Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between scientists and senior scientists 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 scientist. Additionally, a senior scientist has an average salary of $106,672, which is higher than the $97,344 average annual salary of a scientist.
The top three skills for a scientist include chemistry, data analysis and patients. The most important skills for a senior scientist are patients, data analysis, and molecular biology.
| Scientist | Senior Scientist | |
| Yearly salary | $97,344 | $106,672 |
| Hourly rate | $46.80 | $51.28 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 62,467 | 49,712 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A senior scientist is usually in charge of overseeing experiments and evaluating junior scientists' performance, especially in laboratory settings. Moreover, it is also their responsibility to assess every progress report to ensure it's accuracy and validity. As a senior scientist in the field, it is essential to lead and encourage fellow scientists in their joint pursuit for scientific innovations, all while adhering to the laboratory's standards and policies.
Scientists and senior scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Scientist | Senior Scientist | |
| Average salary | $97,344 | $106,672 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $140,000 | Between $74,000 And $153,000 |
| Highest paying City | Redwood City, CA | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a scientist and a senior scientist in terms of educational background:
| Scientist | Senior Scientist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | Duke University |
Here are the differences between scientists' and senior scientists' demographics:
| Scientist | Senior Scientist | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1% | Male, 70.1% Female, 29.9% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 26.9% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |