Medical researcher vs postdoctoral associate

The differences between medical researchers 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 researcher and a postdoctoral associate. Additionally, a medical researcher has an average salary of $61,177, which is higher than the $54,350 average annual salary of a postdoctoral associate.

The top three skills for a medical researcher include patients, statistical analysis and vital signs. The most important skills for a postdoctoral associate are patients, TIP, and data analysis.

Medical researcher vs postdoctoral associate overview

	Medical Researcher	Postdoctoral Associate
Yearly salary	$61,177	$54,350
Hourly rate	$29.41	$26.13
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	51,264	18,093
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Doctoral Degree, 47%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

Medical researcher vs postdoctoral associate salary

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

	Medical Researcher	Postdoctoral Associate
Average salary	$61,177	$54,350
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $106,000	Between $39,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Berkeley, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Maine
Best paying company	Rose Medical Center	Argonne National Laboratory
Best paying industry	Health Care	Education

Differences between medical researcher and postdoctoral associate education

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

	Medical Researcher	Postdoctoral Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Doctoral Degree, 47%
Most common major	Biology	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	Duke University

Medical researcher vs postdoctoral associate demographics

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

	Medical Researcher	Postdoctoral Associate
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4%	Male, 63.2% Female, 36.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.3% 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 Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between medical researcher and postdoctoral associate duties and responsibilities

Medical researcher example responsibilities.

Create Linux shell scripts to automate common process which severely reduce manual work load and processing time for the entire lab.
Experience in quantifying RNA and protein (BCA method) as well as synthesizing complementary DNA from RNA.
Extract RNA and protein using TRIzol reagent.
Compose PowerPoint presentation providing in-depth explanation for lack of preliminary results, as well as proposed process resolution.
Adhere to strict turn-a-round deadlines and maintain confidential information by following proper ISO procedures.

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.

Medical researcher vs postdoctoral associate skills

Common medical researcher skills

Patients, 14%
Statistical Analysis, 11%
Vital Signs, 10%
Laboratory Practices, 8%
Clinical Research Studies, 8%
Research Projects, 7%

Common postdoctoral associate skills

Patients, 8%
TIP, 7%
Data Analysis, 6%
Biomedical, 5%
CRISPR, 5%
Python, 4%

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Medical Researcher
Medical Researcher vs Postdoctoral Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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