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Health researcher vs postdoctoral associate

The differences between health researchers and postdoctoral associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a health researcher and a postdoctoral associate. Additionally, a health researcher has an average salary of $83,787, which is higher than the $54,350 average annual salary of a postdoctoral associate.

The top three skills for a health researcher include health services, data collection and data analysis. The most important skills for a postdoctoral associate are patients, TIP, and data analysis.

Health researcher vs postdoctoral associate overview

Health ResearcherPostdoctoral Associate
Yearly salary$83,787$54,350
Hourly rate$40.28$26.13
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs53,50418,093
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Doctoral Degree, 47%
Average age4141
Years of experience44

What does a health researcher do?

A health researcher is responsible for analyzing materials and publications and develop efficient research methodologies to support the analysis within the health industry. Health researchers review the current health trends, identify risks that may put public health in jeopardy, and coordinating with medical health professionals for in-depth investigation of diseases. They also assist laboratory technicians in performing examinations according to the research findings, proposing treatment plans, and improving diagnosing methods. A health researcher may present the study with different institutions, including the government, and recommend ways to minimize public health risk.

What does a postdoctoral associate do?

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.

Health researcher vs postdoctoral associate salary

Health researchers and postdoctoral associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

Health ResearcherPostdoctoral Associate
Average salary$83,787$54,350
Salary rangeBetween $57,000 And $122,000Between $39,000 And $74,000
Highest paying CityNew Brunswick, NJBerkeley, CA
Highest paying stateNew JerseyMaine
Best paying companyAppleArgonne National Laboratory
Best paying industryGovernmentEducation

Differences between health researcher and postdoctoral associate education

There are a few differences between a health researcher and a postdoctoral associate in terms of educational background:

Health ResearcherPostdoctoral Associate
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Doctoral Degree, 47%
Most common majorPsychologyChemistry
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

Health researcher vs postdoctoral associate demographics

Here are the differences between health researchers' and postdoctoral associates' demographics:

Health ResearcherPostdoctoral Associate
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 32.4% Female, 67.6%Male, 63.2% Female, 36.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 26.4% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 39.4% White, 42.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between health researcher and postdoctoral associate duties and responsibilities

Health researcher example responsibilities.

  • Lead Inovalon's team of biostatisticians and SAS programmers.
  • Manage database of test responses and conduct data analyses for NIH technical report.
  • Manage site assessment, initiation, monitoring, query resolution and site closure done by several CRO's and sponsors.
  • Create Linux shell scripts to automate common process which severely reduce manual work load and processing time for the entire lab.
  • Acquire and analyze clinical data (SAS programming).
  • Coordinate an FDA document retrieval system which decrease time and costs in filing new drug applications.
  • Show more

Postdoctoral associate example responsibilities.

  • Develop and manage third party claim investigations and contractor remedial oversight for various insurance companies.
  • Co-Authore NIH grant proposal on membrane protein folding.
  • Participate in writing research grant applications including NIH and NSF.
  • X-ray protein crystallographic studies on the structures of antibodies and DNA.
  • Purify DNA from subject blood samples and organize the genome screen.
  • Complete mice handling training and currently using CRISPR technology to knockout genes in cell lines.
  • Show more

Health researcher vs postdoctoral associate skills

Common health researcher skills
  • Health Services, 13%
  • Data Collection, 12%
  • Data Analysis, 10%
  • Research Findings, 8%
  • Health Economics, 6%
  • Health Insurance, 5%
Common postdoctoral associate skills
  • Patients, 8%
  • TIP, 7%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • Biomedical, 5%
  • CRISPR, 5%
  • Python, 4%

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