Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between pharmaceutical scientists and staff 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 pharmaceutical scientist and a staff scientist. Additionally, a staff scientist has an average salary of $93,941, which is higher than the $79,535 average annual salary of a pharmaceutical scientist.
The top three skills for a pharmaceutical scientist include dosage forms, pharmaceutical sciences and formulation development. The most important skills for a staff scientist are data analysis, research projects, and molecular biology.
| Pharmaceutical Scientist | Staff Scientist | |
| Yearly salary | $79,535 | $93,941 |
| Hourly rate | $38.24 | $45.16 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 45,560 | 121,054 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Pharmaceutical scientists must have master's degrees or doctorates in pharmacology, chemistry, biology, anatomy, or math. Paid around $86K per year, those who choose this career path perform drug discovery research, development, and testing. They also execute experiments for system-based research projects aimed at introducing new drugs to the marketplace.
The primary role of a Staff Scientist is to develop and manage scientific research projects with minimal supervision. They are also responsible for the technical and budgetary aspects of scientific research projects.
Pharmaceutical scientists and staff scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pharmaceutical Scientist | Staff Scientist | |
| Average salary | $79,535 | $93,941 |
| Salary range | Between $55,000 And $115,000 | Between $63,000 And $137,000 |
| Highest paying City | South San Francisco, CA | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | BASi | Etsy |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Technology |
There are a few differences between a pharmaceutical scientist and a staff scientist in terms of educational background:
| Pharmaceutical Scientist | Staff Scientist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Pharmacy | Chemistry |
| Most common college | Duke University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between pharmaceutical scientists' and staff scientists' demographics:
| Pharmaceutical Scientist | Staff Scientist | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 63.0% Female, 37.0% | Male, 67.8% Female, 32.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 26.5% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |