Principle investigator vs senior research fellow

The differences between principle investigators 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 principle investigator and a senior research fellow. Additionally, a principle investigator has an average salary of $78,325, which is higher than the $62,129 average annual salary of a senior research fellow.

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

Principle investigator vs senior research fellow overview

	Principle Investigator	Senior Research Fellow
Yearly salary	$78,325	$62,129
Hourly rate	$37.66	$29.87
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	5,554	53,535
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

Principle investigator vs senior research fellow salary

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

	Principle Investigator	Senior Research Fellow
Average salary	$78,325	$62,129
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $133,000	Between $40,000 And $95,000
Highest paying City	-	Urban Honolulu, HI
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	Google
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between principle investigator and senior research fellow education

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

	Principle Investigator	Senior Research Fellow
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Psychology	Chemistry
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Principle investigator vs senior research fellow demographics

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

	Principle Investigator	Senior Research Fellow
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 49.9% Female, 50.1%	Male, 56.1% Female, 43.9%
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, 6.2% 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 principle investigator and senior 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.

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.

Principle investigator vs senior research fellow skills

Common principle investigator skills

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

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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Principle Investigator vs Senior Research Fellow

Updated January 8, 2025

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