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The differences between senior principal scientists and associate directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior principal scientist has an average salary of $119,042, which is higher than the $114,223 average annual salary of an associate director.
The top three skills for a senior principal scientist include chemistry, drug discovery and java. The most important skills for an associate director are patients, healthcare, and project management.
| Senior Principal Scientist | Associate Director | |
| Yearly salary | $119,042 | $114,223 |
| Hourly rate | $57.23 | $54.91 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 85,334 | 72,370 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 41 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
A Senior Principal Scientist is focused on providing technical and scientific expertise in a specific field. They conduct quantitative and qualitative research to enhance existing products or develop new ones.
An associate director oversees the daily activities and business operations within a particular area. They are primarily responsible for devising strategies that aim for growth in profit and customer satisfaction, implementing policies and standards, evaluate the workforce, providing support to various departments, and setting goals in terms of budget and sales. Furthermore, they must regularly report progress to the director and coordinate with managers and supervisors in the joint effort to reach the vision and mission of the company.
Senior principal scientists and associate directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Principal Scientist | Associate Director | |
| Average salary | $119,042 | $114,223 |
| Salary range | Between $83,000 And $169,000 | Between $79,000 And $164,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | South San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Amazon | Legalmatch.com |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a senior principal scientist and an associate director in terms of educational background:
| Senior Principal Scientist | Associate Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Chemistry | Business |
| Most common college | Duke University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior principal scientists' and associate directors' demographics:
| Senior Principal Scientist | Associate Director | |
| Average age | 41 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.3% Female, 19.7% | Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 26.5% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 10% |