Associate scientists are critical to many of the scientific advancements of our day. They work in teams led by project scientists to assist in experiments and research. Depending on the team's size and the experiment's nature, associate scientists may be involved in the research process.
An associate scientist's daily tasks may involve receiving instructions from a lead scientist, conducting the necessary research, and reporting findings. They may get to work independently or closely with senior scientists. Associate scientists may have small administrative responsibilities, like training other scientists and supervising library technicians and student scientists.
Associate scientists receive some of the credit for the project's findings, along with other members of the team. Most employers insist that associate scientists have at least a Ph.D. in their chosen field. The employer also determines the minimum acceptable years of experience necessary.
Associate Scientist Overview
Associate Scientist Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an associate scientist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $35.33 an hour? That's $73,488 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 8% and produce 10,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does an Associate Scientist Do
When it comes to the most important skills required to be an associate scientist, we found that a lot of resumes listed 8.9% of associate scientists included procedures, while 8.5% of resumes included chemistry, and 6.2% of resumes included data analysis. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the associate scientist job title. But what industry to start with? Most associate scientists actually find jobs in the pharmaceutical and health care industries.
How To Become an Associate Scientist
If you're interested in becoming an associate scientist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 43.9% of associate scientists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 37.1% of associate scientists have master's degrees. Even though most associate scientists have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an associate scientist. When we researched the most common majors for an associate scientist, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on associate scientist resumes include doctoral degree degrees or associate degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an associate scientist. In fact, many associate scientist jobs require experience in a role such as research assistant. Meanwhile, many associate scientists also have previous career experience in roles such as research associate or laboratory technician.
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Associate Scientist Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of research scientist you might progress to a role such as scientist eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title senior research associate.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for an Associate Scientist
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Randstad Associate Scientist II-Bioanalytical Sciences? Associate Scientist II-Bioanalytical Sciences? | Randstad Randstad | 01/30/2021 01/30/2021 | $66,49201/30/2021 $66,492 |
Randstad Associate Scientist Associate Scientist | Randstad Randstad | 01/29/2021 01/29/2021 | $62,61001/29/2021 $62,610 |
Ibotta, Inc. Associate Decision Scientist Associate Decision Scientist | Ibotta, Inc. Ibotta, Inc. | 01/29/2021 01/29/2021 | $60,00001/29/2021 $60,000 |
Randstad Associate Scientist Associate Scientist | Randstad Randstad | 01/26/2021 01/26/2021 | $41,74001/26/2021 $41,740 |
Kelly Services Associate Scientist I Associate Scientist I | Kelly Services Kelly Services | 01/22/2021 01/22/2021 | $50,08801/22/2021 $50,088 |
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Associate Scientist Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming an Associate Scientist. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write an Associate Scientist Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Associate Scientist resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop Colleges for Associate Scientists
1. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
2. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
3. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Public
5. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
6. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
7. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
8. University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Public
9. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Public
10. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Top Skills For an Associate Scientist
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 8.9% of associate scientists listed procedures on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and observation skills are important as well.
- Procedures, 8.9%
- Chemistry, 8.5%
- Data Analysis, 6.2%
- Cell Culture, 6.1%
- Analytical Methods, 4.2%
- Other Skills, 66.1% See All Associate Scientist Skills
Best States For an Associate Scientist
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an associate scientist. The best states for people in this position are Nevada, California, Arizona, and Connecticut. Associate scientists make the most in Nevada with an average salary of $101,675. Whereas in California and Arizona, they would average $97,060 and $84,958, respectively. While associate scientists would only make an average of $84,724 in Connecticut, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. California
$97,060
Avg. Salary
2. Connecticut
$84,724
Avg. Salary
3. New Jersey
$80,528
Avg. Salary