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Medical research scientist vs postdoctoral associate

The differences between medical research scientists 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 medical research scientist and a postdoctoral associate. Additionally, a medical research scientist has an average salary of $78,125, which is higher than the $54,350 average annual salary of a postdoctoral associate.

The top three skills for a medical research scientist include PCR, research findings and GMP. The most important skills for a postdoctoral associate are patients, TIP, and data analysis.

Medical research scientist vs postdoctoral associate overview

Medical Research ScientistPostdoctoral Associate
Yearly salary$78,125$54,350
Hourly rate$37.56$26.13
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs129,65318,093
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Doctoral Degree, 47%
Average age4141
Years of experience44

Medical research scientist vs postdoctoral associate salary

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

Medical Research ScientistPostdoctoral Associate
Average salary$78,125$54,350
Salary rangeBetween $47,000 And $129,000Between $39,000 And $74,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CABerkeley, CA
Highest paying stateRhode IslandMaine
Best paying companyOak Ridge National LaboratoryArgonne National Laboratory
Best paying industryPharmaceuticalEducation

Differences between medical research scientist and postdoctoral associate education

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

Medical Research ScientistPostdoctoral Associate
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Doctoral Degree, 47%
Most common majorBiologyChemistry
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaDuke University

Medical research scientist vs postdoctoral associate demographics

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

Medical Research ScientistPostdoctoral Associate
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 40.0% Female, 60.0%Male, 63.2% Female, 36.8%
Race ratioBlack 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, 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 medical research scientist and postdoctoral associate 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.
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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.
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Medical research scientist vs postdoctoral associate skills

Common medical research scientist skills
  • PCR, 21%
  • Research Findings, 20%
  • GMP, 17%
  • Genotyping, 15%
  • Elisa, 13%
  • Extraction, 7%
Common postdoctoral associate skills
  • Patients, 8%
  • TIP, 7%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • Biomedical, 5%
  • CRISPR, 5%
  • Python, 4%

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