Clinical scientist vs clinical research coordinator

The differences between clinical scientists and clinical research coordinators 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 coordinator takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a clinical scientist has an average salary of $122,388, which is higher than the $52,459 average annual salary of a clinical research coordinator.

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

Clinical scientist vs clinical research coordinator overview

	Clinical Scientist	Clinical Research Coordinator
Yearly salary	$122,388	$52,459
Hourly rate	$58.84	$25.22
Growth rate	17%	6%
Number of jobs	96,923	102,960
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
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 coordinator do?

A clinical research coordinator is a healthcare professional responsible for administering clinical trials of drugs or medications. Clinical research coordinators work under the supervision of clinical research managers to collect data and help inform trial participants about the study's objectives. They must ensure that these trials have met all regulations, including drug safety, government regulations, and the organization's code of ethics. Clinical research coordinators must obtain a bachelor's degree in nursing and have at least two years of healthcare experience.

Clinical scientist vs clinical research coordinator salary

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

	Clinical Scientist	Clinical Research Coordinator
Average salary	$122,388	$52,459
Salary range	Between $94,000 And $157,000	Between $37,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	Indianapolis, IN	Richmond, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Washington
Best paying company	Reata Pharmaceuticals	Genentech
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Health Care

Differences between clinical scientist and clinical research coordinator education

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

	Clinical Scientist	Clinical Research Coordinator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Biology	Nursing
Most common college	University of Southern California	Duke University

Clinical scientist vs clinical research coordinator demographics

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

	Clinical Scientist	Clinical Research Coordinator
Average age	41	44
Gender ratio	Male, 37.0% Female, 63.0%	Male, 20.0% Female, 80.0%
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, 7.5% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 10.7% White, 64.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	9%

Differences between clinical scientist and clinical research coordinator 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 coordinator example responsibilities.

Assess study participants for adverse reactions or complications and manage side effects of chemotherapy and other study relate drugs.
Establish and maintain strong community partnerships to achieve HIV prevention objectives.
Direct acquisition and analysis of functional MRI research data following GCP and FDA regulations
Prepare and maintain IRB and regulatory documentation for various research projects and consent patients for clinical research.
Facilitate constant communication between principal investigators, oncology nurses, and patients to address concerns and maximize eligibility and enrollment.
Schedule patient for study procedures; initiate/coordinate drug orders, laboratory procedures and treatments for patients base on standing protocol orders.

Clinical scientist vs clinical research coordinator skills

Common clinical scientist skills

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

Common clinical research coordinator skills

Patients, 11%
Informed Consent, 10%
IRB, 7%
Data Collection, 5%
Research Projects, 4%
Patient Care, 4%

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Clinical Scientist vs Clinical Research Coordinator

Updated January 8, 2025

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