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Scientist vs senior research fellow

The differences between scientists 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 scientist and a senior research fellow. Additionally, a scientist has an average salary of $97,344, which is higher than the $62,129 average annual salary of a senior research fellow.

The top three skills for a scientist include chemistry, data analysis and patients. The most important skills for a senior research fellow are python, research projects, and data analysis.

Scientist vs senior research fellow overview

ScientistSenior Research Fellow
Yearly salary$97,344$62,129
Hourly rate$46.80$29.87
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs62,46753,535
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age4141
Years of experience44

What does a scientist do?

A scientist is responsible for researching and analyzing the nature and complexities of the physical world to identify discoveries that would improve people's lives and ignite scientific knowledge for society. Scientists' duties differ in their different areas of expertise, but all of them must have a broad comprehension of scientific disciplines and methods to support their experiments and investigations. They collect the sample for their research, record findings, create research proposals, and release publications. A scientist must know how to utilize laboratory equipment to support the study and drive results efficiently and accurately.

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.

Scientist vs senior research fellow salary

Scientists and senior research fellows have different pay scales, as shown below.

ScientistSenior Research Fellow
Average salary$97,344$62,129
Salary rangeBetween $67,000 And $140,000Between $40,000 And $95,000
Highest paying CityRedwood City, CAUrban Honolulu, HI
Highest paying stateCaliforniaHawaii
Best paying companyAirbnbGoogle
Best paying industryTechnology-

Differences between scientist and senior research fellow education

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

ScientistSenior Research Fellow
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common majorChemistryChemistry
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaDuke University

Scientist vs senior research fellow demographics

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

ScientistSenior Research Fellow
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 56.9% Female, 43.1%Male, 56.1% Female, 43.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.2% 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 Percentage8%8%

Differences between scientist and senior research fellow duties and responsibilities

Scientist example responsibilities.

  • Lead a cross-functional team to return an HIV combination product to market on random-access instrument.
  • Design the VERIS HIV-1 quantitative PCR assay which achieve Conformit Europ enne (CE) marking.
  • Manage an elemental analytical laboratory that include operating, maintaining and troubleshooting an ICP-OES, ICPMS, MXRF, and IC.
  • Develop and manage third party claim investigations and contractor remedial oversight for various insurance companies.
  • Manage study protocols and study conduct, intimately involve in the toxicology and pharmacokinetic study protocol development process.
  • Manage sample inventory via in-house laboratory information management system (LIMS) and implement additional systems for sample and chemical organization.
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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.
  • Show more

Scientist vs senior research fellow skills

Common scientist skills
  • Chemistry, 9%
  • Data Analysis, 7%
  • Patients, 7%
  • Molecular Biology, 4%
  • Cell Culture, 4%
  • Java, 3%
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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