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Job outlook for senior program associates in the United States
Senior program associate job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected senior program associate job growth rate is 8% from 2018-2028.
About 12,800 new jobs for senior program associates are projected over the next decade.
Senior program associate salaries have increased 8% for senior program associates in the last 5 years.
There are over 6,028 senior program associates currently employed in the United States.
There are 65,343 active senior program associate job openings in the US.
The average senior program associate salary is $56,190.
Are senior program associate jobs in demand?
Senior program associate job and salary trends over time
Senior program associate jobs over time
Senior program associate job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 6,028 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 5,604 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 5,738 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 5,312 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 5,136 | 0.00% |
Average senior program associate salary over time
Senior program associate salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $56,190 | $27.01 | +2.7% |
| 2025 | $54,734 | $26.31 | +3.8% |
| 2024 | $52,719 | $25.35 | +0.1% |
| 2023 | $52,675 | $25.32 | +0.9% |
| 2022 | $52,182 | $25.09 | +3.7% |
Senior program associate jobs by state
Most common states for senior program associates
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 363 | 52% |
| 2 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 143 | 19% |
| 3 | Delaware | 961,939 | 164 | 17% |
| 4 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 96 | 17% |
| 5 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 194 | 14% |
| 6 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 147 | 14% |
| 7 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 141 | 13% |
| 8 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 678 | 12% |
| 9 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 429 | 12% |
| 10 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 365 | 12% |
| 11 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 746 | 11% |
| 12 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 633 | 11% |
| 13 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 471 | 11% |
| 14 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 100 | 11% |
| 15 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 747 | 10% |
| 16 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 201 | 10% |
| 17 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 178 | 10% |
| 18 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 139 | 10% |
| 19 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 1,138 | 9% |
| 20 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 894 | 9% |
Most common cities for senior program associates
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northampton | 3 | 11% | $69,312 |
| 2 | Andover | 2 | 6% | $68,220 |
| 3 | Melbourne | 3 | 4% | $48,858 |
| 4 | Waco | 4 | 3% | $49,173 |
| 5 | Washington | 15 | 2% | $60,540 |
| 6 | Cambridge | 2 | 2% | $68,946 |
| 7 | Atlanta | 4 | 1% | $50,045 |
| 8 | Jersey City | 3 | 1% | $67,669 |
| 9 | Tampa | 3 | 1% | $49,405 |
| 10 | Lincoln | 2 | 1% | $37,041 |
| 11 | Baltimore | 2 | 0% | $59,884 |
| 12 | Chicago | 2 | 0% | $55,422 |
| 13 | New York | 2 | 0% | $72,912 |
| 14 | San Francisco | 2 | 0% | $88,479 |
| 15 | Anaheim | 1 | 0% | $74,467 |
| 16 | Boston | 1 | 0% | $69,043 |
| 17 | Dallas | 1 | 0% | $48,466 |
| 18 | Denver | 1 | 0% | $43,049 |
| 19 | Detroit | 1 | 0% | $50,302 |
Senior Program Associate job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of senior program associate experts
Middle Tennessee State University
Freed-Hardeman University
Oklahoma Baptist University
Western Carolina University
Auburn University at Montgomery
Maryville University
Azusa Pacific University
Thiel College
Seattle University
East Tennessee State University
Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy - CSWA
Pacific Lutheran University
Hartwick College
Boston University
American University
Pace University
Frostburg State University
What soft skills should all Senior Program Associates possess?
Frank Lambert Ph.D.: Graduates in librarianship should have a definite public service ethic as one of their primary soft skills. Librarianship is a rewarding career, but you will not get rich being one. However, people become librarians more often than not just based on that desire to serve. Being a team player is very helpful. You need to work with other professionals and paraprofessionals closely. Working well in a team environment is pretty much essential, regardless whether you are working at a public service desk or behind the scenes in a technical services department. Being open to learning new things is a great soft skill. If you thrive in environments where the only constant is change, then librarianship is a great career. Finally, if you like puzzles or solving problems, then librarianship is for you. You want to run towards challenging information-based problems to start working on them right away. There is nothing more satisfying than finding the answer to a complex and challenging information-based problem and seeing the gratitude on your patron's face.
