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Research coordinator vs assistant research scientist

The differences between research coordinators and assistant research scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a research coordinator and an assistant research scientist. Additionally, an assistant research scientist has an average salary of $62,780, which is higher than the $48,974 average annual salary of a research coordinator.

The top three skills for a research coordinator include patients, informed consent and data collection. The most important skills for an assistant research scientist are research projects, data collection, and data analysis.

Research coordinator vs assistant research scientist overview

Research CoordinatorAssistant Research Scientist
Yearly salary$48,974$62,780
Hourly rate$23.55$30.18
Growth rate6%17%
Number of jobs65,40688,786
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age4438
Years of experience22

What does a research coordinator do?

A research coordinator is responsible for assisting the development of research data from clinical trials and laboratory investigations under the supervision of a lead researcher or a research supervisor. In some cases, research coordinators conduct field investigations and analyze existing research materials upon understanding the scope and limitations of the study. They enter their findings and useful resources on the research database for reference to the research team. A research coordinator must have excellent communication skills, both written and oral, especially on gathering data and coordinating with other researchers for the progress and updates of the study.

What does an assistant research scientist do?

An Assistant Research Scientist assists in planning, conducting, and analyzing various research projects. They also order and manage lab inventory, materials, and equipment.

Research coordinator vs assistant research scientist salary

Research coordinators and assistant research scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Research CoordinatorAssistant Research Scientist
Average salary$48,974$62,780
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $68,000Between $43,000 And $89,000
Highest paying CityBothell, WASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateConnecticutMassachusetts
Best paying companyBNP ParibasUniversity of California
Best paying industryHealth CareEducation

Differences between research coordinator and assistant research scientist education

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

Research CoordinatorAssistant Research Scientist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common majorPsychologyBiology
Most common collegeDuke UniversityHarvard University

Research coordinator vs assistant research scientist demographics

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

Research CoordinatorAssistant Research Scientist
Average age4438
Gender ratioMale, 29.1% Female, 70.9%Male, 55.6% Female, 44.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 2.6% Unknown, 7.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 10.2% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 16.7% White, 52.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage9%8%

Differences between research coordinator and assistant research scientist duties and responsibilities

Research coordinator example responsibilities.

  • Manage participant's records ensuring confidentiality as well as NIH specifications.
  • Manage all IRB submissions, sponsor communications, participate in monitoring visits, drug reconciliation and dispensing.
  • Recruit, screen, conduct psychometric examinations and collect data for pharmaceutical clinical trials in patients diagnose with Alzheimer's disease.
  • Maintain confidential information and appropriate ethical professionalism with highly sensitive personal health information; take part in IRB human subjects training.
  • Assist in preparation of grants, NIH progress reports, presentations, and manuscripts.
  • Ensure and maintain confidentiality, privacy and compliance of patient rights in accordance with HIPAA regulations and NVCI policies.
  • Show more

Assistant research scientist example responsibilities.

  • Lead a group of four employees in optimizing DNA purification technologies for production DNA sequencing.
  • Evaluate patients' study eligibility via medical history, obtain informed consent, enroll patients, and achieve enrollment quotas.
  • Experience in SAS programming in biomedical research.
  • Prepare salivary samples for Cortisol ELISA assays.
  • Gather and code quantitative and qualitative data using SPSS and Atlas.ti.
  • Standardize assays to elucidate the mechanism of action of lead molecules.
  • Show more

Research coordinator vs assistant research scientist skills

Common research coordinator skills
  • Patients, 11%
  • Informed Consent, 8%
  • Data Collection, 8%
  • IRB, 7%
  • Research Projects, 6%
  • Patient Care, 4%
Common assistant research scientist skills
  • Research Projects, 8%
  • Data Collection, 7%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • Lab Equipment, 4%
  • Cell Culture, 4%
  • Chemistry, 4%

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