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The differences between senior formulation scientists and medical science liaisons 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 formulation scientist and a medical science liaison. Additionally, a medical science liaison has an average salary of $145,718, which is higher than the $102,574 average annual salary of a senior formulation scientist.
The top three skills for a senior formulation scientist include dosage forms, scale-up and formulation development. The most important skills for a medical science liaison are patients, medical affairs, and MSL.
| Senior Formulation Scientist | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Yearly salary | $102,574 | $145,718 |
| Hourly rate | $49.31 | $70.06 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 48,668 | 57,208 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
As a senior formulation scientist, your main aim is to have clinical trials as well as to conduct some tests to compare the reaction of potential customers to that of your previous formulations. You need to design pre-formulation studies. By doing this, you can understand the formulation of different types of medical trials performed. You also need to assist in the pharmaceutical formulation to form a great report for the company.
The main skills which are required to become a senior formulation scientist are observational as well as critical thinking skills. You need to have proper report-making skills so that you can research and analyze the data from your formulations and then condense them into important medical documents. You should be able to communicate clearly to your team members so that they can help and assist you in the formulations as well as develop different ideas.
A medical science liaison (MSL) is a scientific professional who facilitates a working relationship between healthcare companies and leading physicians, researchers, and clinicians. Also referred to as key opinion leaders (KOL), medical science liaisons represent their company to the decision-makers in the medical community as well as to investors and government regulatory agencies. They analyze clinical trends and monitor the scientific literature for new developments in the medical community. Medical science liaisons also prepare medical samples and data to investigate the causes of chronic diseases, pathogens, and toxicity.
Senior formulation scientists and medical science liaisons have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Formulation Scientist | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Average salary | $102,574 | $145,718 |
| Salary range | Between $74,000 And $141,000 | Between $59,000 And $359,000 |
| Highest paying City | South San Francisco, CA | Jackson, TN |
| Highest paying state | California | Tennessee |
| Best paying company | Exelixis | Saint Luke's Health System |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a senior formulation scientist and a medical science liaison in terms of educational background:
| Senior Formulation Scientist | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Pharmacy | Nursing |
| Most common college | Duke University | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between senior formulation scientists' and medical science liaisons' demographics:
| Senior Formulation Scientist | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.2% Female, 18.8% | Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4% |
| 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, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 23.4% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |