Clinical scientist vs clinical research associate

The differences between clinical scientists and clinical research associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a clinical scientist, becoming a clinical research associate takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a clinical scientist has an average salary of $122,388, which is higher than the $62,966 average annual salary of a clinical research associate.

The top three skills for a clinical scientist include patients, informed consent and clinical operations. The most important skills for a clinical research associate are patients, informed consent, and CRA.

Clinical scientist vs clinical research associate overview

	Clinical Scientist	Clinical Research Associate
Yearly salary	$122,388	$62,966
Hourly rate	$58.84	$30.27
Growth rate	17%	6%
Number of jobs	96,923	94,336
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	41	44
Years of experience	4	2

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 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.

Clinical scientist vs clinical research associate salary

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

	Clinical Scientist	Clinical Research Associate
Average salary	$122,388	$62,966
Salary range	Between $94,000 And $157,000	Between $43,000 And $91,000
Highest paying City	Indianapolis, IN	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	California
Best paying company	Reata Pharmaceuticals	Meta
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Pharmaceutical

Differences between clinical scientist and clinical research associate education

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

	Clinical Scientist	Clinical Research Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Pennsylvania

Clinical scientist vs clinical research associate demographics

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

	Clinical Scientist	Clinical Research Associate
Average age	41	44
Gender ratio	Male, 37.0% Female, 63.0%	Male, 28.3% Female, 71.7%
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, 2.5% Unknown, 7.4% Hispanic or Latino, 13.7% Asian, 13.0% White, 62.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	9%

Differences between clinical scientist and clinical research associate 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.

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.

Clinical scientist vs clinical research associate skills

Common clinical scientist skills

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

Common clinical research associate skills

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

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Clinical Scientist vs Clinical Research Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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