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Postdoc research associate vs fellow

The differences between postdoc research associates and 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 fellow. Additionally, a fellow has an average salary of $66,364, which is higher than the $56,259 average annual salary of a postdoc research associate.

The top three skills for a postdoc research associate include data analysis, mouse model and research projects. The most important skills for a fellow are patients, professional development, and veterans.

Postdoc research associate vs fellow overview

Postdoc Research AssociateFellow
Yearly salary$56,259$66,364
Hourly rate$27.05$31.91
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs49,4607,459
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age4141
Years of experience44

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 fellow do?

A fellow's responsibility will depend on the organization or industry where one belongs. However, most of the time, a fellow's duty will revolve around conducting research and analysis, presiding discussions and attending dialogues, handle lectures while complying with the guidelines or tasks set by supervisors, and assist in various projects and activities. Furthermore, a fellow must adhere to the institution or organization's policies and regulations at all times, meet all the requirements and outputs involved, and coordinate with every person in the workforce.

Postdoc research associate vs fellow salary

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

Postdoc Research AssociateFellow
Average salary$56,259$66,364
Salary rangeBetween $40,000 And $78,000Between $46,000 And $93,000
Highest paying CitySunnyvale, CAOak Ridge, TN
Highest paying stateHawaiiTennessee
Best paying companyIBMPeterson Institute for International Economics
Best paying industryProfessionalProfessional

Differences between postdoc research associate and fellow education

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

Postdoc Research AssociateFellow
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common majorChemistryPolitical Science
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

Postdoc research associate vs fellow demographics

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

Postdoc Research AssociateFellow
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 73.1% Female, 26.9%Male, 46.2% Female, 53.8%
Race ratioBlack 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, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 26.4% White, 53.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between postdoc research associate and 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.
  • Show more

Fellow example responsibilities.

  • Design and lead labs align with the NYC curriculum, on topics including moon phases and dichotomous keys.
  • Maintain company website, as well as wrote, manage, and edit content on the SharePoint portal.
  • Manage live streaming for NARAL Facebook during NARAL's lobby day, as well as assisting in attendee organization.
  • Work through several medical software databases to generate SQL to pass on to Java developers for their programs.
  • Develop computer program to visualize EOS data in Java.
  • Include writing python scripts to parse poorly structure text into tabular data.
  • Show more

Postdoc research associate vs fellow skills

Common postdoc research associate skills
  • Data Analysis, 9%
  • Mouse Model, 8%
  • Research Projects, 8%
  • Python, 7%
  • Chemistry, 7%
  • Cell Culture, 6%
Common fellow skills
  • Patients, 11%
  • Professional Development, 7%
  • Veterans, 7%
  • Mathematics, 5%
  • Math, 5%
  • Public Health, 4%

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