Principle investigator vs research fellow

The differences between principle investigators and 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 principle investigator and a research fellow. Additionally, a principle investigator has an average salary of $78,325, which is higher than the $53,823 average annual salary of a research fellow.

The top three skills for a principle investigator include GPS, data collection and PI. The most important skills for a research fellow are patients, research projects, and data analysis.

Principle investigator vs research fellow overview

	Principle Investigator	Research Fellow
Yearly salary	$78,325	$53,823
Hourly rate	$37.66	$25.88
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	5,554	59,746
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

Principle investigator vs research fellow salary

Principle investigators and research fellows have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Principle Investigator	Research Fellow
Average salary	$78,325	$53,823
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $133,000	Between $39,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	-	South San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	McKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industry	-	Non Profits

Differences between principle investigator and research fellow education

There are a few differences between a principle investigator and a research fellow in terms of educational background:

	Principle Investigator	Research Fellow
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Psychology	Chemistry
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Principle investigator vs research fellow demographics

Here are the differences between principle investigators' and research fellows' demographics:

	Principle Investigator	Research Fellow
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 49.9% Female, 50.1%	Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7%
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, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 27.1% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between principle investigator and research fellow 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.

Research fellow example responsibilities.

Collaborate with software engineers to automate identification of 15N- and 13C- labele LC-MS features.
Process and manage GIS databases to contribute towards research in human transportation behavior.
Manage investigator initiate and cooperative group correlative studies to identify biomarkers to ascertain tumor burden and clinical outcomes in lymphoma.
Analyze quantitative and qualitative data through statistical software SAS and SPSS.
Conduct sampling, PCR, data analysis and oral presentations of the work
Implement python and C++ codes for numerical computation of transport properties in models and materials.

Principle investigator vs research fellow skills

Common principle investigator skills

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

Common research fellow skills

Patients, 10%
Research Projects, 6%
Data Analysis, 5%
Cell Culture, 5%
Immunology, 4%
CRISPR, 4%

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Principle Investigator
Principle Investigator vs Research Fellow

Updated January 8, 2025

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