Clinical research associate vs data analyst

The differences between clinical research associates and data analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a clinical research associate, becoming a data analyst takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a data analyst has an average salary of $74,342, which is higher than the $62,966 average annual salary of a clinical research associate.

The top three skills for a clinical research associate include patients, informed consent and CRA. The most important skills for a data analyst are data analysis, python, and power bi.

Clinical research associate vs data analyst overview

	Clinical Research Associate	Data Analyst
Yearly salary	$62,966	$74,342
Hourly rate	$30.27	$35.74
Growth rate	6%	11%
Number of jobs	94,336	167,520
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	4

What does a clinical research associate do?

A clinical research associate is responsible for assisting medical professionals in clinical trials and conducting research studies on medications and medical procedures. Clinical research associates monitor the research materials, ensuring its safety and reliability through trial procedures, writing comprehensive reports of results, and disseminating information across the concerned parties. They also provide recommendations on improving clinical processes, reiterating protocol requirements, and maintaining strict confidentiality of the trial subjects. A clinical research associate must have extensive knowledge of the medical industry, including its disciplines and principles, to perform duties accurately under minimal supervision.

What does a data analyst do?

Data analysts are responsible for interpreting the company's statistics and providing sound recommendations to the organization. They manage the organization's data sets, usually related to market performance, finance, or human resources. They are in charge of studying the available data, spotting trends, interpreting what the data and the trends mean, and recommending suggestions that will help the organization perform better. Their recommendations should also be relevant and backed up with strong analyses. Data analysts are expected to have a good grasp of the current market trends in the industry.

Clinical research associate vs data analyst salary

Clinical research associates and data analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clinical Research Associate	Data Analyst
Average salary	$62,966	$74,342
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $91,000	Between $53,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Richmond, CA
Highest paying state	California	New Jersey
Best paying company	Meta	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Finance

Differences between clinical research associate and data analyst education

There are a few differences between a clinical research associate and a data analyst in terms of educational background:

	Clinical Research Associate	Data Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Biology	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Northwestern University

Clinical research associate vs data analyst demographics

Here are the differences between clinical research associates' and data analysts' demographics:

	Clinical Research Associate	Data Analyst
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 28.3% Female, 71.7%	Male, 50.2% Female, 49.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 2.5% Unknown, 7.4% Hispanic or Latino, 13.7% Asian, 13.0% White, 62.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.5% Asian, 14.5% White, 64.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	9%	12%

Differences between clinical research associate and data analyst duties and responsibilities

Clinical research associate example responsibilities.

Manage, schedule and train up to 15 CRAs.
Recruit patients, attain patient inform consent form, educate subjects on compliance, and ensure patient safety per ICH guidelines.
Manage site TMF to ensure communication requirements adherence
Manage CRO and regional monitor to complete close out activities, including device accountability management.
Manage regional academic and community base oncology practices as the primary contact for all communications and support.
Manage the monitoring CRO and the data clean-up efforts for a 510k submission and interim/annual study reports by effectively collaborating cross-functionally.

Data analyst example responsibilities.

Manage patient s data in UNIX system.
Manage loan performance in Hyperion Financials using SQL and PL/SQL tools.
Manage and contribute to EDI processes ensuring HIPAA compliance and access to clearing house review on individual case status.
Develop Java application to automate reformatting of text files for an internal application.
Execute deterministic modeling and Monte Carlo simulations in MATLAB to achieve greater mathematical confidence in results obtain from analysis.
Manage weapon system project websites via SharePoint, including troubleshooting technical issues and developing guidelines for public/private information and user permissions.

Clinical research associate vs data analyst skills

Common clinical research associate skills

Patients, 9%
Informed Consent, 7%
CRA, 6%
Clinical Trials, 6%
Clinical Trial Management, 5%
Oncology, 4%

Common data analyst skills

Data Analysis, 10%
Python, 7%
Power Bi, 6%
Data Management, 6%
Visualization, 5%
Data Quality, 4%

Clinical Research Associate vs. similar jobs

Clinical Research Associate related careers

Clinical Research Associate related jobs

Clinical Research Associate jobs by location

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Clinical Research Associate
Clinical Research Associate vs Data Analyst

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs