Clinical researcher vs research administrator

The differences between clinical researchers and research administrators 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 researcher and a research administrator. Additionally, a clinical researcher has an average salary of $55,453, which is higher than the $52,667 average annual salary of a research administrator.

The top three skills for a clinical researcher include patients, informed consent and IRB. The most important skills for a research administrator are research administration, customer service, and principal investigators.

Clinical researcher vs research administrator overview

	Clinical Researcher	Research Administrator
Yearly salary	$55,453	$52,667
Hourly rate	$26.66	$25.32
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	60,864	99,798
Job satisfaction	-	2
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

What does a clinical researcher do?

A clinical researcher is primarily in charge of conducting research trials for medicine and health care development. Their responsibilities mainly revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis by gathering samples, performing experiments, working with research participants, and collaborating with other researchers and scientists. Moreover, as a clinical researcher, it is essential to maintain records of all experiments, summarize findings into reports and presentations, and monitor every progress, all while adhering to the research's deadlines, budgets, goals, and policies.

What does a research administrator do?

A research administrator oversees the progress of research programs, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities mostly revolve around devising strategies to optimize processes, coordinating different departments, setting goals and objectives, managing the schedule and budgets, and maintaining records of all transactions. There are also instances when a research administrator must produce progress reports, participate in gathering surveys and feedbacks, and resolve issues promptly and professionally. Furthermore, as a research administrator, it is essential to lead and encourage team members to reach goals while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Clinical researcher vs research administrator salary

Clinical researchers and research administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clinical Researcher	Research Administrator
Average salary	$55,453	$52,667
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $79,000	Between $41,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	Santa Rosa, CA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	California	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Edwards Lifesciences	Kronos Incorporated
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Health Care

Differences between clinical researcher and research administrator education

There are a few differences between a clinical researcher and a research administrator in terms of educational background:

	Clinical Researcher	Research Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Biology	Business
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	Stanford University

Clinical researcher vs research administrator demographics

Here are the differences between clinical researchers' and research administrators' demographics:

	Clinical Researcher	Research Administrator
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 38.3% Female, 61.7%	Male, 30.6% Female, 69.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 2.5% Unknown, 7.4% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 13.5% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 2.6% Unknown, 7.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 8.8% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between clinical researcher and research administrator duties and responsibilities

Clinical researcher example responsibilities.

Manage site master file contents and work with sites to ensure communication requirements between site and IRB are adhere to.
Establish and maintain strong community partnerships to achieve HIV prevention objectives.
Maintain study database to in compliance with FDA regulations.
Perform NIH studies, coordinate interviews of clinical research trial participant's.
Support IRB applications and analyze collected data.
Interact with and assess patients to determine effectiveness of medicine.

Research administrator example responsibilities.

Create and manage multiple computer databases using SAS and SPSS, ensuring data up-to-date and accurate.
Collect, manage and analyze preliminary data using SPSS statistical software.
Prepare complex NIH clinical research proposals involving coordination with several clinical research sites.
Assist with new patient eligibility evaluation, registration, and coordinating protocol relate care of patients enroll in clinical trials.
Train in GCP, ICH, FDA, and local regulations for drug and device trials.
Attend HIV treatment information meetings in Washington, D.C.

Clinical researcher vs research administrator skills

Common clinical researcher skills

Patients, 16%
Informed Consent, 12%
IRB, 10%
Clinical Trials, 8%
Data Collection, 8%
FDA, 6%

Common research administrator skills

Research Administration, 10%
Customer Service, 8%
Principal Investigators, 7%
PIS, 6%
Pre-award, 6%
Payroll, 5%

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Clinical Researcher vs Research Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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