Research staff member vs research laboratory technician

The differences between research staff members 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 staff member and a research laboratory technician. Additionally, a research staff member has an average salary of $110,035, which is higher than the $38,308 average annual salary of a research laboratory technician.

The top three skills for a research staff member include python, machine learning and research projects. The most important skills for a research laboratory technician are patients, chemistry, and laboratory equipment.

Research staff member vs research laboratory technician overview

	Research Staff Member	Research Laboratory Technician
Yearly salary	$110,035	$38,308
Hourly rate	$52.90	$18.42
Growth rate	17%	9%
Number of jobs	118,661	86,476
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	41	40
Years of experience	4	4

What does a research staff member do?

A Research Staff Member is a part of the research team who will assist in the entire research project. The staff member will work on various research stages and assist in collating information from different sources. One of the research staff members' responsibilities is to understand all facets of conducting research, get all government policies regarding the particular topic in research, and ensure that all procedures are legal and ethical. The research staff member is a broad term for a person part of a research team and is often given specific tasks when one is officially part of the team.

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 staff member vs research laboratory technician salary

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

	Research Staff Member	Research Laboratory Technician
Average salary	$110,035	$38,308
Salary range	Between $77,000 And $156,000	Between $30,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Chicago, IL
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Illinois
Best paying company	PARC	Accenture
Best paying industry	Technology	Manufacturing

Differences between research staff member and research laboratory technician education

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

	Research Staff Member	Research Laboratory Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Biology
Most common college	Duke University	Cornell University

Research staff member vs research laboratory technician demographics

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

	Research Staff Member	Research Laboratory Technician
Average age	41	40
Gender ratio	Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1%	Male, 49.0% Female, 51.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 26.2% White, 53.1% 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 staff member and research laboratory technician duties and responsibilities

Research staff member example responsibilities.

Invent and develop new (user) input technology then lead the design and prototyping of its applications.
Design, analyze, and oversee HIV relate research projects including IRB protocol.
Perform testing for urinalysis, blood sugar, EKG, eye examinations, and blood pressure.
Prove that single amino acid changes affect protein oligomerization as well as DNA / RNA - protein binding.
Develop advance visualization components and diagrams using C++ third party libraries.
Research chemistry and biology projects pertaining to the synthesis of gamma amino derivatives

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 staff member vs research laboratory technician skills

Common research staff member skills

Python, 17%
Machine Learning, 14%
Research Projects, 6%
DOE, 6%
Data Analysis, 5%
Java, 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 Staff Member vs Research Laboratory Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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