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Senior development scientist vs postdoctoral associate

The differences between senior development scientists and postdoctoral associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a senior development scientist and a postdoctoral associate. Additionally, a senior development scientist has an average salary of $102,262, which is higher than the $54,350 average annual salary of a postdoctoral associate.

The top three skills for a senior development scientist include GMP, data analysis and technical reports. The most important skills for a postdoctoral associate are patients, TIP, and data analysis.

Senior development scientist vs postdoctoral associate overview

Senior Development ScientistPostdoctoral Associate
Yearly salary$102,262$54,350
Hourly rate$49.16$26.13
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs93,48118,093
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 56%Doctoral Degree, 47%
Average age4141
Years of experience44

What does a senior development scientist do?

The job of a senior development scientist revolves around product development, ensuring that the product will pass every stage of the process from design to delivery. You will oversee and guide the product development team in designing and testing new products and collecting and analyzing data needed for product release. As the senior product development scientist, you are expected to uphold all rules and regulations during production and development and ensure staff members adhere to safety protocols. You will also work closely with other departments, such as quality assurance and external consultants.

What does a postdoctoral associate do?

A postdoctoral associate is responsible for researching to support scientific claims and theories by collecting evidence and information to answer scientific questions. Postdoctoral associates must have excellent communication skills, both oral and written, to interact with people and document investigation findings. They also utilize laboratory tools and equipment for scientific researches, conduct field investigations, and interview participants. A postdoctoral associate designs comprehensive research models to discuss results with the panel and the team efficiently and accurately.

Senior development scientist vs postdoctoral associate salary

Senior development scientists and postdoctoral associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Development ScientistPostdoctoral Associate
Average salary$102,262$54,350
Salary rangeBetween $74,000 And $140,000Between $39,000 And $74,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CABerkeley, CA
Highest paying stateTennesseeMaine
Best paying companyAmazonArgonne National Laboratory
Best paying industryPharmaceuticalEducation

Differences between senior development scientist and postdoctoral associate education

There are a few differences between a senior development scientist and a postdoctoral associate in terms of educational background:

Senior Development ScientistPostdoctoral Associate
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 56%Doctoral Degree, 47%
Most common majorChemistryChemistry
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaDuke University

Senior development scientist vs postdoctoral associate demographics

Here are the differences between senior development scientists' and postdoctoral associates' demographics:

Senior Development ScientistPostdoctoral Associate
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 71.7% Female, 28.3%Male, 63.2% Female, 36.8%
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, 5.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 39.4% White, 42.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between senior development scientist and postdoctoral associate duties and responsibilities

Senior development scientist example responsibilities.

  • Manage method validations and sample analysis for pre-clinical GLP studies.
  • Lead solvates diversity study of API to understand the mechanism of rejecting impurities by crystallization.
  • Manage formulating, packaging, distribution and QC of the PDAR, AoD and ABD product line in manufacturing environment.
  • Lead development of ELISA microplate assay for Cardiolipin antibodies
  • Work with quality department during production runs; assist QC with in-process HPLC.
  • Prepare regulatory submission package (CMC section) including reference standard, drug substance characterization and impurity characterization.
  • Show more

Postdoctoral associate example responsibilities.

  • Develop and manage third party claim investigations and contractor remedial oversight for various insurance companies.
  • Co-Authore NIH grant proposal on membrane protein folding.
  • Participate in writing research grant applications including NIH and NSF.
  • X-ray protein crystallographic studies on the structures of antibodies and DNA.
  • Purify DNA from subject blood samples and organize the genome screen.
  • Complete mice handling training and currently using CRISPR technology to knockout genes in cell lines.
  • Show more

Senior development scientist vs postdoctoral associate skills

Common senior development scientist skills
  • GMP, 8%
  • Data Analysis, 8%
  • Technical Reports, 5%
  • Analytical Methods, 5%
  • Method Development, 4%
  • Assay Development, 3%
Common postdoctoral associate skills
  • Patients, 8%
  • TIP, 7%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • Biomedical, 5%
  • CRISPR, 5%
  • Python, 4%

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