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The differences between postdoctoral research scientists and 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 postdoctoral research scientist and a scientist. Additionally, a scientist has an average salary of $97,344, which is higher than the $53,781 average annual salary of a postdoctoral research scientist.
The top three skills for a postdoctoral research scientist include python, C++ and research projects. The most important skills for a scientist are chemistry, data analysis, and patients.
| Postdoctoral Research Scientist | Scientist | |
| Yearly salary | $53,781 | $97,344 |
| Hourly rate | $25.86 | $46.80 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 90,782 | 62,467 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A Postdoctoral Research Scientist undertakes and analyzes information about investigations, experiments, and trials from a controlled laboratory. They work in almost every area of science.
A scientist is responsible for researching and analyzing the nature and complexities of the physical world to identify discoveries that would improve people's lives and ignite scientific knowledge for society. Scientists' duties differ in their different areas of expertise, but all of them must have a broad comprehension of scientific disciplines and methods to support their experiments and investigations. They collect the sample for their research, record findings, create research proposals, and release publications. A scientist must know how to utilize laboratory equipment to support the study and drive results efficiently and accurately.
Postdoctoral research scientists and scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Postdoctoral Research Scientist | Scientist | |
| Average salary | $53,781 | $97,344 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $72,000 | Between $67,000 And $140,000 |
| Highest paying City | Menlo Park, CA | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a postdoctoral research scientist and a scientist in terms of educational background:
| Postdoctoral Research Scientist | Scientist | |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Most common college | Duke University | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between postdoctoral research scientists' and scientists' demographics:
| Postdoctoral Research Scientist | Scientist | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 60.3% Female, 39.7% | Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 35.6% White, 45.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |