Principal scientist vs senior research fellow

The differences between principal scientists and senior research 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 principal scientist and a senior research fellow. Additionally, a principal scientist has an average salary of $119,982, which is higher than the $62,129 average annual salary of a senior research fellow.

The top three skills for a principal scientist include oncology, data analysis and drug discovery. The most important skills for a senior research fellow are python, research projects, and data analysis.

Principal scientist vs senior research fellow overview

	Principal Scientist	Senior Research Fellow
Yearly salary	$119,982	$62,129
Hourly rate	$57.68	$29.87
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	80,899	53,535
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

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 senior research fellow do?

Senior Research Fellows are reputable researchers employed in an academic institution or a research facility. The nature of their employment in the institution is related to their research work or field of interest. Senior Research Fellows lead a team of researchers on big projects that require more team members. They manage the team's budget, set timelines, and guide the researchers. They spearhead the analysis of the data gathered. They also set the tone for the presentation materials. Senior Research Fellows should be passionate about their field, should have a thirst for knowledge, and should be able to lead teams.

Principal scientist vs senior research fellow salary

Principal scientists and senior research fellows have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Principal Scientist	Senior Research Fellow
Average salary	$119,982	$62,129
Salary range	Between $84,000 And $169,000	Between $40,000 And $95,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Urban Honolulu, HI
Highest paying state	California	Hawaii
Best paying company	PayPal	Google
Best paying industry	Finance	-

Differences between principal scientist and senior research fellow education

There are a few differences between a principal scientist and a senior research fellow in terms of educational background:

	Principal Scientist	Senior Research Fellow
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Principal scientist vs senior research fellow demographics

Here are the differences between principal scientists' and senior research fellows' demographics:

	Principal Scientist	Senior Research Fellow
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 76.8% Female, 23.2%	Male, 56.1% Female, 43.9%
Race ratio	Black 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, 6.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 26.5% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between principal scientist and senior research fellow 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.

Senior research fellow example responsibilities.

Lead a project aim at improving DNA yields from various soil types in Dr. Connell's lab.
Manage grant base research and submit the grant proposal to ICAR and get approved for fund research.
Mentore a graduate student on the following topics: study design, literature reviews, drafting data plans and SAS.
Contribute to the creation of new markup standards for scholarship in the humanities.
Research unidentify payments and patients.
Conduct long-term observations of grind water dynamics and chemistry.

Principal scientist vs senior research fellow skills

Common principal scientist skills

Oncology, 7%
Data Analysis, 6%
Drug Discovery, 5%
GMP, 3%
Experimental Design, 3%
Clinical Trials, 3%

Common senior research fellow skills

Python, 12%
Research Projects, 8%
Data Analysis, 6%
C++, 6%
Research Findings, 5%
Data Collection, 4%

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Principal Scientist vs Senior Research Fellow

Updated January 8, 2025

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