Principal investigator vs chief investigator

The differences between principal investigators and chief investigators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a principal investigator, becoming a chief investigator takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a principal investigator has an average salary of $84,635, which is higher than the $70,291 average annual salary of a chief investigator.

The top three skills for a principal investigator include patients, data collection and project management. The most important skills for a chief investigator are law enforcement agencies, criminal justice, and criminal investigations.

Principal investigator vs chief investigator overview

	Principal Investigator	Chief Investigator
Yearly salary	$84,635	$70,291
Hourly rate	$40.69	$33.79
Growth rate	5%	3%
Number of jobs	44,475	17,188
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	47	44
Years of experience	4	2

Principal investigator vs chief investigator salary

Principal investigators and chief investigators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Principal Investigator	Chief Investigator
Average salary	$84,635	$70,291
Salary range	Between $59,000 And $120,000	Between $40,000 And $121,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	-
Highest paying state	California	-
Best paying company	Incyte	-
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between principal investigator and chief investigator education

There are a few differences between a principal investigator and a chief investigator in terms of educational background:

	Principal Investigator	Chief Investigator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Psychology	Criminal Justice
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	Pennsylvania State University

Principal investigator vs chief investigator demographics

Here are the differences between principal investigators' and chief investigators' demographics:

	Principal Investigator	Chief Investigator
Average age	47	44
Gender ratio	Male, 52.2% Female, 47.8%	Male, 83.6% Female, 16.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 4.3% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 2.9% White, 62.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	16%	9%

Differences between principal investigator and chief investigator duties and responsibilities

Principal investigator example responsibilities.

Serve chemistry project leads for two early-stage drug discovery projects.
Design, build and manage CADD, NMR and MRI facilities.
Attain IRB approval, recruit participants, analyze the data and present results
Manage outsource projects, and interact with vendors for API sourcing, and device components base on project needs.
Conduct research using industry standards: GCP, GLP, SORP and compliance with IRB.
Receive IRB approval and clearance for research

Chief investigator example responsibilities.

Receive multiple letters of commendation for effective investigations that lead to successful prosecutions.
Investigate and open cases on customers and non-customers who have potentially engage in activity which goes against federally mandate BSA/AML regulations.
Evaluate impressions for AFIS (automate fingerprint identification system) potential.

Principal investigator vs chief investigator skills

Common principal investigator skills

Patients, 10%
Data Collection, 9%
Project Management, 8%
Technical Reports, 6%
FDA, 4%
Data Analysis, 4%

Common chief investigator skills

Law Enforcement Agencies, 13%
Criminal Justice, 9%
Criminal Investigations, 9%
Investigative Reports, 9%
Physical Evidence, 8%
Public Safety, 6%

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Principal Investigator
Principal Investigator vs Chief Investigator

Updated January 8, 2025

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