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The differences between senior staff scientists and principal scientists 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 principal scientist. Additionally, a senior staff scientist has an average salary of $123,740, which is higher than the $119,982 average annual salary of a principal scientist.
The top three skills for a senior staff scientist include data analysis, FDA and next-generation sequencing. The most important skills for a principal scientist are oncology, data analysis, and drug discovery.
| Senior Staff Scientist | Principal Scientist | |
| Yearly salary | $123,740 | $119,982 |
| Hourly rate | $59.49 | $57.68 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 113,265 | 80,899 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A Principal Scientist is focused on leading scientific teams and conducting research. They ensure that their teams have the resources to properly perform research tasks.
Senior staff scientists and principal scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Staff Scientist | Principal Scientist | |
| Average salary | $123,740 | $119,982 |
| Salary range | Between $86,000 And $177,000 | Between $84,000 And $169,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | PayPal |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior staff scientist and a principal scientist in terms of educational background:
| Senior Staff Scientist | Principal Scientist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Most common college | Duke University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between senior staff scientists' and principal scientists' demographics:
| Senior Staff Scientist | Principal Scientist | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.7% Female, 25.3% | Male, 76.8% Female, 23.2% |
| 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, 9.6% Asian, 26.4% White, 53.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |