Postdoc fellow vs postdoctoral scholar

The differences between postdoc fellows and postdoctoral scholars 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 scholar. Additionally, a postdoc fellow has an average salary of $58,376, which is higher than the $57,587 average annual salary of a postdoctoral scholar.

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

Postdoc fellow vs postdoctoral scholar overview

	Postdoc Fellow	Postdoctoral Scholar
Yearly salary	$58,376	$57,587
Hourly rate	$28.07	$27.69
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	8,499	18,983
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

Postdoc fellow vs postdoctoral scholar salary

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

	Postdoc Fellow	Postdoctoral Scholar
Average salary	$58,376	$57,587
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $80,000	Between $41,000 And $79,000
Highest paying City	Burlingame, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	California
Best paying company	TRI-AD	Microsoft
Best paying industry	Professional	Technology

Differences between postdoc fellow and postdoctoral scholar education

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

	Postdoc Fellow	Postdoctoral Scholar
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	Duke University

Postdoc fellow vs postdoctoral scholar demographics

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

	Postdoc Fellow	Postdoctoral Scholar
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 71.1% Female, 28.9%	Male, 53.0% Female, 47.0%
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, 6.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between postdoc fellow and postdoctoral scholar 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 scholar example responsibilities.

Lead community-based health projects on and off campus as an Oslerian student scholar.
Lead the in-vitro biophysical and biochemical characterization of homologous recombination and investigate structure-function effects of mutant enzymes.
Utilize basic organic and inorganic chemistry techniques including polymer synthesis and NMR spectroscopy.
Train graduate students on molecular biology techniques- DNA and RNA extraction and qPCR.
Contribute to successful NIH grant proposals.
Develop HPLC analysis method for skin folate.

Postdoc fellow vs postdoctoral scholar skills

Common postdoc fellow skills

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

Common postdoctoral scholar skills

Chemistry, 10%
Python, 8%
Patients, 6%
Data Analysis, 6%
NIH, 5%
C++, 5%

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Postdoc Fellow
Postdoc Fellow vs Postdoctoral Scholar

Updated January 8, 2025

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