Medical investigator vs research scientist

The differences between medical investigators and research 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 medical investigator and a research scientist. Additionally, a research scientist has an average salary of $89,998, 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 research scientist are python, data analysis, and patients.

Medical investigator vs research scientist overview

	Medical Investigator	Research Scientist
Yearly salary	$77,976	$89,998
Hourly rate	$37.49	$43.27
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	49,363	93,013
Job satisfaction	-	3
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

Medical investigator vs research scientist salary

Medical investigators and research scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Investigator	Research Scientist
Average salary	$77,976	$89,998
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $141,000	Between $58,000 And $137,000
Highest paying City	Memphis, TN	Menlo Park, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	California
Best paying company	Yoh	Lyft
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between medical investigator and research scientist education

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

	Medical Investigator	Research Scientist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Chemistry
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Medical investigator vs research scientist demographics

Here are the differences between medical investigators' and research scientists' demographics:

	Medical Investigator	Research Scientist
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 39.4% Female, 60.6%	Male, 62.5% Female, 37.5%
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, 6.2% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 29.6% White, 50.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between medical investigator and research scientist 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.

Research scientist example responsibilities.

Manage the development of innovative visualization and concept mapping of contest environment analysis challenges and analyst skill sets.
Manage sample inventory via in-house laboratory information management system (LIMS) and implement additional systems for sample and chemical organization.
Used real-time PCR and DNA sequencing to troubleshoot and validate SNP base and gene expression assays.
Prepare clear technical presentations to NIH department heads in annual seminars.
Analyze chromatin dynamics during primordial germ cell specification with a CRISPR mouse model.
Identify impurities in final drug by LCMS and reject impurities with ethanol/water swish.

Medical investigator vs research scientist skills

Common medical investigator skills

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

Common research scientist skills

Python, 11%
Data Analysis, 6%
Patients, 6%
C++, 6%
Research Projects, 6%
Chemistry, 5%

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Medical Investigator
Medical Investigator vs Research Scientist

Updated January 8, 2025

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