Senior laboratory scientist vs senior laboratory technician

The differences between senior laboratory scientists and senior laboratory technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a senior laboratory scientist, becoming a senior laboratory technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a senior laboratory scientist has an average salary of $88,562, which is higher than the $48,530 average annual salary of a senior laboratory technician.

The top three skills for a senior laboratory scientist include GMP, FDA and cell culture. The most important skills for a senior laboratory technician are lab equipment, patients, and research projects.

Senior laboratory scientist vs senior laboratory technician overview

	Senior Laboratory Scientist	Senior Laboratory Technician
Yearly salary	$88,562	$48,530
Hourly rate	$42.58	$23.33
Growth rate	17%	9%
Number of jobs	77,364	63,876
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	41	44
Years of experience	4	12

Senior laboratory scientist vs senior laboratory technician salary

Senior laboratory scientists and senior laboratory technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Laboratory Scientist	Senior Laboratory Technician
Average salary	$88,562	$48,530
Salary range	Between $61,000 And $128,000	Between $34,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Genentech
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between senior laboratory scientist and senior laboratory technician education

There are a few differences between a senior laboratory scientist and a senior laboratory technician in terms of educational background:

	Senior Laboratory Scientist	Senior Laboratory Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Chemistry	Biology
Most common college	Duke University	New York University

Senior laboratory scientist vs senior laboratory technician demographics

Here are the differences between senior laboratory scientists' and senior laboratory technicians' demographics:

	Senior Laboratory Scientist	Senior Laboratory Technician
Average age	41	44
Gender ratio	Male, 75.0% Female, 25.0%	Male, 58.6% Female, 41.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 26.5% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 12.0% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between senior laboratory scientist and senior laboratory technician duties and responsibilities

Senior laboratory scientist example responsibilities.

Manage study protocols and study conduct, intimately involve in the toxicology and pharmacokinetic study protocol development process.
Enter results into LIMS database.
Generate reports and deliver of presentations to support submissions to FDA.
Establish quantitative, proprietary method for measurement of menstrual blood loss (now register with FDA).
Key activities include process chemistry development, synthesis of intermediates, compound purification and structure identification, and comprehensive scientific documentation.
Interpret metabolism data and review reports to support strategies forward thinking with a specialization in drug metabolism and metabolic enzymes.

Senior laboratory technician example responsibilities.

Lead aerobic, anaerobic and UV light testing, chemical residue testing and centrifuge to separate chemicals from water.
Operate a binary distillation column using LabView to separate a mixture of methanol and water.
Provide and sign certificate of analyses for wet chemistry and microbiology.
Perform CFU-blast, CFU-C, CFU-D, CFU-S assays.
Create raw material library on FTIR.
Perform manual titration, including testing bacteria and other water tests.

Senior laboratory scientist vs senior laboratory technician skills

Common senior laboratory scientist skills

GMP, 9%
FDA, 9%
Cell Culture, 9%
Analytical Methods, 7%
R, 6%
Method Development, 6%

Common senior laboratory technician skills

Lab Equipment, 9%
Patients, 8%
Research Projects, 5%
Cell Culture, 4%
Safety Procedures, 4%
Molecular Biology, 4%

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Senior Laboratory Scientist
Senior Laboratory Scientist vs Senior Laboratory Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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