Postdoc fellow vs postdoctoral associate

The differences between postdoc fellows 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 postdoc fellow and a postdoctoral associate. Additionally, a postdoc fellow has an average salary of $58,376, which is higher than the $54,350 average annual salary of a postdoctoral associate.

The top three skills for a postdoc fellow include molecular biology, data analysis and CRISPR. The most important skills for a postdoctoral associate are patients, TIP, and data analysis.

Postdoc fellow vs postdoctoral associate overview

	Postdoc Fellow	Postdoctoral Associate
Yearly salary	$58,376	$54,350
Hourly rate	$28.07	$26.13
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	8,499	18,093
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 58%	Doctoral Degree, 47%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

Postdoc fellow vs postdoctoral associate salary

Postdoc fellows and postdoctoral associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Postdoc Fellow	Postdoctoral Associate
Average salary	$58,376	$54,350
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $80,000	Between $39,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	Burlingame, CA	Berkeley, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Maine
Best paying company	TRI-AD	Argonne National Laboratory
Best paying industry	Professional	Education

Differences between postdoc fellow and postdoctoral associate education

There are a few differences between a postdoc fellow and a postdoctoral associate in terms of educational background:

	Postdoc Fellow	Postdoctoral Associate
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 58%	Doctoral Degree, 47%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	Duke University

Postdoc fellow vs postdoctoral associate demographics

Here are the differences between postdoc fellows' and postdoctoral associates' demographics:

	Postdoc Fellow	Postdoctoral Associate
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 71.1% Female, 28.9%	Male, 63.2% Female, 36.8%
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, 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 postdoc fellow and postdoctoral associate 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.

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.

Postdoc fellow vs postdoctoral associate skills

Common postdoc fellow skills

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

Common postdoctoral associate skills

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

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Postdoc Fellow
Postdoc Fellow vs Postdoctoral Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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