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Histologist vs principal scientist

The differences between histologists and principal 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 histologist and a principal scientist. Additionally, a principal scientist has an average salary of $119,982, which is higher than the $59,183 average annual salary of a histologist.

The top three skills for a histologist include ASCP, patient care and immunohistochemistry. The most important skills for a principal scientist are oncology, data analysis, and drug discovery.

Histologist vs principal scientist overview

HistologistPrincipal Scientist
Yearly salary$59,183$119,982
Hourly rate$28.45$57.68
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs1,46380,899
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 58%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age4141
Years of experience44

What does a histologist do?

Another name for a his/her tologist is his/her tology technician, or his/her totechnician. They are health care workers who work in a medical laboratory. They are trained specifically to prepare tissue samples for a pathologist to analyze. Their duties include cutting tissue samples from organs and other tissues and staining them with specific dyes to help with microscopic analysis of the sample tissues. They may either work with humans, animals, or plant specimens. Their analysis helps with the diagnosis of disease abnormalities.

What does a principal scientist do?

A Principal Scientist is focused on leading scientific teams and conducting research. They ensure that their teams have the resources to properly perform research tasks.

Histologist vs principal scientist salary

Histologists and principal scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

HistologistPrincipal Scientist
Average salary$59,183$119,982
Salary rangeBetween $34,000 And $101,000Between $84,000 And $169,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-PayPal
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between histologist and principal scientist education

There are a few differences between a histologist and a principal scientist in terms of educational background:

HistologistPrincipal Scientist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 58%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common majorBiologyChemistry
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaDuke University

Histologist vs principal scientist demographics

Here are the differences between histologists' and principal scientists' demographics:

HistologistPrincipal Scientist
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 29.0% Female, 71.0%Male, 76.8% Female, 23.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 22.2% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 26.4% White, 53.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between histologist and principal scientist duties and responsibilities

Histologist example responsibilities.

  • Manage a group of three laboratory technicians performing ELISA assays and protein purification.
  • Perform routine histology functions, special stains, frozen sectioning and Immunohistochemistry.
  • Perform routine histology tasks including embedding, sectioning, and routine staining.
  • Provide routine histology embedding, microtome processing and staining.
  • Place on slides using a Microtome.
  • Order all supplies for IHC department.
  • Show more

Principal scientist example responsibilities.

  • Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
  • Provide development of and line support for assign immunoassay reagents, calibrators and controls.
  • Transfer controls to manufacturing for product launch and include all require studies, testing and documentation under GMP guidelines.
  • Maintain several lab documents for ISO certification.
  • Understand drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics and design stable molecules.
  • Image visualization and manipulation of background plates for animation and post-processing.
  • Show more

Histologist vs principal scientist skills

Common histologist skills
  • ASCP, 15%
  • Patient Care, 9%
  • Immunohistochemistry, 6%
  • Tissue Samples, 5%
  • Lab Equipment, 5%
  • Frozen Sections, 4%
Common principal scientist skills
  • Oncology, 7%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • Drug Discovery, 5%
  • GMP, 3%
  • Experimental Design, 3%
  • Clinical Trials, 3%

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