How have salaries changed over time for Senior Program Associates?
Frank Lambert Ph.D.: Salaries continue to rise. There are hundreds of graduates across the nation every semester, and yet there are still multiple job openings. Retirement of baby boomers in librarianship appears to be increasing. I would not say there is a shortage of qualified candidates; however, according to the Library Journal's most recent salary survey, their 2019 Placements & Salaries survey learned that full-time grads earned on average 6.2 percent more than they did in 2018 www.libraryjournal.com
This also was a 24% increase from 2011 salary levels. Salaries increasing this much may be due to, as I wrote, a glut of open positions in librarianship due to retirements, but closer analysis should be conducted before anything definitive is stated.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Senior Program Associates?
Kristen Roberson: The workplace will forever be altered due to the pandemic, and the effects of those in career transitions, not just those graduating now, will be impacted for some time. It will take some time for the new normal to be normal.
Dr. Daryl Green
Associate Professor of BusinessOklahoma Baptist University
College of Business
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Senior Program Associate job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Daryl Green: I have been researching emerging employment trends for several years. While working for the Department of Energy as a senior engineer, I have served as a college recruiter. There were gaps in the students' skill sets compared to employers' needs. I later co-authored a book called Job Strategies for the 21st Century to provide students with the necessary tools for future employment. 2021 will be very difficult due to the pandemic. From my research, here are 2021 employment trends to consider:
-Global Market - We are connected! Since employers can tap into human resources across the world, students will compete against others across the globe.
-Students who understand this employment reality will be better prepared.
-AI and Automation - Artificial intelligence is disruptive technology. Companies can avoid the high expense of labor through automation. According to 2013 Oxford University study, nearly half of American jobs are at risk of being taken over by computers by 2033. Students need to understand AI technologies.
-New Work Model - 2020 brought in the explosion of working from home due to Covid-19. Employees already wanted to have more flexibility in life. They got it from employers. Companies responded by offering 70% of full-time workers the ability to work from home!
-Freelancing - Freelancing is part of the gig economy. It goes much further than Airbnb and Uber. In the gig economy, businesses hire independent contractors to perform individual jobs, called "gigs." The total freelancing income is almost $1 trillion. Therefore, students who have an entrepreneurial mindset will fare better.
-Digital & Ecommerce - Covid-19 ushered the digital economy. If companies did not have a digital platform in 2020 with the lockdowns, they did not exist. According to the Internet World Stats, there are currently 4,208,571, 287 internet users. Therefore, students cannot afford to miss this continuing trend of digital platforms.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Senior Program Associates?
Angela Sebby Ph.D.: While jobs may be slower to return to the capacity pre-Covid, the industry and tourism employment will rebound as people still want to travel and explore diverse foods, cultures, and experiences. However, the enduring impact will be the rapid onset of technology that allowed for limited contact with employees and others has become the new norm. Although human interaction is an important aspect of service in the tourism industry, employers have found that they can reduce the number of personal interactions but still deliver an acceptable level of quality service. What would have taken years to adopt, COVID created an amplified adoption.
What technical skills for a Senior Program Associate stand out to employers?
Angela Sebby Ph.D.: Business, creative, and organizational skills - I would recommend that upcoming graduates are proficient in Word, Excel (highly used), Powerpoint, Outlook (especially how to send meeting requests and calendar organization), TEAMS, Gantt charts for team management, Mindmapping for creativity, and design software. Additionally, I would recommend that they learn how to properly utilize social media for marketing and PR, not just personal posting. Finally, email etiquette would be essential.
What soft skills should all Senior Program Associates possess?
TeWhan Hahn Ph.D.: Writing skills including email writing, being able to work in teams, and knowing the workplace etiquettes.
Meaghan Goodman Ph.D.
Program Director & Assistant ProfessorMaryville University
Speech-Language Pathology
What's a day at work look like for a Senior Program Associate?
Meaghan Goodman Ph.D.: A bachelor's in communication sciences and disorders can prepare you for three different tracks. First, it can prepare you to become a licensed Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA). This is someone who works under a fully credential speech-language pathologist. Often times, they carryout intervention plans developed by a fully credentialed speech-language pathologist. If graduate school is on your horizon, a bachelor's degree in communication sciences and disorders will prepare you for acceptance into a Speech-Language Pathology program, or an Audiology program. If you are not accepted into a graduate program right away, working as a speech-language pathology assistant (SLPA) is a great way to get experience in the field!
