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The differences between senior environmental scientists and senior scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a senior environmental scientist, becoming a senior scientist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a senior scientist has an average salary of $106,672, which is higher than the $82,812 average annual salary of a senior environmental scientist.
The top three skills for a senior environmental scientist include environmental compliance, oversight and project management. The most important skills for a senior scientist are patients, data analysis, and molecular biology.
| Senior Environmental Scientist | Senior Scientist | |
| Yearly salary | $82,812 | $106,672 |
| Hourly rate | $39.81 | $51.28 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 56,184 | 49,712 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 39 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A senior environmental scientist specializes in conducting studies to identify environmental problems and develop solutions to improve its condition. The daily responsibilities of a senior environmental scientist often depend on their place of employment. Still, they typically include performing research and analysis, conducting observations and interviews, gathering samples, preparing documentation, and spearheading laboratory experiments and procedures. Through their research findings, they must produce reports and presentations along with appropriate recommendations. Furthermore, as a senior scientist, it is essential to lead and serve as a mentor to junior scientists while enforcing the company's policies and regulations.
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.
Senior environmental scientists and senior scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Environmental Scientist | Senior Scientist | |
| Average salary | $82,812 | $106,672 |
| Salary range | Between $60,000 And $113,000 | Between $74,000 And $153,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Technip USA Corporation | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a senior environmental scientist and a senior scientist in terms of educational background:
| Senior Environmental Scientist | Senior Scientist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Environmental Science | Chemistry |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Duke University |
Here are the differences between senior environmental scientists' and senior scientists' demographics:
| Senior Environmental Scientist | Senior Scientist | |
| Average age | 39 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 69.4% Female, 30.6% | Male, 70.1% Female, 29.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 6.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 81.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | 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 | 16% | 8% |