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Senior project scientist vs postdoctoral scholar

The differences between senior project scientists and postdoctoral scholars 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 scholar. Additionally, a senior project scientist has an average salary of $106,302, which is higher than the $57,587 average annual salary of a postdoctoral scholar.

The top three skills for a senior project scientist include GIS, sample collection and OSHA. The most important skills for a postdoctoral scholar are chemistry, python, and patients.

Senior project scientist vs postdoctoral scholar overview

Senior Project ScientistPostdoctoral Scholar
Yearly salary$106,302$57,587
Hourly rate$51.11$27.69
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs48,95018,983
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 62%Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age4141
Years of experience44

Senior project scientist vs postdoctoral scholar salary

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

Senior Project ScientistPostdoctoral Scholar
Average salary$106,302$57,587
Salary rangeBetween $76,000 And $146,000Between $41,000 And $79,000
Highest paying CitySunnyvale, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyAmazonMicrosoft
Best paying industryRetailTechnology

Differences between senior project scientist and postdoctoral scholar education

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

Senior Project ScientistPostdoctoral Scholar
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 62%Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common majorChemistryChemistry
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

Senior project scientist vs postdoctoral scholar demographics

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

Senior Project ScientistPostdoctoral Scholar
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 78.5% Female, 21.5%Male, 53.0% Female, 47.0%
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, 6.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between senior project scientist and postdoctoral scholar 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 scholar example responsibilities.

  • Lead community-based health projects on and off campus as an Oslerian student scholar.
  • Lead the in-vitro biophysical and biochemical characterization of homologous recombination and investigate structure-function effects of mutant enzymes.
  • Utilize basic organic and inorganic chemistry techniques including polymer synthesis and NMR spectroscopy.
  • Train graduate students on molecular biology techniques- DNA and RNA extraction and qPCR.
  • Contribute to successful NIH grant proposals.
  • Develop HPLC analysis method for skin folate.
  • Show more

Senior project scientist vs postdoctoral scholar skills

Common senior project scientist skills
  • GIS, 14%
  • Sample Collection, 12%
  • OSHA, 12%
  • R, 10%
  • Site Assessments, 9%
  • Phase II, 7%
Common postdoctoral scholar skills
  • Chemistry, 10%
  • Python, 8%
  • Patients, 6%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • NIH, 5%
  • C++, 5%

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