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Senior Program Associates?
Bala Musa Ph.D.: Digital literacy, cultural literacy, information technology, data management and human communication skills courses and certifications will continue to be relevant in the workplace.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Senior Program Associate job market given the pandemic?
Mary Beth Mason Ph.D.: I think we are going to see teletherapy as a more common service delivery model across settings. I think that that will be what I call a "Pandemic Positive". I think many states will pass legislation post pandemic for teletherapy to be a reimbursable service.
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Senior Program Associates?
Mary Beth Mason Ph.D.: I think one of the great things about being a speech-language pathologist is that we can work across the lifespan in a variety of settings. In order to have that flexibility, graduates should get their Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), professional state license, and credential to work in public school setting. It is important to get those three credentials as soon as possible after graduation because they will meet the current standards. If they wait, there might be new standards in place which means they might need additional coursework and/or pass additional tests.
What's a good job out of college for Senior Program Associates?
Mary Beth Mason Ph.D.: I think it's important for new graduates to remain open to different work settings when looking for a job. Happiness is a balancing act between work and home so it's important to consider factors such as schedule and commute in addition to work setting and caseload.
New clinicians need to complete a Clinical Fellowship experience before applying for their Certificate of Clinical Competency from ASHA. I always tell students to ask about their Clinical Fellowship mentor during their interview. That is always a good question to ask in the interview when the employer asks if you have questions. Successful completion of the Clinical Fellowship is the final step in the certification process so it's really important to have a good working relationship with that person. A good mentor can help a new clinician have a great experience in any setting.
My final piece of advice to new graduates is to always negotiate. I tell my students to call me for a pep talk if they need one because I know their worth and value. Employers expect some back and forth following the initial offer. A good employer is not going to withdraw an offer because you counter for increased salary or better benefits. In helping professions like speech-language pathology, I think many don't want to seem aggressive, but negotiating job offers is completely acceptable.
Bottom line is we all need to have a job that we like that allows us to have a life that we love.
Theresa Earenfight Ph.D.
Professor of History, Director, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies ProgramSeattle University
History Department
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Senior Program Associates?
Theresa Earenfight Ph.D.: As a historian of the European Middle Ages, I'm struck by how students this past year have acquired something scarce: historical empathy. The past can seem so remote, so very different from our lived experiences today, and this can make history seem irrelevant. But this fall, I was teaching a section on the bubonic plague, which historians of medicine now know was a global pandemic, not just an epidemic in Europe. Usually, students are fascinated by the gruesome medical details, but not this group.
They did not need or want to look death in the eyes. They wanted to know how did people react? How did they get back to normal? When we ticked off the list of reactions--fear, distrust of science (such as it was in 1348), xenophobia, scapegoating, economic collapse, hoarding supplies, turn to religion, gallows humor about worms crawling about corpses--they got it. When we talked about the aftermath--eat, drink, be merry, and protest the inequality--they got it. That is historical empathy, and I'm sad that this was how it had to be learned, but it will give them broader compassion that can encompass people alive today.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Senior Program Associates?
Dr. Frederick Gordon Ph.D.: Graduate students will need to refocus on the changing institutional role, being both remote and in-person, and impacting agency goals and performance.
What experience really stands out on Senior Program Associate resumes?
Dr. Frederick Gordon Ph.D.: Program concentration and meaningful internship experience.
Nicolle Zellner (on behalf of members of the CSWA)
ChairCommittee on the Status of Women in Astronomy - CSWA
What type of skills will young Senior Program Associates need?
Nicolle Zellner (on behalf of members of the CSWA): I believe (hope) that the effects of the pandemic will be short-lived and that there will be a surge in job opportunities once a vaccine is available. Nevertheless, greater flexibility and versatility in skills are always useful. For example, astronomers who have analyzed large data sets or worked with machine learning algorithms will be in significant demand.
Interdisciplinary studies are also on the rise. New fields like astrobiology are rapidly growing, and there are ripe potentials for researchers with unique combinations of expertise or who can work with broad collaborations spanning disciplines.
With the growth of data, especially from large astronomical surveys, technical skills like computer programming and experience with data science tools and machine learning is increasingly useful. The ability to communicate complex ideas to a range of audiences is a necessity in most fields, and astronomers generally have great relevant experience with community outreach.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Senior Program Associates to find work opportunities?
Nicolle Zellner (on behalf of members of the CSWA): I think that permanent and what might be considered more "traditional" astronomy research positions like tenured professorships are more difficult to attain, primarily because of a short supply in the availability of those positions compared to the number of qualified candidates. Looking more broadly, there's a wide range of relevant positions for which many astronomers have very useful and increasingly more recognized skillsets - outreach/education positions for a variety of age groups in STEM, technical program/project management, scientific writing, and data science in industry, as examples.
Jordan Levy Ph.D.
Associate Professor of AnthropologyPacific Lutheran University
Anthropology Department
What experience really stands out on Senior Program Associate resumes?
Jordan Levy Ph.D.: Any research project where students develop independent research skills. This can be part of the coursework, or part of an internship, or through a summer research assistantship. Anthropology is known for its holistic and comparative perspective and our ability to communicate effectively with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Our qualitative research methods, in particular, have a range of applications. If students can develop interview skills and their capacity to make sense of human behavior, while also pursuing their undergraduate degrees, this knowledge and skill set will be attractive to a range of employers. As the U.S. becomes more diverse, our society will demand a workforce to better understand and interact with people from a range of cultural backgrounds.
Namita Sugandhi Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of AnthropologyHartwick College
Anthropology Department
Will there be an increase or decrease in demand for Senior Program Associates in the next 5 years?
Namita Sugandhi Ph.D.: There is an absolute need for employees who can think anthropologically, but this is probably not where most jobs will lie in the next five years. There is no perceived "demand" for Anthropology graduates in most circumstances; this is not new, but it is to our detriment as a society when most people no longer have the capacity to critically understand the social and historical circumstances of the labor market. This will continue to erode at safe and fair conditions for many working people in America and worldwide. That being said, new candidates will have to be adept at doing new things in new ways - not just replicating the same old things in new ways. I do not think the training for this will come from the professional fields of medicine, law, or business, which are traditionally more conservative. I suspect there will continue to be a declining demand for professional Anthropologists but increasing demand for skilled graduates with an anthropology background. They can apply the social and historical insights of these subjects to whatever field they practice.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Senior Program Associates to find work opportunities?
John Marston: Private contractor companies are operating in the consulting space, termed "Cultural Resource Management."
How do you envision technology impacting Senior Program Associates in the next 5 years?
Dr. Adelaide Kelly-Massoud: Well, every teacher and teacher candidate was thrust into distance learning. Misguided attempts to foster understanding often leaned our adult distant learning pedagogy. Teachers, and those who prepare teachers, found their job to research, define, design, and implement meaningful teaching and learning using a virtual platform. Words such as synchronous and asynchronous are now a part of our everyday vernacular. But there is a much more optimistic change on the horizon that we can thank coronavirus for.
Communication and collaboration have been forced to change. Parents and Teachers are more connected and have been put in a position to leverage technology to build networks of support and consistent dialog. I urge teachers to leverage this in their future as we work to reopening schools; we should learn from this experience to leverage technology to keep us connected.
Dr. Sheying Chen Ph.D.
Professor of Public Administration/Social PolicyPace University
Department of Public Administration
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Senior Program Associate job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Sheying Chen Ph.D.: As one of the media articles pointed out, the crisis has hit public-sector jobs once considered safe. Due to social distancing requirements and stay-at-home orders, many people have been working remotely. So, teleworking is one of the biggest trends we see in the job market, with more professionals working at home whenever possible. Even when stay-at-home orders are relaxed, many may continue working from home until the pandemic is fully contained.
Jamelyn Tobery-Nystrom
Coordinator of M.Ed. Special EducationFrostburg State University
Educational Professions
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Senior Program Associates to find work opportunities?
Jamelyn Tobery-Nystrom: Special education teachers are needed everywhere. Urban areas have more openings; however, rural areas struggle to find qualified candidates because their number is limited. We are not producing enough teachers in the United States, and we have a real crisis in special education.