Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between clinical statistical programmers and applications programmers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a clinical statistical programmer and an applications programmer. Additionally, an applications programmer has an average salary of $85,133, which is higher than the $83,894 average annual salary of a clinical statistical programmer.
The top three skills for a clinical statistical programmer include macro, data management and adam. The most important skills for an applications programmer are java, C++, and database.
| Clinical Statistical Programmer | Applications Programmer | |
| Yearly salary | $83,894 | $85,133 |
| Hourly rate | $40.33 | $40.93 |
| Growth rate | -7% | -7% |
| Number of jobs | 77,290 | 215,240 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
Clinical statistical programmers collect data, execute statistical analysis, and analyze data sets based on the needs of the clients or employers. The programmers use SAS programming for data set development and analysis during clinical trials. They integrate data for reports after statistical analysis or clinical research. The skills they need to develop include analytical thinking, attention to detail, research, and strategic planning. They should also need to know statistical programming in clinical research.
An application programmer is responsible for creating and designing computer systems and applications according to client specifications and business requirements. Application programmers run quality checks on the draft outputs to ensure its stability and efficiency for high-level performance. They also evaluate existing applications and recommend technical solutions to improve scalability. An application programmer must have excellent technical skills with a strong command of programming languages and system codes to determine the feasibility of applications and adjust features as needed.
Clinical statistical programmers and applications programmers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Clinical Statistical Programmer | Applications Programmer | |
| Average salary | $83,894 | $85,133 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $117,000 | Between $64,000 And $112,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Hampshire | Washington |
| Best paying company | Genentech | Dropbox |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Finance |
There are a few differences between a clinical statistical programmer and an applications programmer in terms of educational background:
| Clinical Statistical Programmer | Applications Programmer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Statistics | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Columbia University in the City of New York | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between clinical statistical programmers' and applications programmers' demographics:
| Clinical Statistical Programmer | Applications Programmer | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.0% Female, 33.0% | Male, 74.6% Female, 25.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.2% Asian, 25.4% White, 58.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.6% Asian, 16.4% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |