Research staff member vs senior research fellow

The differences between research staff members and senior research fellows 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 senior research fellow. Additionally, a research staff member has an average salary of $110,035, which is higher than the $62,129 average annual salary of a senior research fellow.

The top three skills for a research staff member include python, machine learning and research projects. The most important skills for a senior research fellow are python, research projects, and data analysis.

Research staff member vs senior research fellow overview

	Research Staff Member	Senior Research Fellow
Yearly salary	$110,035	$62,129
Hourly rate	$52.90	$29.87
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	118,661	53,535
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	41	41
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 senior research fellow do?

Senior Research Fellows are reputable researchers employed in an academic institution or a research facility. The nature of their employment in the institution is related to their research work or field of interest. Senior Research Fellows lead a team of researchers on big projects that require more team members. They manage the team's budget, set timelines, and guide the researchers. They spearhead the analysis of the data gathered. They also set the tone for the presentation materials. Senior Research Fellows should be passionate about their field, should have a thirst for knowledge, and should be able to lead teams.

Research staff member vs senior research fellow salary

Research staff members and senior research fellows have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Research Staff Member	Senior Research Fellow
Average salary	$110,035	$62,129
Salary range	Between $77,000 And $156,000	Between $40,000 And $95,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Urban Honolulu, HI
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Hawaii
Best paying company	PARC	Google
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between research staff member and senior research fellow education

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

	Research Staff Member	Senior Research Fellow
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Chemistry
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Research staff member vs senior research fellow demographics

Here are the differences between research staff members' and senior research fellows' demographics:

	Research Staff Member	Senior Research Fellow
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1%	Male, 56.1% Female, 43.9%
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, 6.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 26.5% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between research staff member and senior research fellow 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

Senior research fellow example responsibilities.

Lead a project aim at improving DNA yields from various soil types in Dr. Connell's lab.
Manage grant base research and submit the grant proposal to ICAR and get approved for fund research.
Mentore a graduate student on the following topics: study design, literature reviews, drafting data plans and SAS.
Contribute to the creation of new markup standards for scholarship in the humanities.
Research unidentify payments and patients.
Conduct long-term observations of grind water dynamics and chemistry.

Research staff member vs senior research fellow skills

Common research staff member skills

Python, 17%
Machine Learning, 14%
Research Projects, 6%
DOE, 6%
Data Analysis, 5%
Java, 4%

Common senior research fellow skills

Python, 12%
Research Projects, 8%
Data Analysis, 6%
C++, 6%
Research Findings, 5%
Data Collection, 4%

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Research Staff Member vs Senior Research Fellow

Updated January 8, 2025

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