Senior staff scientist vs medical science liaison

The differences between senior staff scientists and medical science liaisons 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 staff scientist and a medical science liaison. Additionally, a medical science liaison has an average salary of $145,718, which is higher than the $123,740 average annual salary of a senior staff scientist.

The top three skills for a senior staff scientist include data analysis, FDA and next-generation sequencing. The most important skills for a medical science liaison are patients, medical affairs, and MSL.

Senior staff scientist vs medical science liaison overview

	Senior Staff Scientist	Medical Science Liaison
Yearly salary	$123,740	$145,718
Hourly rate	$59.49	$70.06
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	113,265	57,208
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

What does a senior staff scientist do?

A Senior Staff Scientist is responsible for supervising projects and activities of a company. They manage the technical, budgetary, and scheduling aspects of scientific research projects.

What does a medical science liaison do?

A medical science liaison (MSL) is a scientific professional who facilitates a working relationship between healthcare companies and leading physicians, researchers, and clinicians. Also referred to as key opinion leaders (KOL), medical science liaisons represent their company to the decision-makers in the medical community as well as to investors and government regulatory agencies. They analyze clinical trends and monitor the scientific literature for new developments in the medical community. Medical science liaisons also prepare medical samples and data to investigate the causes of chronic diseases, pathogens, and toxicity.

Senior staff scientist vs medical science liaison salary

Senior staff scientists and medical science liaisons have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Staff Scientist	Medical Science Liaison
Average salary	$123,740	$145,718
Salary range	Between $86,000 And $177,000	Between $59,000 And $359,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Jackson, TN
Highest paying state	California	Tennessee
Best paying company	Airbnb	Saint Luke's Health System
Best paying industry	Technology	Manufacturing

Differences between senior staff scientist and medical science liaison education

There are a few differences between a senior staff scientist and a medical science liaison in terms of educational background:

	Senior Staff Scientist	Medical Science Liaison
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Chemistry	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	University of Southern California

Senior staff scientist vs medical science liaison demographics

Here are the differences between senior staff scientists' and medical science liaisons' demographics:

	Senior Staff Scientist	Medical Science Liaison
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 74.7% Female, 25.3%	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%
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, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 23.4% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between senior staff scientist and medical science liaison duties and responsibilities

Senior staff scientist example responsibilities.

Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
Conduct research and analyze data to identify potential biomarkers and provide input for selection of candidates for non-clinical studies development.
Establish methods for OTFT parameters extraction, physics-base device modeling, and circuit elements simulation.
Interpret metabolism data and review reports to support strategies forward thinking with a specialization in drug metabolism and metabolic enzymes.

Medical science liaison example responsibilities.

Supervise and analyze medical necessity review of manage care appeals.
Develop and manage KOLs resulting in presentations to regional, national and international meetings.
Utilize extensive knowledge of medical terminology, ICD-9, HCPCS and CPT coding along with analysis and processing of Medicare claims.
Provide pre-launch field support for a novel diabetes compound.
Provide drug information to medical professionals and sales force within FDA guidelines.
Join Clementine as a trainee BMS and successfully complete training and registration.

Senior staff scientist vs medical science liaison skills

Common senior staff scientist skills

Data Analysis, 10%
FDA, 7%
Next-Generation Sequencing, 6%
Statistical Analysis, 5%
Regulatory Submissions, 5%
PK, 5%

Common medical science liaison skills

Patients, 11%
Medical Affairs, 9%
MSL, 7%
Medical Science, 6%
Pharmaceutical Industry, 5%
Internal Stakeholders, 4%

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Senior Staff Scientist
Senior Staff Scientist vs Medical Science Liaison

Updated January 8, 2025

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