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Principal scientist vs staff scientist

The differences between principal scientists and staff 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 principal scientist and a staff scientist. Additionally, a principal scientist has an average salary of $119,982, which is higher than the $93,941 average annual salary of a staff scientist.

The top three skills for a principal scientist include oncology, data analysis and drug discovery. The most important skills for a staff scientist are data analysis, research projects, and molecular biology.

Principal scientist vs staff scientist overview

Principal ScientistStaff Scientist
Yearly salary$119,982$93,941
Hourly rate$57.68$45.16
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs80,899121,054
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
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 staff scientist do?

The primary role of a Staff Scientist is to develop and manage scientific research projects with minimal supervision. They are also responsible for the technical and budgetary aspects of scientific research projects.

Principal scientist vs staff scientist salary

Principal scientists and staff scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Principal ScientistStaff Scientist
Average salary$119,982$93,941
Salary rangeBetween $84,000 And $169,000Between $63,000 And $137,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CARedwood City, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyPayPalEtsy
Best paying industryFinanceTechnology

Differences between principal scientist and staff scientist education

There are a few differences between a principal scientist and a staff scientist in terms of educational background:

Principal ScientistStaff Scientist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common majorChemistryChemistry
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

Principal scientist vs staff scientist demographics

Here are the differences between principal scientists' and staff scientists' demographics:

Principal ScientistStaff Scientist
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 76.8% Female, 23.2%Male, 67.8% Female, 32.2%
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, 6.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 26.5% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between principal scientist and staff scientist 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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Staff scientist example responsibilities.

  • Lead efforts to replace a critical radioactive immunoassay with a non-radioactive format to measure clinical samples.
  • Manage clinical sample testing using MSD and ELISA in LIMS, including data review and approval using LIMS.
  • Assist in managing and maintenance of HPLC and Prep-HPLC systems to ensure maximum productivity for the process development group.
  • Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
  • Assist with RNA and DNA extractions from FFPE tissue and blood.
  • Supervise temps performing HPLC assays and validations during development and production campaigns under GMP conditions.
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Principal scientist vs staff scientist skills

Common principal scientist skills
  • Oncology, 7%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • Drug Discovery, 5%
  • GMP, 3%
  • Experimental Design, 3%
  • Clinical Trials, 3%
Common staff scientist skills
  • Data Analysis, 9%
  • Research Projects, 7%
  • Molecular Biology, 5%
  • Next-Generation Sequencing, 4%
  • Statistical Analysis, 4%
  • RNA, 4%

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