Postdoc research associate vs doctoral fellow

The differences between postdoc research associates and doctoral fellows 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 research associate and a doctoral fellow. Additionally, a postdoc research associate has an average salary of $56,259, which is higher than the $53,366 average annual salary of a doctoral fellow.

The top three skills for a postdoc research associate include data analysis, mouse model and research projects. The most important skills for a doctoral fellow are patients, cell culture, and data analysis.

Postdoc research associate vs doctoral fellow overview

	Postdoc Research Associate	Doctoral Fellow
Yearly salary	$56,259	$53,366
Hourly rate	$27.05	$25.66
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	49,460	22,661
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 57%	Doctoral Degree, 46%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

What does a postdoc research associate do?

Postdoc research associates are professionals who are responsible for assisting postdoctoral researchers in their research after completing doctoral studies. These associates must train and mentor undergraduate and graduate students with their ongoing research projects so that they can be completed on time. They are required to perform data analysis and should prepare scientific and technical reports that will be presented at scientific conferences. Postdoc research associates must also conduct literature reviews on topics such as government policy, economic impact analyses, and scientific journal articles.

What does a doctoral fellow do?

A doctoral fellow is a physician that has completed studies and receives a fellowship to cover his/her or her expenses while completing his/her or her medical dissertation. A doctor fellow undergoes this fellowship to get additional training for their chosen sub-specialty. During the fellowship period, a fellow can act as an attending physician or consultant physician with other physicians' direct supervision in the sub-specialty field.

Postdoc research associate vs doctoral fellow salary

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

	Postdoc Research Associate	Doctoral Fellow
Average salary	$56,259	$53,366
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $78,000	Between $39,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	Sunnyvale, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Hawaii
Best paying company	IBM	IBM
Best paying industry	Professional	Pharmaceutical

Differences between postdoc research associate and doctoral fellow education

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

	Postdoc Research Associate	Doctoral Fellow
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 57%	Doctoral Degree, 46%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Postdoc research associate vs doctoral fellow demographics

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

	Postdoc Research Associate	Doctoral Fellow
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 73.1% Female, 26.9%	Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 7.5% Asian, 45.4% White, 38.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 32.9% White, 47.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between postdoc research associate and doctoral fellow duties and responsibilities

Postdoc research associate example responsibilities.

Achieve a best solar-matching spectrum and a broadband visible-to-IR absorption profile.
Process and manage GIS databases to contribute towards research in human transportation behavior.
Research focuse on understanding how transcription factors and non-coding regulatory DNA interpret Endothelin signaling in vivo.
Programe in Fortran to simulate models, diagnose problems and examine results.
Investigate how ATM kinase regulates tumor suppressive function of B56? -PP2A in response to DNA damage.
Complete a project of conditional knock out mouse model, draft one manuscript on transcription factor function on brain developmental defect.

Doctoral fellow example responsibilities.

Lead the in-vitro biophysical and biochemical characterization of homologous recombination and investigate structure-function effects of mutant enzymes.
Attend courses in drug discovery, python programming, and next-generation sequencing analyses.
Coordinate the validation of data aquisition algorithms (C++, python) for all real and simulate data.
Conduct custom synthesis of organic molecules, key intermediates and building blocks for medicinal chemistry applications.
Design PCL/PLCL drug delivery system for DC immunotherapy.
Succeed in using CRISPR to genetically correct diseas iPSCs.

Postdoc research associate vs doctoral fellow skills

Common postdoc research associate skills

Data Analysis, 9%
Mouse Model, 8%
Research Projects, 8%
Python, 7%
Chemistry, 7%
Cell Culture, 6%

Common doctoral fellow skills

Patients, 8%
Cell Culture, 6%
Data Analysis, 5%
Research Projects, 5%
Cell Biology, 5%
Immunology, 5%

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Postdoc Research Associate
Postdoc Research Associate vs Doctoral Fellow

Updated January 8, 2025

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