Contract scientist vs senior research fellow

The differences between contract scientists and senior research fellows can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a contract scientist and a senior research fellow. Additionally, a contract scientist has an average salary of $98,484, which is higher than the $62,129 average annual salary of a senior research fellow.

The top three skills for a contract scientist include technical reports, HPLC and chemistry. The most important skills for a senior research fellow are python, research projects, and data analysis.

Contract scientist vs senior research fellow overview

	Contract Scientist	Senior Research Fellow
Yearly salary	$98,484	$62,129
Hourly rate	$47.35	$29.87
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	51,771	53,535
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

Contract scientist vs senior research fellow salary

Contract scientists and senior research fellows have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Contract Scientist	Senior Research Fellow
Average salary	$98,484	$62,129
Salary range	Between $68,000 And $141,000	Between $40,000 And $95,000
Highest paying City	-	Urban Honolulu, HI
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	Google
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between contract scientist and senior research fellow education

There are a few differences between a contract scientist and a senior research fellow in terms of educational background:

	Contract Scientist	Senior Research Fellow
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Biology	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	Duke University

Contract scientist vs senior research fellow demographics

Here are the differences between contract scientists' and senior research fellows' demographics:

	Contract Scientist	Senior Research Fellow
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9%	Male, 56.1% Female, 43.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 26.2% White, 53.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 26.5% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between contract scientist and senior research fellow duties and responsibilities

Contract scientist example responsibilities.

Manage data of project samples through LIMS software.
Manage sample inventory via in-house laboratory information management system (LIMS) and implement additional systems for sample and chemical organization.
Present chemistry of current and future targets at team meetings.
Coordinate internal blood draws to harvest serum and plasma for future testing.
Authenticate structure and purity of compounds by NMR, LCMS, HPLC, and CHN.
Complete a proprietary research project in photo-electric chemistry.

Senior research fellow example responsibilities.

Lead a project aim at improving DNA yields from various soil types in Dr. Connell's lab.
Manage grant base research and submit the grant proposal to ICAR and get approved for fund research.
Mentore a graduate student on the following topics: study design, literature reviews, drafting data plans and SAS.
Contribute to the creation of new markup standards for scholarship in the humanities.
Research unidentify payments and patients.
Conduct long-term observations of grind water dynamics and chemistry.

Contract scientist vs senior research fellow skills

Common contract scientist skills

Technical Reports, 12%
HPLC, 8%
Chemistry, 8%
Data Analysis, 8%
Analytical Methods, 8%
Western Blotting, 6%

Common senior research fellow skills

Python, 12%
Research Projects, 8%
Data Analysis, 6%
C++, 6%
Research Findings, 5%
Data Collection, 4%

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Contract Scientist vs Senior Research Fellow

Updated January 8, 2025

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