Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between researchers and 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 researcher and a research fellow. Additionally, a researcher has an average salary of $67,145, which is higher than the $53,823 average annual salary of a research fellow.
The top three skills for a researcher include python, lab equipment and C++. The most important skills for a research fellow are patients, research projects, and data analysis.
| Researcher | Research Fellow | |
| Yearly salary | $67,145 | $53,823 |
| Hourly rate | $32.28 | $25.88 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 30,498 | 59,746 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A researcher is responsible for collating, organizing, and verifying necessary information for a specific subject. Researchers' duties include analyzing data, gathering and comparing resources, ensuring facts, sharing findings with the whole research team, adhering to required methodologies, performing fieldwork as needed, and keeping critical information confidential. Researchers must be knowledgeable about the current market trends and align findings with the research goals. A researcher must show strong communication skills, as well as strong attention to detail and time-management skills to meet deadlines under minimal supervision.
A research fellow is an academic researcher who conducts research and analysis of comprehensive literature, data, and results and provides literature reviews. He/She supervises research assistants and recruits study participants to interview them for a particular study. To become a research fellow, a candidate should have a doctorate in a relevant discipline and publish peer-reviewed papers. Also, a research fellow can be an independent investigator or be supervised by a principal investigator.
Researchers and research fellows have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Researcher | Research Fellow | |
| Average salary | $67,145 | $53,823 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $119,000 | Between $39,000 And $72,000 |
| Highest paying City | Newark, NJ | South San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Renaissance Learning | McKinsey & Company Inc |
| Best paying industry | - | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between a researcher and a research fellow in terms of educational background:
| Researcher | Research Fellow | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Biology | Chemistry |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | Duke University |
Here are the differences between researchers' and research fellows' demographics:
| Researcher | Research Fellow | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.9% Female, 49.1% | Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 27.1% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |