Side-by-side distribution
Research Scientist
$219,375
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 53.2%
- Live roles
- 380
Surgeon
$324,171
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 20.2%
- Live roles
- 124
Highest-paying jobs
Research Scientist, Interpretability
Research Engineer/Research Scientist, Pre-training
Research Engineer / Research Scientist - Personal AGI, Personality and Model Behavior
Research Engineer / Research Scientist -Personal AGI, Proactivity
Research Engineer / Research Scientist- Personal AGI (Post Training)
Research Engineer/Research Scientist, Personal AGI-Model Experience
Research Engineer/Research Scientist - Personal AGI, North Stars
Staff / Principal Research Scientist - USA
Research Engineer / Research Scientist, Tokens
Research Engineer / Scientist, Alignment
Highest-paying jobs
Oral Surgeon
Orthopaedic Surgeon | Staff Specialist | 0.5 FTE
Orthopedic Spine Surgeon - Mesa, AZ
Oral Surgeon Opportunity - Central New York
Orthopaedic Surgeon | Regional WA
Mohs Surgeon with Partnership-Shareholder Track
Part-time Mohs Surgeon / Dermatologist
Mohs Surgeon - Dermatologist
Mohs Surgeon with Shareholder Track
Breast Surgeon
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anthropic
|
$377,500 | 12 |
Anduril Industries
|
$221,000 | 8 |
Astera Institute
|
$225,000 | 7 |
|
OpenAI
|
$425,000 | 6 |
Waabi
|
$212,750 | 6 |
| SA Scale AI | $243,000 | 5 |
Nuro
|
$229,900 | 5 |
World Labs
|
$300,000 | 4 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Greenlife Healthcare Staffing
|
$350,000 | 4 |
|
Oral Surgery Partners
|
$225,000 | 4 |
|
Platinum Dermatology Partners - Physicians
|
$450,000 | 3 |
|
HealthOp Solutions
|
$300,000 | 3 |
|
Mediix
|
$569,244 | 2 |
|
Leading Edge Specialized Dentistry
|
$475,000 | 2 |
| PH Pulse Healthcare | $256,818 | 2 |
Bond Vet
|
$247,500 | 2 |
Research Scientist salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $291,650 | 11 |
| Boston | $275,000 | 8 |
| San Francisco | $267,500 | 67 |
| New York | $243,000 | 38 |
| Toronto | $212,000 | 8 |
| London | $203,341 | 10 |
| Los Angeles | $80,000 | 3 |
Surgeon salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $350,000 | 6 |
Research Scientist vs Surgeon: which pays more?
The median for Research Scientist is $219,375 per year (typically $176,950–$275,000), versus $324,171 for Surgeon ($247,500–$450,000). That puts Surgeon about 48% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Research Scientist and Surgeon 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.