Research group director vs staff scientist

The differences between research group directors and staff 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 group director and a staff scientist. Additionally, a research group director has an average salary of $97,758, which is higher than the $93,941 average annual salary of a staff scientist.

The top three skills for a research group director include research projects, R and market research. The most important skills for a staff scientist are data analysis, research projects, and molecular biology.

Research group director vs staff scientist overview

	Research Group Director	Staff Scientist
Yearly salary	$97,758	$93,941
Hourly rate	$47.00	$45.16
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	60,130	121,054
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

Research group director vs staff scientist salary

Research group directors and staff scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Research Group Director	Staff Scientist
Average salary	$97,758	$93,941
Salary range	Between $59,000 And $160,000	Between $63,000 And $137,000
Highest paying City	-	Redwood City, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Etsy
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between research group director and staff scientist education

There are a few differences between a research group director and a staff scientist in terms of educational background:

	Research Group Director	Staff Scientist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Research group director vs staff scientist demographics

Here are the differences between research group directors' and staff scientists' demographics:

	Research Group Director	Staff Scientist
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 56.5% Female, 43.5%	Male, 67.8% Female, 32.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.3% 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, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between research group director and staff scientist duties and responsibilities

Research group director example responsibilities.

Lead social path-to-purchase study, incorporating social media analytics into insight community to identify spectrum of social engagement among customers.
Develop a license plate recognition and tracking algorithm using MATLAB.
Design a moving JPEG hardware accelerator using MATLAB and Simulink.
Develop and modify Linux device drivers for use on main controller platform.
Present results, observations and future plans via PowerPoint to the research class
Research into novel method for production of gold nanoparticles with tailorable size and shape.

Staff scientist example responsibilities.

Lead efforts to replace a critical radioactive immunoassay with a non-radioactive format to measure clinical samples.
Manage clinical sample testing using MSD and ELISA in LIMS, including data review and approval using LIMS.
Assist in managing and maintenance of HPLC and Prep-HPLC systems to ensure maximum productivity for the process development group.
Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
Assist with RNA and DNA extractions from FFPE tissue and blood.
Supervise temps performing HPLC assays and validations during development and production campaigns under GMP conditions.

Research group director vs staff scientist skills

Common research group director skills

Research Projects, 48%
R, 18%
Market Research, 6%
Laboratory Procedures, 6%
Clinical Trials, 5%
MATLAB, 5%

Common staff scientist skills

Data Analysis, 9%
Research Projects, 7%
Molecular Biology, 5%
Next-Generation Sequencing, 4%
Statistical Analysis, 4%
RNA, 4%

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Research Group Director
Research Group Director vs Staff Scientist

Updated January 8, 2025

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