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Senior project scientist vs postdoctoral associate

The differences between senior project scientists and postdoctoral associates 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 project scientist and a postdoctoral associate. Additionally, a senior project scientist has an average salary of $106,302, which is higher than the $54,350 average annual salary of a postdoctoral associate.

The top three skills for a senior project scientist include GIS, sample collection and OSHA. The most important skills for a postdoctoral associate are patients, TIP, and data analysis.

Senior project scientist vs postdoctoral associate overview

Senior Project ScientistPostdoctoral Associate
Yearly salary$106,302$54,350
Hourly rate$51.11$26.13
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs48,95018,093
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 62%Doctoral Degree, 47%
Average age4141
Years of experience44

Senior project scientist vs postdoctoral associate salary

Senior project scientists and postdoctoral associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Project ScientistPostdoctoral Associate
Average salary$106,302$54,350
Salary rangeBetween $76,000 And $146,000Between $39,000 And $74,000
Highest paying CitySunnyvale, CABerkeley, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaMaine
Best paying companyAmazonArgonne National Laboratory
Best paying industryRetailEducation

Differences between senior project scientist and postdoctoral associate education

There are a few differences between a senior project scientist and a postdoctoral associate in terms of educational background:

Senior Project ScientistPostdoctoral Associate
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 62%Doctoral Degree, 47%
Most common majorChemistryChemistry
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

Senior project scientist vs postdoctoral associate demographics

Here are the differences between senior project scientists' and postdoctoral associates' demographics:

Senior Project ScientistPostdoctoral Associate
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 78.5% Female, 21.5%Male, 63.2% Female, 36.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 24.5% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 39.4% White, 42.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between senior project scientist and postdoctoral associate duties and responsibilities

Senior project scientist example responsibilities.

  • Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
  • Complete health & safety and industrial hygiene oversight for excavation activities relate to utility installations at areas impact with hydrocarbons.
  • Produce ESA report maps utilizing AutoCAD skills.
  • Conduct research programs to identify new ingredients and new test methods to support product IP, consumer concepts and equity claims.
  • Provide technical and regulatory (NEPA) support for natural resources/aquatic environmental/biological projects.

Postdoctoral associate example responsibilities.

  • Develop and manage third party claim investigations and contractor remedial oversight for various insurance companies.
  • Co-Authore NIH grant proposal on membrane protein folding.
  • Participate in writing research grant applications including NIH and NSF.
  • X-ray protein crystallographic studies on the structures of antibodies and DNA.
  • Purify DNA from subject blood samples and organize the genome screen.
  • Complete mice handling training and currently using CRISPR technology to knockout genes in cell lines.
  • Show more

Senior project scientist vs postdoctoral associate skills

Common senior project scientist skills
  • GIS, 14%
  • Sample Collection, 12%
  • OSHA, 12%
  • R, 10%
  • Site Assessments, 9%
  • Phase II, 7%
Common postdoctoral associate skills
  • Patients, 8%
  • TIP, 7%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • Biomedical, 5%
  • CRISPR, 5%
  • Python, 4%

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