Clinical scientist vs associate scientist

The differences between clinical scientists and associate scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a clinical scientist and an associate scientist. Additionally, a clinical scientist has an average salary of $122,388, which is higher than the $76,461 average annual salary of an associate scientist.

The top three skills for a clinical scientist include patients, informed consent and clinical operations. The most important skills for an associate scientist are chemistry, patients, and cell culture.

Clinical scientist vs associate scientist overview

	Clinical Scientist	Associate Scientist
Yearly salary	$122,388	$76,461
Hourly rate	$58.84	$36.76
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	96,923	54,950
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

What does a clinical scientist do?

A clinical scientist's duties depend on their line of work or place of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around conducting experiments and research, gathering and preparing samples such as blood and tissues, analyzing and examining specimens through different processes, reviewing data and results, and coordinating with other scientists to develop medicines or treatments. They may also train new scientists, oversee assistants' performance, and maintain order in a laboratory. Furthermore, a clinical scientist may work in hospitals, clinics, private laboratories, learning institutions, or research facilities.

What does an associate scientist do?

An Associate Scientist assists in various experiments and research, working under the direction of a lead scientist. Their specialties may include biological life sciences, geo-science, atmospheric physics, and computing.

Clinical scientist vs associate scientist salary

Clinical scientists and associate scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clinical Scientist	Associate Scientist
Average salary	$122,388	$76,461
Salary range	Between $94,000 And $157,000	Between $53,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	Indianapolis, IN	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	California
Best paying company	Reata Pharmaceuticals	Phillips 66
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Manufacturing

Differences between clinical scientist and associate scientist education

There are a few differences between a clinical scientist and an associate scientist in terms of educational background:

	Clinical Scientist	Associate Scientist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Clinical scientist vs associate scientist demographics

Here are the differences between clinical scientists' and associate scientists' demographics:

	Clinical Scientist	Associate Scientist
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 37.0% Female, 63.0%	Male, 48.6% Female, 51.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between clinical scientist and associate scientist duties and responsibilities

Clinical scientist example responsibilities.

Manage clinical monitors in successful completion of large international hypertension study.
Manage and work collaboratively with CRO management to initiate and update contract/consultancy agreements/amendments on an ongoing basis.
Function as member of the FDA audit preparation team in support of the filed NDA.
Conduct multiple HIPAA training sessions.
Identify grant funding opportunities and prepare scientific grant applications (NIH and non-NIH).
Review serious adverse event reports receive from other local country sectors for expediting to the FDA.

Associate scientist example responsibilities.

Manage study protocols and study conduct, intimately involve in the toxicology and pharmacokinetic study protocol development process.
Generate crispr knockout STAT1, STAT3 and STAT1 & 3double knockout cell lines.
Use CRISPR technology to create target knockout cell line.
Direct ISO 9000 4.10 team registration activities and perform internal audits.
Prepare stock reagents and buffers for use in manufacturing assay kits.
Confirm the quality of product meet specifications according to cGMP and ICH guidelines.

Clinical scientist vs associate scientist skills

Common clinical scientist skills

Patients, 9%
Informed Consent, 6%
Clinical Operations, 5%
Oncology, 5%
Clinical Development, 5%
Clinical Data, 5%

Common associate scientist skills

Chemistry, 9%
Patients, 8%
Cell Culture, 5%
Data Analysis, 5%
GMP, 4%
Lab Equipment, 3%

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Clinical Scientist
Clinical Scientist vs Associate Scientist

Updated January 8, 2025

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