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The differences between research scientists and data 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 scientist and a data scientist. Additionally, a data scientist has an average salary of $106,104, which is higher than the $89,998 average annual salary of a research scientist.
The top three skills for a research scientist include python, data analysis and patients. The most important skills for a data scientist are python, data science, and visualization.
| Research Scientist | Data Scientist | |
| Yearly salary | $89,998 | $106,104 |
| Hourly rate | $43.27 | $51.01 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 93,013 | 106,973 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A Data Scientist analyzes information from multiple sources in order to gain maximum insight that can give the company a competitive advantage. They work in different domains, including manufacturing, healthcare, education, and finance.
Research scientists and data scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Research Scientist | Data Scientist | |
| Average salary | $89,998 | $106,104 |
| Salary range | Between $58,000 And $137,000 | Between $75,000 And $148,000 |
| Highest paying City | Menlo Park, CA | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Lyft | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | - | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a research scientist and a data scientist in terms of educational background:
| Research Scientist | Data Scientist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Chemistry | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Duke University | Columbia University in the City of New York |
Here are the differences between research scientists' and data scientists' demographics:
| Research Scientist | Data Scientist | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.5% Female, 37.5% | Male, 79.6% Female, 20.4% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 6.9% Asian, 18.8% White, 64.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 9% |