Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between technical scientists and staff 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 technical scientist and a staff scientist. Additionally, a staff scientist has an average salary of $93,941, which is higher than the $90,867 average annual salary of a technical scientist.
The top three skills for a technical scientist include molecular biology, GMP and data analysis. The most important skills for a staff scientist are data analysis, research projects, and molecular biology.
| Technical Scientist | Staff Scientist | |
| Yearly salary | $90,867 | $93,941 |
| Hourly rate | $43.69 | $45.16 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 112,408 | 121,054 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A Technical Scientist is responsible for using established literature on laboratory techniques and basic scientific experimentation to improve processes and products. Their duties include developing solutions for routine and non-routine problems, evaluating workflow progress against objectives, inspect scientific data, and present laboratory results, and contribute to the implementation of new processes within a team. They must ensure compliance with safe working practice, quality standards, and its relevant environment and risk management system workplace guidelines. A Technical Scientist must have advanced knowledge in data analysis tools such as spreadsheets and have well-rounded communication skills for effective presentation to a wide demographic.
The primary role of a Staff Scientist is to develop and manage scientific research projects with minimal supervision. They are also responsible for the technical and budgetary aspects of scientific research projects.
Technical scientists and staff scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Scientist | Staff Scientist | |
| Average salary | $90,867 | $93,941 |
| Salary range | Between $66,000 And $125,000 | Between $63,000 And $137,000 |
| Highest paying City | Novato, CA | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Etsy |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Technology |
There are a few differences between a technical scientist and a staff scientist in terms of educational background:
| Technical Scientist | Staff Scientist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | Duke University |
Here are the differences between technical scientists' and staff scientists' demographics:
| Technical Scientist | Staff Scientist | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.7% Female, 41.3% | Male, 67.8% Female, 32.2% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 26.5% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |