Side-by-side distribution
Medical Affairs
$216,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 68.6%
- Live roles
- 105
Research Scientist
$219,375
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 53.5%
- Live roles
- 389
Highest-paying jobs
Medical Science Liaison
Senior Director, Regional Field Medical Science Liaison (MSL) West
Senior Medical Science Liaison (MSL) - Respiratory
Senior Medical Science Liaison (MSL) - Dermatology
Director, Medical Science Liaison, Oncology (Dallas, AR, LA, OK, MS)
Director, Medical Science Liaison (Southern Florida, Puerto Rico)
Director, Medical Science Liaison (Northern California, Hawaii)
Director, Medical Science Liaison (MI, WI, MN)
Director, Medical Science Liaison (Northern Florida, GA, SC, AL, MS)
Director, Medical Science Liaison, (NY, Southern Connecticut)
Highest-paying jobs
Research Scientist, Takeoff Intel
Research Scientist, Interpretability
Research Engineer/Research Scientist, Pre-training
Research Engineer/Research Scientist, Personal AGI-Model Experience
Research Engineer / Research Scientist -Personal AGI, Proactivity
Research Engineer / Research Scientist- Personal AGI (Post Training)
Research Engineer / Research Scientist - Personal AGI, Personality and Model Behavior
Research Engineer/Research Scientist - Personal AGI, North Stars
Staff / Principal Research Scientist - USA
Research Engineer / Research Scientist, Tokens
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Revolution Medicines
|
$247,500 | 17 |
| AT Axsome Therapeutics | $175,000 | 5 |
Regenxbio
|
$200,000 | 4 |
| PP Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc. | $183,750 | 4 |
|
BridgeBio Pharma
|
$230,000 | 3 |
Vor Bio
|
$224,000 | 3 |
Cogent Biosciences
|
$222,500 | 3 |
Oruka Therapeutics
|
$211,000 | 3 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anthropic
|
$412,045 | 12 |
Anduril Industries
|
$206,250 | 10 |
Astera Institute
|
$225,000 | 7 |
|
OpenAI
|
$425,000 | 6 |
| SA Scale AI | $243,000 | 6 |
Waabi
|
$212,750 | 6 |
Nuro
|
$229,900 | 5 |
World Labs
|
$300,000 | 4 |
Medical Affairs salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $175,000 | 3 |
Research Scientist salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $291,650 | 11 |
| Boston | $275,000 | 8 |
| San Francisco | $271,250 | 68 |
| New York | $246,500 | 40 |
| Toronto | $212,000 | 8 |
| London | $204,149 | 10 |
| Los Angeles | $80,000 | 3 |
Medical Affairs vs Research Scientist: which pays more?
The median for Medical Affairs is $216,000 per year (typically $195,000–$247,500), versus $219,375 for Research Scientist ($174,975–$275,000). That puts Research Scientist about 2% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Medical Affairs and Research Scientist are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.