Associate research specialist vs research associate professor

The differences between associate research specialists and research associate professors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an associate research specialist, becoming a research associate professor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a research associate professor has an average salary of $94,301, which is higher than the $48,302 average annual salary of an associate research specialist.

The top three skills for an associate research specialist include research projects, informed consent and data collection. The most important skills for a research associate professor are public health, biomedical, and research projects.

Associate research specialist vs research associate professor overview

	Associate Research Specialist	Research Associate Professor
Yearly salary	$48,302	$94,301
Hourly rate	$23.22	$45.34
Growth rate	19%	12%
Number of jobs	56,834	57,738
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Average age	37	46
Years of experience	6	4

Associate research specialist vs research associate professor salary

Associate research specialists and research associate professors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Associate Research Specialist	Research Associate Professor
Average salary	$48,302	$94,301
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $69,000	Between $58,000 And $151,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Salt Lake City, UT
Highest paying state	Washington	Utah
Best paying company	SAS Institute	University of Massachusetts Medical School
Best paying industry	Finance	Health Care

Differences between associate research specialist and research associate professor education

There are a few differences between an associate research specialist and a research associate professor in terms of educational background:

	Associate Research Specialist	Research Associate Professor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Most common major	Biology	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Maryland - College Park	Cornell University

Associate research specialist vs research associate professor demographics

Here are the differences between associate research specialists' and research associate professors' demographics:

	Associate Research Specialist	Research Associate Professor
Average age	37	46
Gender ratio	Male, 37.4% Female, 62.6%	Male, 69.6% Female, 30.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.3% Asian, 14.4% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 17.6% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	10%	16%

Differences between associate research specialist and research associate professor duties and responsibilities

Associate research specialist example responsibilities.

Attain and practice medical insurance information rapidly and correctly; including main carriers and Medicaid.
Develop an interactive mapping system which utilizes a SAS programming platform and geospatial technology.
Participate in a summer research intensive that provide hands-on training in interdisciplinary biomedical laboratory techniques with an emphasis in advance instrumentation.
Develop and implement clinical and community-base research and evaluation projects in HIV prevention, smoking interventions, and domestic violence

Research associate professor example responsibilities.

Process and manage GIS databases to contribute towards research in human transportation behavior.
Conduct NIH sponsor studies on HIV/AIDS in African-American and Hispanic populations in Alabama.
Train students in electron microscopy, laser safety, vacuum technology, chemistry, instrumentation, and other laboratory procedures.
Identify glucose-induced increases in the phosphorylation levels of interest proteins, including metabolic enzymes and transcription factors by analyzing phosphoproteomics data.

Associate research specialist vs research associate professor skills

Common associate research specialist skills

Research Projects, 13%
Informed Consent, 9%
Data Collection, 9%
Laboratory Analysis, 7%
IRB, 7%
Chemistry, 5%

Common research associate professor skills

Public Health, 15%
Biomedical, 12%
Research Projects, 11%
SAS, 6%
NIH, 6%
Data Collection, 6%

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Associate Research Specialist vs Research Associate Professor

Updated January 8, 2025

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