Medical investigator vs medical examiner

The differences between medical investigators and medical examiners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a medical investigator, becoming a medical examiner takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a medical examiner has an average salary of $156,092, which is higher than the $77,976 average annual salary of a medical investigator.

The top three skills for a medical investigator include law enforcement agencies, subpoenas and medical history. The most important skills for a medical examiner are EKG, medical history, and vital signs.

Medical investigator vs medical examiner overview

	Medical Investigator	Medical Examiner
Yearly salary	$77,976	$156,092
Hourly rate	$37.49	$75.04
Growth rate	17%	16%
Number of jobs	49,363	47,428
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	41	37
Years of experience	4	12

Medical investigator vs medical examiner salary

Medical investigators and medical examiners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Investigator	Medical Examiner
Average salary	$77,976	$156,092
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $141,000	Between $78,000 And $308,000
Highest paying City	Memphis, TN	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Yoh	Bexar County
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between medical investigator and medical examiner education

There are a few differences between a medical investigator and a medical examiner in terms of educational background:

	Medical Investigator	Medical Examiner
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	-

Medical investigator vs medical examiner demographics

Here are the differences between medical investigators' and medical examiners' demographics:

	Medical Investigator	Medical Examiner
Average age	41	37
Gender ratio	Male, 39.4% Female, 60.6%	Male, 33.0% Female, 67.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 23.8% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 20.7% Asian, 9.3% White, 54.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	6%

Differences between medical investigator and medical examiner duties and responsibilities

Medical investigator example responsibilities.

Manage and facilitate manuscript preparation of oncology clinical trials results arising from currently market and pipeline drugs.
Identify trends and establish corrective procedures to maintain FDA compliance and customer satisfaction.
Supervise activities of analytical cellular and molecular immunology laboratories.
Perform QC of various documents to include PSURs, PADERs, CSRs, CTDs, and other regulatory aggregate reports.
Supervise activities of analytical cellular and molecular immunology laboratories.

Medical examiner example responsibilities.

Adhere to OSHA guidelines while performing instrument sterilization in addition to managing medical inventory.
Perform medical exams such as EKG's, blood work, vitals and review medical history and paperwork with patients.
Assist in DNA case file management.
Train in phlebotomy and OSHA/HIPPA regulatory compliance procedures.
Perform independent thesis research to compare paraffin embed healthy and malignant tissue using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA testing.
Audit income and financial resources of elderly adults and disable applicants to determine financial eligibility for various levels of Medicaid coverage.

Medical investigator vs medical examiner skills

Common medical investigator skills

Law Enforcement Agencies, 11%
Subpoenas, 11%
Medical History, 9%
Body Fluids, 8%
Physician Assistants, 7%
Medicaid, 5%

Common medical examiner skills

EKG, 16%
Medical History, 10%
Vital Signs, 8%
Blood Pressure, 7%
Medical Exams, 7%
Death Certificates, 6%

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Medical Investigator vs Medical Examiner

Updated January 8, 2025

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