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Research biochemist vs postdoctoral associate

The differences between research biochemists 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 research biochemist and a postdoctoral associate. Additionally, a research biochemist has an average salary of $76,649, which is higher than the $54,350 average annual salary of a postdoctoral associate.

The top three skills for a research biochemist include assay development, protein analysis and R. The most important skills for a postdoctoral associate are patients, TIP, and data analysis.

Research biochemist vs postdoctoral associate overview

Research BiochemistPostdoctoral Associate
Yearly salary$76,649$54,350
Hourly rate$36.85$26.13
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs49,89118,093
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Doctoral Degree, 47%
Average age4141
Years of experience44

Research biochemist vs postdoctoral associate salary

Research biochemists and postdoctoral associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

Research BiochemistPostdoctoral Associate
Average salary$76,649$54,350
Salary rangeBetween $53,000 And $110,000Between $39,000 And $74,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CABerkeley, CA
Highest paying stateHawaiiMaine
Best paying companyAbbottArgonne National Laboratory
Best paying industryPharmaceuticalEducation

Differences between research biochemist and postdoctoral associate education

There are a few differences between a research biochemist and a postdoctoral associate in terms of educational background:

Research BiochemistPostdoctoral Associate
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Doctoral Degree, 47%
Most common majorBiologyChemistry
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaDuke University

Research biochemist vs postdoctoral associate demographics

Here are the differences between research biochemists' and postdoctoral associates' demographics:

Research BiochemistPostdoctoral Associate
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 56.0% Female, 44.0%Male, 63.2% Female, 36.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 26.2% White, 53.1% 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 Percentage8%8%

Differences between research biochemist and postdoctoral associate duties and responsibilities

Research biochemist example responsibilities.

  • Manage the development of innovative visualization and concept mapping of contest environment analysis challenges and analyst skill sets.
  • Develop, validate and implement biochemical, enzyme, ELISA and cell-base assays as primary and secondary screening assays.
  • Investigate DNA / protein homologies between species using DNA analysis software.
  • Schedule GMP activity and coordinate testing and cleaning of the area.
  • Develop and design new cleaning procedures and execute them for GMP equipment.
  • Coordinate IQ/OQ/PQ testing for new equipment and maintenance of PQ testing as per FDA guidelines.
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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.
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Research biochemist vs postdoctoral associate skills

Common research biochemist skills
  • Assay Development, 16%
  • Protein Analysis, 12%
  • R, 5%
  • Research Projects, 5%
  • HPLC, 5%
  • Data Analysis, 3%
Common postdoctoral associate skills
  • Patients, 8%
  • TIP, 7%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • Biomedical, 5%
  • CRISPR, 5%
  • Python, 4%

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