Research fellow vs research laboratory technician

The differences between research fellows and research laboratory technicians 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 fellow and a research laboratory technician. Additionally, a research fellow has an average salary of $53,823, which is higher than the $38,308 average annual salary of a research laboratory technician.

The top three skills for a research fellow include patients, research projects and data analysis. The most important skills for a research laboratory technician are patients, chemistry, and laboratory equipment.

Research fellow vs research laboratory technician overview

	Research Fellow	Research Laboratory Technician
Yearly salary	$53,823	$38,308
Hourly rate	$25.88	$18.42
Growth rate	17%	9%
Number of jobs	59,746	86,476
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	41	40
Years of experience	4	4

What does a research fellow do?

A research fellow is an academic researcher who conducts research and analysis of comprehensive literature, data, and results and provides literature reviews. He/She supervises research assistants and recruits study participants to interview them for a particular study. To become a research fellow, a candidate should have a doctorate in a relevant discipline and publish peer-reviewed papers. Also, a research fellow can be an independent investigator or be supervised by a principal investigator.

What does a research laboratory technician do?

Research laboratory technicians play a vital role in scientific laboratories. They perform varied duties and responsibilities, which include setting up, operating, and maintaining the laboratory equipment, assisting in laboratory-based research activities such as sampling, testing, and analyzing results, and providing technical support to the laboratory team members. In addition, they are expected to support the development and advancement of science and modern medicine. Other typical duties of research laboratory technicians include preparing samples and specimens, keeping abreast with current technical developments, and ensuring strict compliance with safety procedures.

Research fellow vs research laboratory technician salary

Research fellows and research laboratory technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Research Fellow	Research Laboratory Technician
Average salary	$53,823	$38,308
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $72,000	Between $30,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	South San Francisco, CA	Chicago, IL
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Illinois
Best paying company	McKinsey & Company Inc	Accenture
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Manufacturing

Differences between research fellow and research laboratory technician education

There are a few differences between a research fellow and a research laboratory technician in terms of educational background:

	Research Fellow	Research Laboratory Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Chemistry	Biology
Most common college	Duke University	Cornell University

Research fellow vs research laboratory technician demographics

Here are the differences between research fellows' and research laboratory technicians' demographics:

	Research Fellow	Research Laboratory Technician
Average age	41	40
Gender ratio	Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7%	Male, 49.0% Female, 51.0%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.5% Asian, 15.7% White, 49.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	6%

Differences between research fellow and research laboratory technician duties and responsibilities

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.

Research laboratory technician example responsibilities.

Manage RT-PCR screening of candidate genes.
Manage the development of innovative visualization and concept mapping of contest environment analysis challenges and analyst skill sets.
Use many scientific techniques to collect and analyze RNA, DNA, and specific proteins from lines of potato plants.
Preform computational molecular simulation of DNA and RNA.
Retain patients from previous research projects and update database using patient histories and correlating pertinent medical data.
Work with non human primates in an HIV testing laboratory.

Research fellow vs research laboratory technician skills

Common research fellow skills

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

Common research laboratory technician skills

Patients, 9%
Chemistry, 7%
Laboratory Equipment, 7%
Cell Culture, 5%
Research Data, 4%
Research Projects, 4%

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Research Fellow
Research Fellow vs Research Laboratory Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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