Toxicologist vs research fellow

The differences between toxicologists and research fellows can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a toxicologist and a research fellow. Additionally, a toxicologist has an average salary of $75,601, which is higher than the $53,823 average annual salary of a research fellow.

The top three skills for a toxicologist include risk assessments, chemistry and product safety. The most important skills for a research fellow are patients, research projects, and data analysis.

Toxicologist vs research fellow overview

	Toxicologist	Research Fellow
Yearly salary	$75,601	$53,823
Hourly rate	$36.35	$25.88
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	21,835	59,746
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

What does a toxicologist do?

A toxicologist specializes in studying toxic substances and how it affects living organisms such as humans and animals. They may work at learning institutions, private laboratories or businesses, medical facilities, and even government agencies. Although the extent of their duties varies on their place of employment, it typically includes conducting studies and scientific research, coordinating with fellow experts, gathering and processing samples through various laboratory procedures, maintaining records, and drawing conclusions based on the research findings.

What does a research fellow do?

A research fellow is an academic researcher who conducts research and analysis of comprehensive literature, data, and results and provides literature reviews. He/She supervises research assistants and recruits study participants to interview them for a particular study. To become a research fellow, a candidate should have a doctorate in a relevant discipline and publish peer-reviewed papers. Also, a research fellow can be an independent investigator or be supervised by a principal investigator.

Toxicologist vs research fellow salary

Toxicologists and research fellows have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Toxicologist	Research Fellow
Average salary	$75,601	$53,823
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $124,000	Between $39,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	Paramus, NJ	South San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Hawaii
Best paying company	Exxon Mobil	McKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Non Profits

Differences between toxicologist and research fellow education

There are a few differences between a toxicologist and a research fellow in terms of educational background:

	Toxicologist	Research Fellow
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Biology	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	Duke University

Toxicologist vs research fellow demographics

Here are the differences between toxicologists' and research fellows' demographics:

	Toxicologist	Research Fellow
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 51.5% Female, 48.5%	Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 23.3% White, 56.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 27.1% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between toxicologist and research fellow duties and responsibilities

Toxicologist example responsibilities.

Manage sample inventory via in-house laboratory information management system (LIMS) and implement additional systems for sample and chemical organization.
Review in-house and contract toxicology studies on Monsanto products to ensure compliance with FDA and EPA regulations.
Evaluate, verify and certify patient results from multiple levels of testing; ELISA, LCMS, MSMS
Review and report both positive and negative initial drug screening data from the laboratory, and release results into the LIS.
Compile computer database of FDA regulatory compliance data.
Lead selection of CROs and qualification activities.

Research fellow example responsibilities.

Collaborate with software engineers to automate identification of 15N- and 13C- labele LC-MS features.
Process and manage GIS databases to contribute towards research in human transportation behavior.
Manage investigator initiate and cooperative group correlative studies to identify biomarkers to ascertain tumor burden and clinical outcomes in lymphoma.
Analyze quantitative and qualitative data through statistical software SAS and SPSS.
Conduct sampling, PCR, data analysis and oral presentations of the work
Implement python and C++ codes for numerical computation of transport properties in models and materials.

Toxicologist vs research fellow skills

Common toxicologist skills

Risk Assessments, 13%
Chemistry, 10%
Product Safety, 6%
FDA, 6%
Toxicology Studies, 5%
Safety Assessments, 4%

Common research fellow skills

Patients, 10%
Research Projects, 6%
Data Analysis, 5%
Cell Culture, 5%
Immunology, 4%
CRISPR, 4%

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Toxicologist vs Research Fellow

Updated January 8, 2025

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