do?

A postdoctoral research associate is responsible for assisting the educational institution's research department, writing research reports, analyzing research methods, and collecting information and related studies to support the research claims. Postdoctoral research associates must have excellent communication skills, both oral and written, reporting research updates to the research head, performing adjustments as needed, and gaining more expertise on the subject by brainstorming and discussing strategic procedures for the study. They may also conduct field investigation or coordinate with other institutions for additional reference, depending on the research's scope and limitation.

Clinical scientist vs postdoctoral research associate salary

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

	Clinical Scientist	Postdoctoral Research Associate
Average salary	$122,388	$52,785
Salary range	Between $94,000 And $157,000	Between $38,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	Indianapolis, IN	Memphis, TN
Highest paying state	Alaska	Hawaii
Best paying company	Reata Pharmaceuticals	Argonne National Laboratory
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Professional

Differences between clinical scientist and postdoctoral research associate education

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

	Clinical Scientist	Postdoctoral Research Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Doctoral Degree, 47%
Most common major	Biology	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	Duke University

Clinical scientist vs postdoctoral research associate demographics

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

	Clinical Scientist	Postdoctoral Research Associate
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 37.0% Female, 63.0%	Male, 65.7% Female, 34.3%
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, 5.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 38.1% White, 43.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between clinical scientist and postdoctoral research associate 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.

Postdoctoral research associate example responsibilities.

Process and manage GIS databases to contribute towards research in human transportation behavior.
Transfect 293-T cells with CRISPR constructs.
Execute parallel synthesis on both solution and solid phase to develop library of compounds.
Diagnose and resolve all instruments during breakdown (GC/MS/MS, GC/ECD, UV-Vis).
Develop python codes to efficiently handle multiple read/unread, flag/unflag, and delete operations on emails.
Characterize particles using DLS and UV-vis spectrophotometer to measure particle sizes and detect oxide layer, respectively.

Clinical scientist vs postdoctoral research associate skills

Common clinical scientist skills

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

Common postdoctoral research associate skills

Python, 6%
Research Projects, 6%
Chemistry, 6%
Data Analysis, 6%
Post-Doctoral, 5%
Cell Culture, 5%

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Clinical Scientist vs Postdoctoral Research Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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