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The differences between forensic scientists and medical science liaisons can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a forensic scientist and a medical science liaison. Additionally, a medical science liaison has an average salary of $145,718, which is higher than the $71,351 average annual salary of a forensic scientist.
The top three skills for a forensic scientist include laboratory equipment, physical evidence and analytical procedures. The most important skills for a medical science liaison are patients, medical affairs, and MSL.
| Forensic Scientist | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Yearly salary | $71,351 | $145,718 |
| Hourly rate | $34.30 | $70.06 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 43,335 | 57,208 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 38 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Forensic scientists work as experts in collecting evidence, analyzing evidence collected at crime scenes, and communicating with law enforcement. They can work as a lab manager and detective. They are responsible for ensuring that tests are performed correctly and ethically without any bias. They obtain evidence at the crime scene, making reports of the findings, examining the evidence in the lab if the evidence collected is relevant or not, and testifying in court. They report to superiors the findings of the analysis.
A medical science liaison (MSL) is a scientific professional who facilitates a working relationship between healthcare companies and leading physicians, researchers, and clinicians. Also referred to as key opinion leaders (KOL), medical science liaisons represent their company to the decision-makers in the medical community as well as to investors and government regulatory agencies. They analyze clinical trends and monitor the scientific literature for new developments in the medical community. Medical science liaisons also prepare medical samples and data to investigate the causes of chronic diseases, pathogens, and toxicity.
Forensic scientists and medical science liaisons have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Forensic Scientist | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Average salary | $71,351 | $145,718 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $112,000 | Between $59,000 And $359,000 |
| Highest paying City | Lincoln, NE | Jackson, TN |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Tennessee |
| Best paying company | Alere | Saint Luke's Health System |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a forensic scientist and a medical science liaison in terms of educational background:
| Forensic Scientist | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Biology | Nursing |
| Most common college | California State University - Bakersfield | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between forensic scientists' and medical science liaisons' demographics:
| Forensic Scientist | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Average age | 38 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9% | Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 10.5% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 23.4% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |