Senior laboratory scientist vs staff scientist

The differences between senior laboratory scientists and staff 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 senior laboratory scientist and a staff scientist. Additionally, a staff scientist has an average salary of $93,941, which is higher than the $88,562 average annual salary of a senior laboratory scientist.

The top three skills for a senior laboratory scientist include GMP, FDA and cell culture. The most important skills for a staff scientist are data analysis, research projects, and molecular biology.

Senior laboratory scientist vs staff scientist overview

	Senior Laboratory Scientist	Staff Scientist
Yearly salary	$88,562	$93,941
Hourly rate	$42.58	$45.16
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	77,364	121,054
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

Senior laboratory scientist vs staff scientist salary

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

	Senior Laboratory Scientist	Staff Scientist
Average salary	$88,562	$93,941
Salary range	Between $61,000 And $128,000	Between $63,000 And $137,000
Highest paying City	-	Redwood City, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Etsy
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between senior laboratory scientist and staff scientist education

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

	Senior Laboratory Scientist	Staff Scientist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Senior laboratory scientist vs staff scientist demographics

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

	Senior Laboratory Scientist	Staff Scientist
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 75.0% Female, 25.0%	Male, 67.8% Female, 32.2%
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, 6.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 26.5% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between senior laboratory scientist and staff scientist 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.

Staff scientist example responsibilities.

Lead efforts to replace a critical radioactive immunoassay with a non-radioactive format to measure clinical samples.
Manage clinical sample testing using MSD and ELISA in LIMS, including data review and approval using LIMS.
Assist in managing and maintenance of HPLC and Prep-HPLC systems to ensure maximum productivity for the process development group.
Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
Assist with RNA and DNA extractions from FFPE tissue and blood.
Supervise temps performing HPLC assays and validations during development and production campaigns under GMP conditions.

Senior laboratory scientist vs staff scientist skills

Common senior laboratory scientist skills

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

Common staff scientist skills

Data Analysis, 9%
Research Projects, 7%
Molecular Biology, 5%
Next-Generation Sequencing, 4%
Statistical Analysis, 4%
RNA, 4%

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Senior Laboratory Scientist
Senior Laboratory Scientist vs Staff Scientist

Updated January 8, 2025

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