Clinical associate vs study director

The differences between clinical associates and study directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a clinical associate and a study director. Additionally, a clinical associate has an average salary of $91,027, which is higher than the $82,066 average annual salary of a study director.

The top three skills for a clinical associate include patients, rehabilitation and home health. The most important skills for a study director are toxicology, data collection, and study design.

Clinical associate vs study director overview

	Clinical Associate	Study Director
Yearly salary	$91,027	$82,066
Hourly rate	$43.76	$39.45
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	56,977	6,789
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

What does a clinical associate do?

A clinical associate is responsible for supporting the operations of a medical facility by performing administrative and clerical duties as needed to provide high-quality care services for the patients and assisting health care professionals in performing medical procedures. Clinical associates monitor the conditions of the patients, administer medication, collect laboratory samples, and conduct initial medical assessments such as checking temperature and vital signs. A clinical associate must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially on addressing different patients' needs and reporting the patients' progress to the physicians.

What does a study director do?

Technically, a study director carries out scientific responsibilities for protocol design or study plan and approval. Study directors supervise the gathering, analysis, interpretation, documentation, and reporting of data results. They handle the matriculation of students with regard to data management system development. Working with the computer systems team is part of their duties so they will be able to establish a data management system in tracking the study participants. They also support the toxicology team or group on different project teams.

Clinical associate vs study director salary

Clinical associates and study directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clinical Associate	Study Director
Average salary	$91,027	$82,066
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $208,000	Between $56,000 And $118,000
Highest paying City	Baltimore, MD	Sacramento, CA
Highest paying state	Connecticut	California
Best paying company	University of Iowa Center for Advancement	AbbVie
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between clinical associate and study director education

There are a few differences between a clinical associate and a study director in terms of educational background:

	Clinical Associate	Study Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	Nursing	Biology
Most common college	Duke University	-

Clinical associate vs study director demographics

Here are the differences between clinical associates' and study directors' demographics:

	Clinical Associate	Study Director
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 28.0% Female, 72.0%	Male, 54.9% Female, 45.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 2.6% Unknown, 7.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 8.6% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 2.5% Unknown, 7.5% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 12.0% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between clinical associate and study director duties and responsibilities

Clinical associate example responsibilities.

Perform EKG's, placement of cardiac leads and telemetry unit (critical care only).
Manage patient caseload with emphasis in occupational rehabilitation
Assist nurses and doctors with procedures, EKG monitoring, clinical duties, clerical duties.
Assist with project plan management, FDA submission paperwork, and tracking of contingency plans / appropriate triggers.
Experience with communication with professional staff regarding pertinent observations concerning conditions of patients.
Participate in disease diagnosis and treatment in the department of internal medicine and pediatrics

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Study director example responsibilities.

Design, conducts and manages studies for EPA and oce compliance, such as water solubility and partition coefficient studies.
Manage all outsource toxicology studies at contract research laboratories.
Establish and maintain strong community partnerships to achieve HIV prevention objectives.
Evaluate study design and toxicology data as needed.
Consult drug development scientists on data interpretation and study conclusions for FDA submission.
Participate on the ISO certification team.

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Clinical associate vs study director skills

Common clinical associate skills

Patients, 30%
Rehabilitation, 6%
Home Health, 6%
Vital Signs, 5%
CPR, 4%
Excellent Interpersonal, 4%

Common study director skills

Toxicology, 10%
Data Collection, 7%
Study Design, 7%
Project Management, 6%
Data Analysis, 6%
FDA, 6%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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