Principle investigator vs postdoctoral associate

The differences between principle investigators and postdoctoral associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a principle investigator and a postdoctoral associate. Additionally, a principle investigator has an average salary of $78,325, which is higher than the $54,350 average annual salary of a postdoctoral associate.

The top three skills for a principle investigator include GPS, data collection and PI. The most important skills for a postdoctoral associate are patients, TIP, and data analysis.

Principle investigator vs postdoctoral associate overview

	Principle Investigator	Postdoctoral Associate
Yearly salary	$78,325	$54,350
Hourly rate	$37.66	$26.13
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	5,554	18,093
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Doctoral Degree, 47%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

Principle investigator vs postdoctoral associate salary

Principle investigators and postdoctoral associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Principle Investigator	Postdoctoral Associate
Average salary	$78,325	$54,350
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $133,000	Between $39,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	-	Berkeley, CA
Highest paying state	-	Maine
Best paying company	-	Argonne National Laboratory
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between principle investigator and postdoctoral associate education

There are a few differences between a principle investigator and a postdoctoral associate in terms of educational background:

	Principle Investigator	Postdoctoral Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Doctoral Degree, 47%
Most common major	Psychology	Chemistry
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Principle investigator vs postdoctoral associate demographics

Here are the differences between principle investigators' and postdoctoral associates' demographics:

	Principle Investigator	Postdoctoral Associate
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 49.9% Female, 50.1%	Male, 63.2% Female, 36.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 26.5% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 39.4% White, 42.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between principle investigator and postdoctoral associate duties and responsibilities

Principle investigator example responsibilities.

Manage outsource projects, and interact with vendors for API sourcing, and device components base on project needs.
Promote to perform sequence analysis and identify target primer sites for the development of PCR assays for bacterial species.
Synthesize and analyze experimental data using IBM SPSS.
Investigate the toxicology and efficacy of bioresorbable, polymer-base medical devices and extend release drug delivery system.
Supervise activities of analytical cellular and molecular immunology laboratories.
Supervise activities of analytical cellular and molecular immunology laboratories.

Postdoctoral associate example responsibilities.

Develop and manage third party claim investigations and contractor remedial oversight for various insurance companies.
Co-Authore NIH grant proposal on membrane protein folding.
Participate in writing research grant applications including NIH and NSF.
X-ray protein crystallographic studies on the structures of antibodies and DNA.
Purify DNA from subject blood samples and organize the genome screen.
Complete mice handling training and currently using CRISPR technology to knockout genes in cell lines.

Principle investigator vs postdoctoral associate skills

Common principle investigator skills

GPS, 9%
Data Collection, 8%
PI, 8%
Literature Reviews, 8%
Data Analysis, 6%
Research Projects, 5%

Common postdoctoral associate skills

Patients, 8%
TIP, 7%
Data Analysis, 6%
Biomedical, 5%
CRISPR, 5%
Python, 4%

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Principle Investigator
Principle Investigator vs Postdoctoral Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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