Chief science officer vs associate director

The differences between chief science officers and associate directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a chief science officer has an average salary of $126,094, which is higher than the $114,223 average annual salary of an associate director.

The top three skills for a chief science officer include R, business strategy and oversight. The most important skills for an associate director are patients, healthcare, and project management.

Chief science officer vs associate director overview

	Chief Science Officer	Associate Director
Yearly salary	$126,094	$114,223
Hourly rate	$60.62	$54.91
Growth rate	16%	8%
Number of jobs	69,119	72,370
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	8	-

What does a chief science officer do?

Chief Science Officers are responsible for leading the scientific operations of an organization. Their duties include developing scientific strategies, directing clinical trial designs, implementing research processes, and communicating the scientific vision to investors and senior management. Besides that, they are involved in managing the scientific budget, identifying research opportunities, and fostering scientific partnerships with key stakeholders. Chief Science Officers are also involved in creating research programs, track research milestones, and source for funding channels. They produce research and development reports and provide mentorship to the research team.

What does an associate director do?

An associate director oversees the daily activities and business operations within a particular area. They are primarily responsible for devising strategies that aim for growth in profit and customer satisfaction, implementing policies and standards, evaluate the workforce, providing support to various departments, and setting goals in terms of budget and sales. Furthermore, they must regularly report progress to the director and coordinate with managers and supervisors in the joint effort to reach the vision and mission of the company.

Chief science officer vs associate director salary

Chief science officers and associate directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Chief Science Officer	Associate Director
Average salary	$126,094	$114,223
Salary range	Between $83,000 And $190,000	Between $79,000 And $164,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	South San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	New Jersey
Best paying company	Community Health Systems	Legalmatch.com
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Pharmaceutical

Differences between chief science officer and associate director education

There are a few differences between a chief science officer and an associate director in terms of educational background:

	Chief Science Officer	Associate Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Biology	Business
Most common college	Carnegie Mellon University	University of Pennsylvania

Chief science officer vs associate director demographics

Here are the differences between chief science officers' and associate directors' demographics:

	Chief Science Officer	Associate Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 73.7% Female, 26.3%	Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 12.8% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	11%	10%

Differences between chief science officer and associate director duties and responsibilities

Chief science officer example responsibilities.

Lead spinout and IP strategy of NewCo for pulmonary business.
Manage project/validation deliverables using Sharepoint.
Establish strong, long-term philanthropic partnerships.
Establish quality control standards for IRB documentation, HIPAA compliance, patient confidentiality.
Apply for FDA approval for finish projects and products and lead patents and grants application.
Oversee implementation and evaluation of programmatic investments and collaborative partnerships.

Associate director example responsibilities.

Lead implementation of OPPE and FPPE for TJC.
Manage accounting, weekly reports, local contacts, and maintenance of sets, props, and costumes.
Manage all aspects of music ministry - including arranging all music for schedule services special programs and events.
Manage departmental training schedules, work schedules and CPSI electronic medical record (EMR), certifications and competencies.
Manage web development and rebranding initiative.
Create a coordinate university social media committee quadrupling engagement during campaigns and achieving a national twitter trend during commencement.

Chief science officer vs associate director skills

Common chief science officer skills

R, 17%
Business Strategy, 11%
Oversight, 8%
Program Development, 7%
Partnerships, 6%
Professional Development, 5%

Common associate director skills

Patients, 11%
Healthcare, 8%
Project Management, 6%
Oversight, 6%
Portfolio, 6%
Excellent Interpersonal, 5%

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Chief Science Officer vs Associate Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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