Physical scientist vs staff scientist

The differences between physical scientists and staff scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a staff scientist has an average salary of $93,941, which is higher than the $86,538 average annual salary of a physical scientist.

The top three skills for a physical scientist include chemistry, environmental compliance and DOD. The most important skills for a staff scientist are data analysis, research projects, and molecular biology.

Physical scientist vs staff scientist overview

	Physical Scientist	Staff Scientist
Yearly salary	$86,538	$93,941
Hourly rate	$41.60	$45.16
Growth rate	5%	17%
Number of jobs	96,588	121,054
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	40	41
Years of experience	-	4

What does a physical scientist do?

A physical scientist is responsible for investigating scientific problems by conducting laboratory examinations by collecting information, analyzing existing research studies, and formulating theories. Physical scientists follow scientific methods and processes strictly depending on their expertise and may perform field investigations to support their claims as necessary. They also operate different laboratory tools and equipment, requiring them to inspect and sterilize each before and after use to avoid contamination that can affect the accuracy of laboratory results.

What does a staff scientist do?

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.

Physical scientist vs staff scientist salary

Physical scientists and staff scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Physical Scientist	Staff Scientist
Average salary	$86,538	$93,941
Salary range	Between $53,000 And $138,000	Between $63,000 And $137,000
Highest paying City	Novato, CA	Redwood City, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Google	Etsy
Best paying industry	Education	Technology

Differences between physical scientist and staff scientist education

There are a few differences between a physical scientist and a staff scientist in terms of educational background:

	Physical Scientist	Staff Scientist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Geology	Chemistry
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Duke University

Physical scientist vs staff scientist demographics

Here are the differences between physical scientists' and staff scientists' demographics:

	Physical Scientist	Staff Scientist
Average age	40	41
Gender ratio	Male, 68.3% Female, 31.7%	Male, 67.8% Female, 32.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 27.9% White, 54.4% 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%

Differences between physical scientist and staff scientist duties and responsibilities

Physical scientist example responsibilities.

Develop and manage third party claim investigations and contractor remedial oversight for various insurance companies.
Devise numerous processing and data visualization tools for analysis and assessment of multi-beam data quality.
Validate personnel work supporting DoD mapping / charting programs.
Represent the USAPHC in departmental and interagency workgroups and committees.
Authore technical review correspondences to EPA and co-authore sections of several articles and reports.
Create a GIS project to link countrywide stream tracer experiments with various geological characteristics.

Staff scientist example responsibilities.

Lead efforts to replace a critical radioactive immunoassay with a non-radioactive format to measure clinical samples.
Manage clinical sample testing using MSD and ELISA in LIMS, including data review and approval using LIMS.
Assist in managing and maintenance of HPLC and Prep-HPLC systems to ensure maximum productivity for the process development group.
Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
Assist with RNA and DNA extractions from FFPE tissue and blood.
Supervise temps performing HPLC assays and validations during development and production campaigns under GMP conditions.

Physical scientist vs staff scientist skills

Common physical scientist skills

Chemistry, 23%
Environmental Compliance, 20%
DOD, 16%
Hazardous Waste, 15%
Research Projects, 6%
Technical Reports, 5%

Common staff scientist skills

Data Analysis, 9%
Research Projects, 7%
Molecular Biology, 5%
Next-Generation Sequencing, 4%
Statistical Analysis, 4%
RNA, 4%

Physical Scientist vs. similar jobs

Physical Scientist related careers

Physical Scientist related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Life, Physical, and Social Science Industry
Physical Scientist
Physical Scientist vs Staff Scientist

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse life, physical, and social science jobs