Neuroscientist vs research technician

The differences between neuroscientists and research technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a neuroscientist and a research technician. Additionally, a neuroscientist has an average salary of $76,267, which is higher than the $43,034 average annual salary of a research technician.

The top three skills for a neuroscientist include literature reviews, animal models and experimental design. The most important skills for a research technician are patients, data collection, and cell culture.

Neuroscientist vs research technician overview

	Neuroscientist	Research Technician
Yearly salary	$76,267	$43,034
Hourly rate	$36.67	$20.69
Growth rate	17%	9%
Number of jobs	23,046	64,786
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age	41	40
Years of experience	4	4

Neuroscientist vs research technician salary

Neuroscientists and research technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Neuroscientist	Research Technician
Average salary	$76,267	$43,034
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $133,000	Between $31,000 And $59,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Pasadena, CA
Highest paying state	California	Connecticut
Best paying company	Meta	GCP Applied Technologies
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between neuroscientist and research technician education

There are a few differences between a neuroscientist and a research technician in terms of educational background:

	Neuroscientist	Research Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	University of Southern California	Cornell University

Neuroscientist vs research technician demographics

Here are the differences between neuroscientists' and research technicians' demographics:

	Neuroscientist	Research Technician
Average age	41	40
Gender ratio	Male, 47.4% Female, 52.6%	Male, 49.3% Female, 50.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.4% Asian, 27.9% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 16.5% White, 49.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4%
LGBT Percentage	8%	6%

Differences between neuroscientist and research technician duties and responsibilities

Neuroscientist example responsibilities.

Manage sample inventory via in-house laboratory information management system (LIMS) and implement additional systems for sample and chemical organization.
Supervise activities of analytical cellular and molecular immunology laboratories.
Supervise activities of analytical cellular and molecular immunology laboratories.

Research technician example responsibilities.

Manage a DNA database and work with researchers to retrieve or send out samples and results.
Lead experiments to assess survivor behavior differences in zebrafish contaminate with dietary mercury.
Prepare reagents for use in processing samples, DNA and RNA extractions, and QC.
Investigate and validate various acute phase protein assays as OA biomarkers in rodent animal models.
Perform DNA extraction and analysis for the purpose of identifying bacterial strand for waste stream characterization.
Extend course knowledge of CRISPR to experiment.

Neuroscientist vs research technician skills

Common neuroscientist skills

Literature Reviews, 43%
Animal Models, 28%
Experimental Design, 16%
R, 8%
Scientific Data, 4%

Common research technician skills

Patients, 9%
Data Collection, 6%
Cell Culture, 5%
Laboratory Equipment, 5%
Research Projects, 4%
Lab Equipment, 3%

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Neuroscientist vs Research Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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