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The differences between computational biologists and bioinformaticians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a computational biologist, becoming a bioinformatician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a bioinformatician has an average salary of $71,359, which is higher than the $61,449 average annual salary of a computational biologist.
The top three skills for a computational biologist include python, machine learning and next-generation sequencing. The most important skills for a bioinformatician are python, data analysis, and next-generation sequencing.
| Computational Biologist | Bioinformatician | |
| Yearly salary | $61,449 | $71,359 |
| Hourly rate | $29.54 | $34.31 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 12,839 | 16,034 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Average age | 40 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 4 |
A computational biologist is an expert in computational management, high-performance computing, data algorithm, and biological and statistical processes. You study to understand biological systems using computational theoretical principles. Your duties typically include doing research and computer programming, developing a theory, mathematical models, and computer simulations to organize and analyze your findings, and building databases. To become a successful computational biologist, you must have extensive knowledge of bioinformatics, biochemistry, and computational biology, excellent communication skills, and problem-solving skills.
Bioinformaticians are experts who are responsible for developing and conducting research by using methods and software tools to collect and analyze complex biological data. By combining their research in biology, medicine, and health-related studies with information technology, these bioinformaticians are required to interpret data that covers areas such as genetics or pharmaceutics. They must develop databases to compile a large amount of information from activities such as gene expression profiling and protein expression. Bioinformaticians must also maintain laboratory documents and keep updated with scientific or medical journals.
Computational biologists and bioinformaticians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Computational Biologist | Bioinformatician | |
| Average salary | $61,449 | $71,359 |
| Salary range | Between $38,000 And $99,000 | Between $40,000 And $127,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Branford, CT |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | AstraZeneca | |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a computational biologist and a bioinformatician in terms of educational background:
| Computational Biologist | Bioinformatician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Biology | Biostatistics |
| Most common college | Harvard University | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between computational biologists' and bioinformaticians' demographics:
| Computational Biologist | Bioinformatician | |
| Average age | 40 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.2% Female, 19.8% | Male, 83.1% Female, 16.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 2.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 7.4% Asian, 17.0% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 5.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 39.0% White, 42.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 8% |