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What does a fellow do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
What does a fellow do

A fellow's responsibility will depend on the organization or industry where one belongs. However, most of the time, a fellow's duty will revolve around conducting research and analysis, presiding discussions and attending dialogues, handle lectures while complying with the guidelines or tasks set by supervisors, and assist in various projects and activities. Furthermore, a fellow must adhere to the institution or organization's policies and regulations at all times, meet all the requirements and outputs involved, and coordinate with every person in the workforce.

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Fellow responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real fellow resumes:

  • Design and lead labs align with the NYC curriculum, on topics including moon phases and dichotomous keys.
  • Maintain company website, as well as wrote, manage, and edit content on the SharePoint portal.
  • Manage live streaming for NARAL Facebook during NARAL's lobby day, as well as assisting in attendee organization.
  • Work through several medical software databases to generate SQL to pass on to Java developers for their programs.
  • Develop computer program to visualize EOS data in Java.
  • Include writing python scripts to parse poorly structure text into tabular data.
  • Implement a new assay to validate targets of plant RNA binding proteins.
  • Answer advanced water chemistry questions on the spot with excellent reviews from students.
  • Assist with the administering of the legislator's delegate scholarship distribute annually to students within the district!
  • Create GFI twitter account to engage students and persons around the world in speaker events and global issues.
  • Work directly with AmeriCorps team members, school administration, parents, teachers and children on daily basis.
  • Perform NMR andfluorescence experiments to determine mechanism behind the binding and release of ligand from pheromone binding protein ApolPBP1.
  • Explore the use of RNA interference - as a potential therapeutic - in modulating the replication of the herpesvirus human cytomegalovirus.
  • Communicate findings at local research symposium.
  • Complete social media content analysis of visuals on Facebook

Fellow skills and personality traits

We calculated that 11% of Fellows are proficient in Patients, Professional Development, and Veterans. They’re also known for soft skills such as Observation skills, Communication skills, and Interpersonal skills.

We break down the percentage of Fellows that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 11%

    Co-facilitated a Mindfulness group and a Dialectical Behavior Therapy process group for patients with depression, anxiety and personality disorders.

  • Professional Development, 7%

    Attend bi-monthly professional development sessions Contact potential applicants to conduct one-on-one information sessions Host large group information sessions at universities in Connecticut

  • Veterans, 7%

    Provided education and training regarding recovery-oriented services and psychiatric rehabilitation to VA staff, veterans, and veteran's family members.

  • Mathematics, 5%

    Assisted professor in conducting research in mathematics Explored interaction of orthogonality and tensor products in vector spaces of finite and infinite dimensions

  • Math, 5%

    Increased math MCAS scores and knowledge* Promoted community awareness and parental involvement* Coordinated with teachers to maximize lesson efficiency

  • Public Health, 4%

    Evaluated public health, medical, and related scientific and educational information, objectives and activities for technical and nontechnical audiences.

Common skills that a fellow uses to do their job include "patients," "professional development," and "veterans." You can find details on the most important fellow responsibilities below.

Observation skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a fellow to have is observation skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "medical scientists conduct experiments that require monitoring samples and other health-related data." Fellows often use observation skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "drafted motions to suppress court observation case summaries conducted legal research"

Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform fellow duties is communication skills. Fellows responsibilities require that "medical scientists must be able to explain their research in nontechnical ways." Fellows also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "conducted community outreach and assisted in day-to-day public relations & organizational communications. "

See the full list of fellow skills

The three companies that hire the most fellows are:

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Compare different fellows

Fellow vs. Public affairs internship

A public affairs intern is responsible for performing administrative duties to support the public affairs operations on media relations and developing strategies to maintain the department's integrity for social responsibility. Public affairs interns assist with press releases, community programs, and dissemination of information to the public. They also check the communication techniques, ensuring that the approach reaches the target audience, as well as responding to the public's inquiries and concerns and escalating complaints. A public affairs intern must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially on data processing and publishing accurate content on different medium platforms.

We looked at the average fellow salary and compared it with the wages of a public affairs internship. Generally speaking, public affairs interns are paid $34,440 lower than fellows per year.Even though fellows and public affairs interns are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require veterans, community outreach, and public policy in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a fellow are more likely to require skills like "patients," "professional development," "mathematics," and "math." On the other hand, a job as a public affairs internship requires skills like "public affairs," "regulatory submissions," "photoshop," and "medical devices." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

The education levels that public affairs interns earn slightly differ from fellows. In particular, public affairs interns are 6.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a fellow. Additionally, they're 12.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Fellow vs. Postdoctoral associate

A postdoctoral associate is responsible for researching to support scientific claims and theories by collecting evidence and information to answer scientific questions. Postdoctoral associates must have excellent communication skills, both oral and written, to interact with people and document investigation findings. They also utilize laboratory tools and equipment for scientific researches, conduct field investigations, and interview participants. A postdoctoral associate designs comprehensive research models to discuss results with the panel and the team efficiently and accurately.

On average, postdoctoral associates earn a $12,014 lower salary than fellows a year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Fellows and postdoctoral associates both require similar skills like "patients," "powerpoint," and "data analysis" to carry out their responsibilities.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, fellow responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "professional development," "veterans," "mathematics," and "math." Meanwhile, a postdoctoral associate has duties that require skills in areas such as "tip," "biomedical," "crispr," and "cell biology." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Postdoctoral associates may earn a lower salary than fellows, but postdoctoral associates earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $53,445. On the other hand, fellows receive higher pay in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $67,978.postdoctoral associates earn similar levels of education than fellows in general. They're 2.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 12.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Fellow vs. Laboratory researcher

Laboratory researchers are professionals who manage a research laboratory while performing cellular and biochemical experiments with the primary researcher. These researchers must work with hazardous chemicals and should show expertise in handling lab equipment such as glassware and field equipment. They are required to assist with research projects and interpret the test data of an experiment. They must manage the order of all lab equipment by filling up the purchase requisition forms. Laboratory researchers are required to work with students in all aspects of laboratory research.

On average scale, laboratory researchers bring in lower salaries than fellows. In fact, they earn a $38,604 lower salary per year.Using the responsibilities included on fellows and laboratory researchers resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "powerpoint," "data analysis," and "data collection.rdquo;

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a fellow is likely to be skilled in "patients," "professional development," "veterans," and "mathematics," while a typical laboratory researcher is skilled in "lab procedures," "cell culture," "molecular biology," and "chemistry."

Laboratory researchers make a very good living in the education industry with an average annual salary of $30,412. On the other hand, fellows are paid the highest salary in the professional industry, with average annual pay of $67,978.When it comes to education, laboratory researchers tend to earn lower degree levels compared to fellows. In fact, they're 6.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 10.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Fellow vs. Associate scientist

An Associate Scientist assists in various experiments and research, working under the direction of a lead scientist. Their specialties may include biological life sciences, geo-science, atmospheric physics, and computing.

Associate scientists tend to earn a higher pay than fellows by an average of $10,097 per year.While both fellows and associate scientists complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like patients, powerpoint, and data analysis, the two careers vary in some skills.Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A fellow uses "professional development," "veterans," "mathematics," and "math." Associate scientists are more likely to have duties that require skills in "chemistry," "cell culture," "gmp," and "lab equipment. "The manufacturing industry tends to pay the highest salaries for associate scientists, with average annual pay of $80,987. Comparatively, the highest fellow annual salary comes from the professional industry.In general, associate scientists hold similar degree levels compared to fellows. Associate scientists are 0.9% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 8.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of fellow

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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