Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between research fellows and research scientists 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 scientist. Additionally, a research scientist has an average salary of $89,998, which is higher than the $53,823 average annual salary of a research fellow.
The top three skills for a research fellow include patients, research projects and data analysis. The most important skills for a research scientist are python, data analysis, and patients.
| Research Fellow | Research Scientist | |
| Yearly salary | $53,823 | $89,998 |
| Hourly rate | $25.88 | $43.27 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 59,746 | 93,013 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
The job of research scientists is to design, undertake, and analyze information from experiments, trials, and laboratory-based investigations. They usually perform experiments in different areas, including medical research, pharmacology, and geoscience. They have varied duties and responsibilities that include planning and carrying out experiments, conducting fieldwork, and overseeing junior staff members like the technicians. They are typically working for a government laboratory, an environmental agency, and other organizations. Many of these scientists also work in teams and support staff.
Research fellows and research scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Research Fellow | Research Scientist | |
| Average salary | $53,823 | $89,998 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $72,000 | Between $58,000 And $137,000 |
| Highest paying City | South San Francisco, CA | Menlo Park, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | California |
| Best paying company | McKinsey & Company Inc | Lyft |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | - |
There are a few differences between a research fellow and a research scientist in terms of educational background:
| Research Fellow | Research Scientist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Most common college | Duke University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between research fellows' and research scientists' demographics:
| Research Fellow | Research Scientist | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7% | Male, 62.5% Female, 37.5% |
| 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, 6.2% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 29.6% White, 50.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |