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The differences between senior scientists, biology 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 scientist, biology and a postdoctoral associate. Additionally, a senior scientist, biology has an average salary of $88,965, which is higher than the $54,350 average annual salary of a postdoctoral associate.
The top three skills for a senior scientist, biology include data analysis, cell biology and next-generation sequencing. The most important skills for a postdoctoral associate are patients, TIP, and data analysis.
| Senior Scientist, Biology | Postdoctoral Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $88,965 | $54,350 |
| Hourly rate | $42.77 | $26.13 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 50,061 | 18,093 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Doctoral Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A senior biology scientist is responsible for studying how living organisms relate to the environment. Duties and responsibilities include supporting and participating in project management and research and development meetings, conducting tissue culture and cell line generation, and performing binding assays to examine the biological activities of protein therapeutics. In addition, you will be participating in the organic synthesis of nucleotide drug and perform reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction procedure for gene expression and amplification.
A postdoctoral associate is responsible for researching to support scientific claims and theories by collecting evidence and information to answer scientific questions. Postdoctoral associates must have excellent communication skills, both oral and written, to interact with people and document investigation findings. They also utilize laboratory tools and equipment for scientific researches, conduct field investigations, and interview participants. A postdoctoral associate designs comprehensive research models to discuss results with the panel and the team efficiently and accurately.
Senior scientists, biology and postdoctoral associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Scientist, Biology | Postdoctoral Associate | |
| Average salary | $88,965 | $54,350 |
| Salary range | Between $56,000 And $139,000 | Between $39,000 And $74,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Berkeley, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Maine |
| Best paying company | Theranos | Argonne National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Education |
There are a few differences between a senior scientist, biology and a postdoctoral associate in terms of educational background:
| Senior Scientist, Biology | Postdoctoral Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Doctoral Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Biology | Chemistry |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | Duke University |
Here are the differences between senior scientists, biology' and postdoctoral associates' demographics:
| Senior Scientist, Biology | Postdoctoral Associate | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3% | Male, 63.2% Female, 36.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.3% 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 Percentage | 8% | 8% |