Medical research scientist vs laboratory researcher

The differences between medical research scientists and laboratory researchers 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 research scientist and a laboratory researcher. Additionally, a medical research scientist has an average salary of $78,125, which is higher than the $27,760 average annual salary of a laboratory researcher.

The top three skills for a medical research scientist include PCR, research findings and GMP. The most important skills for a laboratory researcher are lab procedures, cell culture, and molecular biology.

Medical research scientist vs laboratory researcher overview

	Medical Research Scientist	Laboratory Researcher
Yearly salary	$78,125	$27,760
Hourly rate	$37.56	$13.35
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	129,653	57,359
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

Medical research scientist vs laboratory researcher salary

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

	Medical Research Scientist	Laboratory Researcher
Average salary	$78,125	$27,760
Salary range	Between $47,000 And $129,000	Between $17,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	New Brunswick, NJ
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	Maine
Best paying company	Oak Ridge National Laboratory	Los Alamos National Laboratory
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Education

Differences between medical research scientist and laboratory researcher education

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

	Medical Research Scientist	Laboratory Researcher
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	University of Southern California	Duke University

Medical research scientist vs laboratory researcher demographics

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

	Medical Research Scientist	Laboratory Researcher
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 40.0% Female, 60.0%	Male, 56.7% Female, 43.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 27.2% White, 52.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 26.4% White, 53.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between medical research scientist and laboratory researcher duties and responsibilities

Medical research scientist example responsibilities.

Manage sample inventory via in-house laboratory information management system (LIMS) and implement additional systems for sample and chemical organization.
Experience working in a GMP regulate environment.
Experience with``firefight"responses and working with FDA.
Mouse colony maintenance are paramount, mouse genotyping, data organization.
Evaluate total tissue proteins and serum responses by ELISA, fluorescent and clotting assays.
Design and execute experiments to test the anti-allergic effect of CMP against grass, tree and ragweed pollen allergies.

Laboratory researcher example responsibilities.

Manage participant records according to IRB guidelines to ensure confidentiality.
Plan to create apparatus and experimental procedure to enable selective extraction of DNA using surface chemistry.
Experience in conducting gel electrophoresis procedures.
Gel electrophoresis are used to analyze banding patterns.
Specialize in design and implementation of ELISA's for vaccine.
Analyze samples with advance instrumentation, including HPLC and UV-visible spectroscopy.

Medical research scientist vs laboratory researcher skills

Common medical research scientist skills

PCR, 21%
Research Findings, 20%
GMP, 17%
Genotyping, 15%
Elisa, 13%
Extraction, 7%

Common laboratory researcher skills

Lab Procedures, 10%
Cell Culture, 7%
Molecular Biology, 6%
PCR, 6%
Chemistry, 5%
R, 4%

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Medical Research Scientist
Medical Research Scientist vs Laboratory Researcher

Updated January 8, 2025

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