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Research scientist lead vs postdoctoral associate

The differences between research scientist leads 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 scientist lead and a postdoctoral associate. Additionally, a research scientist lead has an average salary of $102,713, which is higher than the $54,350 average annual salary of a postdoctoral associate.

The top three skills for a research scientist lead include research projects, R and artificial intelligence. The most important skills for a postdoctoral associate are patients, TIP, and data analysis.

Research scientist lead vs postdoctoral associate overview

Research Scientist LeadPostdoctoral Associate
Yearly salary$102,713$54,350
Hourly rate$49.38$26.13
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs86,79218,093
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 55%Doctoral Degree, 47%
Average age4141
Years of experience44

Research scientist lead vs postdoctoral associate salary

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

Research Scientist LeadPostdoctoral Associate
Average salary$102,713$54,350
Salary rangeBetween $68,000 And $155,000Between $39,000 And $74,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CABerkeley, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaMaine
Best paying companyGoogleArgonne National Laboratory
Best paying industryProfessionalEducation

Differences between research scientist lead and postdoctoral associate education

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

Research Scientist LeadPostdoctoral Associate
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 55%Doctoral Degree, 47%
Most common majorChemistryChemistry
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

Research scientist lead vs postdoctoral associate demographics

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

Research Scientist LeadPostdoctoral Associate
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 68.8% Female, 31.2%Male, 63.2% Female, 36.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 26.4% White, 53.4% 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 scientist lead and postdoctoral associate duties and responsibilities

Research scientist lead example responsibilities.

  • Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
  • Develop, validate and implement robust methods for pharmacokinetic, immunogenicity (ADA) and immunodepletion ELISAs, and cell based-bioassays.
  • Develop, validate and implement robust methods for pharmacokinetic, immunogenicity (ADA) and immunodepletion ELISAs, and cell based-bioassays.

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.
  • Show more

Research scientist lead vs postdoctoral associate skills

Common research scientist lead skills
  • Research Projects, 18%
  • R, 8%
  • Artificial Intelligence, 8%
  • Data Analysis, 8%
  • Statistical Analysis, 6%
  • Business Development, 5%
Common postdoctoral associate skills
  • Patients, 8%
  • TIP, 7%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • Biomedical, 5%
  • CRISPR, 5%
  • Python, 4%

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