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The differences between senior principal scientists and research 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 principal scientist and a research scientist. Additionally, a senior principal scientist has an average salary of $119,042, which is higher than the $89,998 average annual salary of a research scientist.
The top three skills for a senior principal scientist include chemistry, drug discovery and java. The most important skills for a research scientist are python, data analysis, and patients.
| Senior Principal Scientist | Research Scientist | |
| Yearly salary | $119,042 | $89,998 |
| Hourly rate | $57.23 | $43.27 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 85,334 | 93,013 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A Senior Principal Scientist is focused on providing technical and scientific expertise in a specific field. They conduct quantitative and qualitative research to enhance existing products or develop new ones.
The job of research scientists is to design, undertake, and analyze information from experiments, trials, and laboratory-based investigations. They usually perform experiments in different areas, including medical research, pharmacology, and geoscience. They have varied duties and responsibilities that include planning and carrying out experiments, conducting fieldwork, and overseeing junior staff members like the technicians. They are typically working for a government laboratory, an environmental agency, and other organizations. Many of these scientists also work in teams and support staff.
Senior principal scientists and research scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Principal Scientist | Research Scientist | |
| Average salary | $119,042 | $89,998 |
| Salary range | Between $83,000 And $169,000 | Between $58,000 And $137,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Menlo Park, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Amazon | Lyft |
| Best paying industry | Technology | - |
There are a few differences between a senior principal scientist and a research scientist in terms of educational background:
| Senior Principal Scientist | Research Scientist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Most common college | Duke University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between senior principal scientists' and research scientists' demographics:
| Senior Principal Scientist | Research Scientist | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.3% Female, 19.7% | Male, 62.5% Female, 37.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 26.5% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 29.6% White, 50.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |