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Principal scientist vs medical science liaison

The differences between principal scientists and medical science liaisons can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a principal scientist and a medical science liaison. Additionally, a medical science liaison has an average salary of $145,718, which is higher than the $119,982 average annual salary of a principal scientist.

The top three skills for a principal scientist include oncology, data analysis and drug discovery. The most important skills for a medical science liaison are patients, medical affairs, and MSL.

Principal scientist vs medical science liaison overview

Principal ScientistMedical Science Liaison
Yearly salary$119,982$145,718
Hourly rate$57.68$70.06
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs80,89957,208
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age4141
Years of experience44

What does a principal scientist do?

A Principal Scientist is focused on leading scientific teams and conducting research. They ensure that their teams have the resources to properly perform research tasks.

What does a medical science liaison do?

A medical science liaison (MSL) is a scientific professional who facilitates a working relationship between healthcare companies and leading physicians, researchers, and clinicians. Also referred to as key opinion leaders (KOL), medical science liaisons represent their company to the decision-makers in the medical community as well as to investors and government regulatory agencies. They analyze clinical trends and monitor the scientific literature for new developments in the medical community. Medical science liaisons also prepare medical samples and data to investigate the causes of chronic diseases, pathogens, and toxicity.

Principal scientist vs medical science liaison salary

Principal scientists and medical science liaisons have different pay scales, as shown below.

Principal ScientistMedical Science Liaison
Average salary$119,982$145,718
Salary rangeBetween $84,000 And $169,000Between $59,000 And $359,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAJackson, TN
Highest paying stateCaliforniaTennessee
Best paying companyPayPalSaint Luke's Health System
Best paying industryFinanceManufacturing

Differences between principal scientist and medical science liaison education

There are a few differences between a principal scientist and a medical science liaison in terms of educational background:

Principal ScientistMedical Science Liaison
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common majorChemistryNursing
Most common collegeDuke UniversityUniversity of Southern California

Principal scientist vs medical science liaison demographics

Here are the differences between principal scientists' and medical science liaisons' demographics:

Principal ScientistMedical Science Liaison
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 76.8% Female, 23.2%Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 26.4% White, 53.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 23.4% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between principal scientist and medical science liaison duties and responsibilities

Principal scientist example responsibilities.

  • Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
  • Provide development of and line support for assign immunoassay reagents, calibrators and controls.
  • Transfer controls to manufacturing for product launch and include all require studies, testing and documentation under GMP guidelines.
  • Maintain several lab documents for ISO certification.
  • Understand drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics and design stable molecules.
  • Image visualization and manipulation of background plates for animation and post-processing.
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Medical science liaison example responsibilities.

  • Supervise and analyze medical necessity review of manage care appeals.
  • Develop and manage KOLs resulting in presentations to regional, national and international meetings.
  • Utilize extensive knowledge of medical terminology, ICD-9, HCPCS and CPT coding along with analysis and processing of Medicare claims.
  • Provide pre-launch field support for a novel diabetes compound.
  • Provide drug information to medical professionals and sales force within FDA guidelines.
  • Join Clementine as a trainee BMS and successfully complete training and registration.
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Principal scientist vs medical science liaison skills

Common principal scientist skills
  • Oncology, 7%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • Drug Discovery, 5%
  • GMP, 3%
  • Experimental Design, 3%
  • Clinical Trials, 3%
Common medical science liaison skills
  • Patients, 11%
  • Medical Affairs, 9%
  • MSL, 7%
  • Medical Science, 6%
  • Pharmaceutical Industry, 5%
  • Internal Stakeholders, 4%

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