Post job

Staff biologist vs computational biologist

The differences between staff biologists and computational biologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a staff biologist and a computational biologist. Additionally, a staff biologist has an average salary of $65,292, which is higher than the $61,449 average annual salary of a computational biologist.

The top three skills for a staff biologist include FDA, wetland and species act. The most important skills for a computational biologist are python, machine learning, and next-generation sequencing.

Staff biologist vs computational biologist overview

Staff BiologistComputational Biologist
Yearly salary$65,292$61,449
Hourly rate$31.39$29.54
Growth rate1%17%
Number of jobs69,51612,839
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age4040
Years of experience88

Staff biologist vs computational biologist salary

Staff biologists and computational biologists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Staff BiologistComputational Biologist
Average salary$65,292$61,449
Salary rangeBetween $45,000 And $93,000Between $38,000 And $99,000
Highest paying CityRahway, NJSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateAlaskaAlaska
Best paying companyMerckGoogle
Best paying industryPharmaceuticalHealth Care

Differences between staff biologist and computational biologist education

There are a few differences between a staff biologist and a computational biologist in terms of educational background:

Staff BiologistComputational Biologist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common majorBiologyBiology
Most common collegeStanford UniversityHarvard University

Staff biologist vs computational biologist demographics

Here are the differences between staff biologists' and computational biologists' demographics:

Staff BiologistComputational Biologist
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 52.2% Female, 47.8%Male, 80.2% Female, 19.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 10.3% White, 71.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 2.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 7.4% Asian, 17.0% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between staff biologist and computational biologist duties and responsibilities

Staff biologist example responsibilities.

  • Manage detailed GLP laboratory manual daily.
  • Navigate to remote project sites using GPS, topo maps, aerial photographs, and GIS layers.
  • Conduct multi-layer GIS analysis for projects.
  • Collect survey measurements using survey grade GPS and laser survey equipment.
  • Full service management to private landowners and their fisheries, water-foul and whitetail deer breeder programs.
  • Develop a working knowledge of ArcPad 8.0, ArcMap GIS 9.3 and operation of Trimble Yuma PDAs.
  • Show more

Computational biologist example responsibilities.

  • Develop UNIX shell script, PERL and AWK program and apply TECPLOT software macro files to automate data processing and report.
  • Manage detailed GLP laboratory manual daily.
  • Design and perform model-based gene expression analysis with whole genome tiling-microarray data sets using SAS.
  • Generate QC report and plots for new RNASeq samples using BAM files, PICARD, SAM tools etc.
  • Foster collaborations both within USDA and with external scientists.
  • Breed the mice, perform genotyping, injection and operation.
  • Show more

Staff biologist vs computational biologist skills

Common staff biologist skills
  • FDA, 8%
  • Wetland, 8%
  • Species ACT, 8%
  • Molecular Biology, 8%
  • GLP, 7%
  • Water ACT, 6%
Common computational biologist skills
  • Python, 24%
  • Machine Learning, 13%
  • Next-Generation Sequencing, 9%
  • C++, 6%
  • Visualization, 5%
  • Biological Data, 5%

Browse life, physical, and social science jobs