Research volunteer vs senior research associate

The differences between research volunteers and senior research associates 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 volunteer and a senior research associate. Additionally, a senior research associate has an average salary of $72,618, which is higher than the $54,668 average annual salary of a research volunteer.

The top three skills for a research volunteer include lab procedures, cell culture and laboratory techniques. The most important skills for a senior research associate are patients, data analysis, and CRISPR.

Research volunteer vs senior research associate overview

	Research Volunteer	Senior Research Associate
Yearly salary	$54,668	$72,618
Hourly rate	$26.28	$34.91
Growth rate	19%	6%
Number of jobs	50,334	58,903
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	38	44
Years of experience	2	2

Research volunteer vs senior research associate salary

Research volunteers and senior research associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Research Volunteer	Senior Research Associate
Average salary	$54,668	$72,618
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $85,000	Between $51,000 And $102,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	The Citadel
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between research volunteer and senior research associate education

There are a few differences between a research volunteer and a senior research associate in terms of educational background:

	Research Volunteer	Senior Research Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	Harvard University	Stanford University

Research volunteer vs senior research associate demographics

Here are the differences between research volunteers' and senior research associates' demographics:

	Research Volunteer	Senior Research Associate
Average age	38	44
Gender ratio	Male, 38.7% Female, 61.3%	Male, 53.6% Female, 46.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 16.9% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 2.5% Unknown, 7.4% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 13.4% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	9%

Differences between research volunteer and senior research associate duties and responsibilities

Research volunteer example responsibilities.

Evaluate patients' study eligibility via medical history, obtain informed consent, enroll patients, and achieve enrollment quotas.
Assist in monitoring MRI scans.
Assist in cloning and expression for RNA research.
Analyze cell lysates and purify proteins by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis.
Design a PowerPoint presentation to teach senior adults about email accounts.
Assist with laboratory experiments, collect data and DNA samples, contribute to lab protocols.

Senior research associate example responsibilities.

Manage the development of innovative visualization and concept mapping of contest environment analysis challenges and analyst skill sets.
Develop, implement and optimize HPLC and ELISA assays in support of cell line and process development.
Provide purification service with rp-LCMS, np- HPLC, and MPLC, as well QC data including UPLC-MS and NMR.
Engineer and design a unique CRISPR cloning system for the group.
Apply the CRISPR technology to conduct gene editing in human IPSCs.
Develop an identity ELISA assay to detect the presence of competing and irrelevant drug products in manufacturing process.

Research volunteer vs senior research associate skills

Common research volunteer skills

Lab Procedures, 11%
Cell Culture, 8%
Laboratory Techniques, 7%
Data Collection, 6%
R, 4%
RT-PCR, 4%

Common senior research associate skills

Patients, 9%
Data Analysis, 6%
CRISPR, 6%
Molecular Biology, 5%
Cell Culture, 5%
Flow Cytometry, 4%

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Research Volunteer
Research Volunteer vs Senior Research Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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