How To Become A Staff Associate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a staff associate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Generally, a typical staff associate performs support tasks in an office. In other words, staff associates are there to help staff members and make their jobs easier. A staff associate may be in charge of various things depending on the firm that they work for. Their tasks can include creating documents, processing documents, preparing reports, engaging clients during calls, and taking part in projects. For example, in an accounting firm, a staff associate will need to know the company's policies, perform audits, and carry out necessary reviews and compilations.

To work as a staff associate, you will need to have customer service skills, research skills, and communication skills. With more on-the-job training, you will handle more responsibilities.

ScoreStaff AssociateUS Average

Salary

5.1

Avg. Salary $64,997

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

6.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.56%

Asian 8.25%

Black or African American 10.84%

Hispanic or Latino 18.89%

Unknown 5.29%

White 56.17%

Gender

female 57.26%

male 42.74%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

6.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.5

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.5

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a staff associate

Explore staff associate education requirements

Most common staff associate degrees

Bachelor's

59.2 %

Associate

12.7 %

Master's

12.4 %

Start to develop specific staff associate skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	10.63%
Informed Consent	8.45%
Laboratory Tests	7.06%
Test Results	6.71%
OSHA	6.06%

Complete relevant staff associate training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New staff associates learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a staff associate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real staff associate resumes.

Research staff associate duties and responsibilities

Manage timely payment of vendors through invoicing (A/R).
Produce marketing materials to attract new patients, create materials for monthly specials, and manage Facebook account.
Advocate compliance with all HIPAA, HSE and OSHA policies and procedures.
Examine internal controls over financial reporting by testing cash disbursements, receipts, and payroll reconciliation.

Prepare your staff associate resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your staff associate resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a staff associate resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable staff associate resume templates

Build a professional staff associate resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your staff associate resume.