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Postdoc fellow vs staff scientist

The differences between postdoc fellows 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 postdoc fellow and a staff scientist. Additionally, a staff scientist has an average salary of $93,941, 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 staff scientist are data analysis, research projects, and molecular biology.

Postdoc fellow vs staff scientist overview

Postdoc FellowStaff Scientist
Yearly salary$58,376$93,941
Hourly rate$28.07$45.16
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs8,499121,054
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 58%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age4141
Years of experience44

Postdoc fellow vs staff scientist salary

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

Postdoc FellowStaff Scientist
Average salary$58,376$93,941
Salary rangeBetween $42,000 And $80,000Between $63,000 And $137,000
Highest paying CityBurlingame, CARedwood City, CA
Highest paying stateHawaiiCalifornia
Best paying companyTRI-ADEtsy
Best paying industryProfessionalTechnology

Differences between postdoc fellow and staff scientist education

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

Postdoc FellowStaff Scientist
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 58%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common majorChemistryChemistry
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaDuke University

Postdoc fellow vs staff scientist demographics

Here are the differences between postdoc fellows' and staff scientists' demographics:

Postdoc FellowStaff Scientist
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 71.1% Female, 28.9%Male, 67.8% Female, 32.2%
Race ratioBlack 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, 6.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 26.5% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between postdoc fellow and staff scientist 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.

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.
  • Show more

Postdoc fellow vs staff scientist skills

Common postdoc fellow skills
  • Molecular Biology, 15%
  • Data Analysis, 10%
  • CRISPR, 9%
  • Python, 9%
  • Chemistry, 8%
  • Conduct Research, 7%
Common staff scientist skills
  • Data Analysis, 9%
  • Research Projects, 7%
  • Molecular Biology, 5%
  • Next-Generation Sequencing, 4%
  • Statistical Analysis, 4%
  • RNA, 4%

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