Contract scientist vs staff scientist

The differences between contract scientists and staff scientists 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 staff scientist. Additionally, a contract scientist has an average salary of $98,484, which is higher than the $93,941 average annual salary of a staff scientist.

The top three skills for a contract scientist include technical reports, HPLC and chemistry. The most important skills for a staff scientist are data analysis, research projects, and molecular biology.

Contract scientist vs staff scientist overview

	Contract Scientist	Staff Scientist
Yearly salary	$98,484	$93,941
Hourly rate	$47.35	$45.16
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	51,771	121,054
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

Contract scientist vs staff scientist salary

Contract scientists and staff scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Contract Scientist	Staff Scientist
Average salary	$98,484	$93,941
Salary range	Between $68,000 And $141,000	Between $63,000 And $137,000
Highest paying City	-	Redwood City, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Etsy
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between contract scientist and staff scientist education

There are a few differences between a contract scientist and a staff scientist in terms of educational background:

	Contract Scientist	Staff Scientist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Biology	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	Duke University

Contract scientist vs staff scientist demographics

Here are the differences between contract scientists' and staff scientists' demographics:

	Contract Scientist	Staff Scientist
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9%	Male, 67.8% Female, 32.2%
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, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between contract scientist and staff scientist 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.

Staff scientist example responsibilities.

Lead efforts to replace a critical radioactive immunoassay with a non-radioactive format to measure clinical samples.
Manage clinical sample testing using MSD and ELISA in LIMS, including data review and approval using LIMS.
Assist in managing and maintenance of HPLC and Prep-HPLC systems to ensure maximum productivity for the process development group.
Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
Assist with RNA and DNA extractions from FFPE tissue and blood.
Supervise temps performing HPLC assays and validations during development and production campaigns under GMP conditions.

Contract scientist vs staff scientist skills

Common contract scientist skills

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

Common staff scientist skills

Data Analysis, 9%
Research Projects, 7%
Molecular Biology, 5%
Next-Generation Sequencing, 4%
Statistical Analysis, 4%
RNA, 4%

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Contract Scientist
Contract Scientist vs Staff Scientist

Updated January 8, 2025

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