Postdoc fellow vs medical science liaison

The differences between postdoc fellows and medical science liaisons can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a postdoc fellow and a medical science liaison. Additionally, a medical science liaison has an average salary of $145,718, which is higher than the $58,376 average annual salary of a postdoc fellow.

The top three skills for a postdoc fellow include molecular biology, data analysis and CRISPR. The most important skills for a medical science liaison are patients, medical affairs, and MSL.

Postdoc fellow vs medical science liaison overview

	Postdoc Fellow	Medical Science Liaison
Yearly salary	$58,376	$145,718
Hourly rate	$28.07	$70.06
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	8,499	57,208
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

Postdoc fellow vs medical science liaison salary

Postdoc fellows and medical science liaisons have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Postdoc Fellow	Medical Science Liaison
Average salary	$58,376	$145,718
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $80,000	Between $59,000 And $359,000
Highest paying City	Burlingame, CA	Jackson, TN
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Tennessee
Best paying company	TRI-AD	Saint Luke's Health System
Best paying industry	Professional	Manufacturing

Differences between postdoc fellow and medical science liaison education

There are a few differences between a postdoc fellow and a medical science liaison in terms of educational background:

	Postdoc Fellow	Medical Science Liaison
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Chemistry	Nursing
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Postdoc fellow vs medical science liaison demographics

Here are the differences between postdoc fellows' and medical science liaisons' demographics:

	Postdoc Fellow	Medical Science Liaison
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 71.1% Female, 28.9%	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% Asian, 45.5% White, 39.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 23.4% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between postdoc fellow and medical science liaison duties and responsibilities

Postdoc fellow example responsibilities.

Collaborate with software engineers to automate identification of 15N- and 13C- labele LC-MS features.
Perform expression profiling on primary promyelocyte samples and identify candidate genes that may be involve in SCN pathogenesis and malignant transformation.
Investigate chromatid orientation through immunofluorescence.

Medical science liaison example responsibilities.

Supervise and analyze medical necessity review of manage care appeals.
Develop and manage KOLs resulting in presentations to regional, national and international meetings.
Utilize extensive knowledge of medical terminology, ICD-9, HCPCS and CPT coding along with analysis and processing of Medicare claims.
Provide pre-launch field support for a novel diabetes compound.
Provide drug information to medical professionals and sales force within FDA guidelines.
Join Clementine as a trainee BMS and successfully complete training and registration.

Postdoc fellow vs medical science liaison skills

Common postdoc fellow skills

Molecular Biology, 15%
Data Analysis, 10%
CRISPR, 9%
Python, 9%
Chemistry, 8%
Conduct Research, 7%

Common medical science liaison skills

Patients, 11%
Medical Affairs, 9%
MSL, 7%
Medical Science, 6%
Pharmaceutical Industry, 5%
Internal Stakeholders, 4%

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Postdoc Fellow
Postdoc Fellow vs Medical Science Liaison

Updated January 8, 2025

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