Clinical research associate vs senior research associate

The differences between clinical research associates and senior research associates 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 research associate and a senior research associate. Additionally, a senior research associate has an average salary of $72,618, 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 senior research associate are patients, data analysis, and CRISPR.

Clinical research associate vs senior research associate overview

	Clinical Research Associate	Senior Research Associate
Yearly salary	$62,966	$72,618
Hourly rate	$30.27	$34.91
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	94,336	58,903
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

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 senior research associate do?

A Senior Research Associate works closely with research team members to implement research ideas. They diagnose, solve system/software problems, and install application software according to research needs.

Clinical research associate vs senior research associate salary

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

	Clinical Research Associate	Senior Research Associate
Average salary	$62,966	$72,618
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $91,000	Between $51,000 And $102,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	Washington
Best paying company	Meta	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Government

Differences between clinical research associate and senior research associate education

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

	Clinical Research Associate	Senior Research Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

Clinical research associate vs senior research associate demographics

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

	Clinical Research Associate	Senior Research Associate
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 28.3% Female, 71.7%	Male, 53.6% Female, 46.4%
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, 2.5% Unknown, 7.4% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 13.4% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between clinical research associate and senior research associate 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.

Senior research associate example responsibilities.

Manage the development of innovative visualization and concept mapping of contest environment analysis challenges and analyst skill sets.
Develop, implement and optimize HPLC and ELISA assays in support of cell line and process development.
Provide purification service with rp-LCMS, np- HPLC, and MPLC, as well QC data including UPLC-MS and NMR.
Engineer and design a unique CRISPR cloning system for the group.
Apply the CRISPR technology to conduct gene editing in human IPSCs.
Develop an identity ELISA assay to detect the presence of competing and irrelevant drug products in manufacturing process.

Clinical research associate vs senior research associate skills

Common clinical research associate skills

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

Common senior research associate skills

Patients, 9%
Data Analysis, 6%
CRISPR, 6%
Molecular Biology, 5%
Cell Culture, 5%
Flow Cytometry, 4%

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Clinical Research Associate
Clinical Research Associate vs Senior Research Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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