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The differences between senior staff scientists and researchers 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 researcher. Additionally, a senior staff scientist has an average salary of $123,740, which is higher than the $67,145 average annual salary of a researcher.
The top three skills for a senior staff scientist include data analysis, FDA and next-generation sequencing. The most important skills for a researcher are python, lab equipment, and C++.
| Senior Staff Scientist | Researcher | |
| Yearly salary | $123,740 | $67,145 |
| Hourly rate | $59.49 | $32.28 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 113,265 | 30,498 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| 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 researcher is responsible for collating, organizing, and verifying necessary information for a specific subject. Researchers' duties include analyzing data, gathering and comparing resources, ensuring facts, sharing findings with the whole research team, adhering to required methodologies, performing fieldwork as needed, and keeping critical information confidential. Researchers must be knowledgeable about the current market trends and align findings with the research goals. A researcher must show strong communication skills, as well as strong attention to detail and time-management skills to meet deadlines under minimal supervision.
Senior staff scientists and researchers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Staff Scientist | Researcher | |
| Average salary | $123,740 | $67,145 |
| Salary range | Between $86,000 And $177,000 | Between $37,000 And $119,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Newark, NJ |
| Highest paying state | California | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | Renaissance Learning |
| Best paying industry | Technology | - |
There are a few differences between a senior staff scientist and a researcher in terms of educational background:
| Senior Staff Scientist | Researcher | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Chemistry | Biology |
| Most common college | Duke University | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between senior staff scientists' and researchers' demographics:
| Senior Staff Scientist | Researcher | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.7% Female, 25.3% | Male, 50.9% Female, 49.1% |
| 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, 6.4% 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% |