Post job

Senior scientist, biology vs research chemist

The differences between senior scientists, biology and research chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior scientist, biology has an average salary of $88,965, which is higher than the $75,843 average annual salary of a research chemist.

The top three skills for a senior scientist, biology include data analysis, cell biology and next-generation sequencing. The most important skills for a research chemist are laboratory equipment, method development, and R.

Senior scientist, biology vs research chemist overview

Senior Scientist, BiologyResearch Chemist
Yearly salary$88,965$75,843
Hourly rate$42.77$36.46
Growth rate17%6%
Number of jobs50,06153,769
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age4142
Years of experience4-

What does a senior scientist, biology do?

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.

What does a research chemist do?

A research chemist specializes in conducting studies and experiments to develop new products. Their duties primarily focus on conducting research and assessments, gathering and analyzing chemical samples, developing ideas, conducting tests to study chemical reactions, maintaining records of all procedures, and utilizing previous studies. Their research findings can be used to create new medicines, enhance existing products, and lead to innovations. When it comes to employment, a research chemist may work for pharmaceutical companies, private laboratories, government agencies, and learning institutions.

Senior scientist, biology vs research chemist salary

Senior scientists, biology and research chemists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Scientist, BiologyResearch Chemist
Average salary$88,965$75,843
Salary rangeBetween $56,000 And $139,000Between $53,000 And $108,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAMcLean, VA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaVirginia
Best paying companyTheranosBP America Inc
Best paying industryPharmaceuticalEnergy

Differences between senior scientist, biology and research chemist education

There are a few differences between a senior scientist, biology and a research chemist in terms of educational background:

Senior Scientist, BiologyResearch Chemist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common majorBiologyChemistry
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Senior scientist, biology vs research chemist demographics

Here are the differences between senior scientists, biology' and research chemists' demographics:

Senior Scientist, BiologyResearch Chemist
Average age4142
Gender ratioMale, 49.7% Female, 50.3%Male, 68.5% Female, 31.5%
Race ratioBlack 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, 7.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 22.2% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage8%5%

Differences between senior scientist, biology and research chemist duties and responsibilities

Senior scientist, biology example responsibilities.

  • Manage study protocols and study conduct, intimately involve in the toxicology and pharmacokinetic study protocol development process.
  • Contribute to a cancer cell line profiling effort.
  • Review documentation, write research reports and authore FDA submissions.
  • Cloned and express zebrafish DNA repair genes by PCR; design PCR primers.
  • Supervise transfer of methodology from GLP to GMP environment and between partner/CRO sites.
  • Investigate plant-microbe interactions using protein profiling experiments.
  • Show more

Research chemist example responsibilities.

  • Manage the CDS and LIMS systems for the institute.
  • Manage and record experimental data with lab management software (LIMS).
  • Manage projects involving the development of GC/MS methods, particle collection systems, and Raman spectral database creation.
  • Characterize the particles using SEM, DSC, IR, and UV-Vis.
  • Identify sample structure using microscopy, crystallography, NMR, UV/VIS, GC and AAS.
  • Develop GC & FTIR instrumental methods of analysis to support quality of incoming raw materials to ensure quality of finish products.
  • Show more

Senior scientist, biology vs research chemist skills

Common senior scientist, biology skills
  • Data Analysis, 9%
  • Cell Biology, 9%
  • Next-Generation Sequencing, 6%
  • Cell-Based Assays, 5%
  • RNA, 5%
  • CMC, 4%
Common research chemist skills
  • Laboratory Equipment, 10%
  • Method Development, 10%
  • R, 9%
  • HPLC, 5%
  • Analytical Chemistry, 5%
  • Polymer, 5%

Browse life, physical, and social science jobs