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The differences between research associates and project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a project manager has an average salary of $91,578, which is higher than the $60,166 average annual salary of a research associate.
The top three skills for a research associate include patients, research projects and data analysis. The most important skills for a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.
| Research Associate | Project Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $60,166 | $91,578 |
| Hourly rate | $28.93 | $44.03 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 63,884 | 167,116 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.17 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 38 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | - |
A research associate is responsible for assisting the research team, organizing and interpreting findings, and verifying information before presenting the study to the board. Research associates duties also include gathering and comparing data from multiple sources, analyzing the current industry trends, creating draft outlines for reports, collecting individual contacts for interview purposes, and helping with the development of research procedures. A research associate must have excellent time-management skills and ability to multi-task, especially on meeting strict deadlines and conducting studies.
Project managers oversee a specific project related to the organization's business. They manage the whole project from inception to evaluation. They initiate planning with involved departments, follow-through on the plans, ensure smooth execution of the plans, and evaluate the project for further improvements should these be needed. In line with this, project managers also ensure that the project is cost-efficient and well within the budget. They also manage the different work teams involved in the project and ensure that things are running smoothly on this aspect as well.
Research associates and project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Research Associate | Project Manager | |
| Average salary | $60,166 | $91,578 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $87,000 | Between $64,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | Worcester, MA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | California |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a research associate and a project manager in terms of educational background:
| Research Associate | Project Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Biology | Business |
| Most common college | Harvard University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between research associates' and project managers' demographics:
| Research Associate | Project Manager | |
| Average age | 38 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.8% Female, 49.2% | Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 16.6% White, 52.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 10% |