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Principal scientist vs quality control analyst

The differences between principal scientists and quality control analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a principal scientist has an average salary of $119,982, which is higher than the $59,217 average annual salary of a quality control analyst.

The top three skills for a principal scientist include oncology, data analysis and drug discovery. The most important skills for a quality control analyst are QC, lab equipment, and microbiology.

Principal scientist vs quality control analyst overview

Principal ScientistQuality Control Analyst
Yearly salary$119,982$59,217
Hourly rate$57.68$28.47
Growth rate17%9%
Number of jobs80,89985,546
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age4138
Years of experience4-

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 quality control analyst do?

Quality assurance representatives are professionals who are responsible for ensuring the quality of units produced or manufactured is following the standards set by the industry. These representatives supervise the entire production process to identify erroneous methods or tools being used by workers and observing produced for visible defects. They are required to perform various tests to check for the durability of the product and other desirable characteristics. Quality assurance representatives must also collaborate with the manufacturing engineer to implement quality control programs and preparing training manuals and quality guidelines.

Principal scientist vs quality control analyst salary

Principal scientists and quality control analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

Principal ScientistQuality Control Analyst
Average salary$119,982$59,217
Salary rangeBetween $84,000 And $169,000Between $40,000 And $86,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CARaleigh, NC
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNorth Carolina
Best paying companyPayPalBarclays
Best paying industryFinanceManufacturing

Differences between principal scientist and quality control analyst education

There are a few differences between a principal scientist and a quality control analyst in terms of educational background:

Principal ScientistQuality Control Analyst
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common majorChemistryBiology
Most common collegeDuke UniversityStanford University

Principal scientist vs quality control analyst demographics

Here are the differences between principal scientists' and quality control analysts' demographics:

Principal ScientistQuality Control Analyst
Average age4138
Gender ratioMale, 76.8% Female, 23.2%Male, 45.7% Female, 54.3%
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, 9.5% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 12.8% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between principal scientist and quality control analyst 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.
  • Show more

Quality control analyst example responsibilities.

  • SAP, Trackwise and outlook manage.
  • Approve QC laboratory data ensuring correct GLP and GMP guidelines are follow and validate procedures are utilize.
  • Train and assist junior chemist to ensure completion of all testing on HPLC, GC, and UPLC.
  • Detect unknown concentrations of metals and toluene in waste water by AA and GC with purge and trap attachments.
  • Contract for environmental monitoring need to qualify facilities for GMP operations.
  • Monitor, calibrate and troubleshoot laboratory equipment to ensure proper compliance with procedures and accuracy of test results.
  • Show more

Principal scientist vs quality control analyst skills

Common principal scientist skills
  • Oncology, 7%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • Drug Discovery, 5%
  • GMP, 3%
  • Experimental Design, 3%
  • Clinical Trials, 3%
Common quality control analyst skills
  • QC, 13%
  • Lab Equipment, 5%
  • Microbiology, 4%
  • Test Methods, 4%
  • HPLC, 3%
  • FDA, 3%

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