Staff associate of research vs postdoctoral associate

The differences between staff associate of research and postdoctoral associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a staff associate of research and a postdoctoral associate. Additionally, a staff associate of research has an average salary of $64,982, which is higher than the $54,350 average annual salary of a postdoctoral associate.

The top three skills for a staff associate of research include patients, data collection and molecular biology. The most important skills for a postdoctoral associate are patients, TIP, and data analysis.

Staff associate of research vs postdoctoral associate overview

	Staff Associate Of Research	Postdoctoral Associate
Yearly salary	$64,982	$54,350
Hourly rate	$31.24	$26.13
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	120,096	18,093
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Doctoral Degree, 47%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	4	4

What does a staff associate of research do?

A staff associate of research is responsible for performing and conducting research studies to support the research department of an organization or educational institution. Staff associates of research gather data from field investigation, verify its accuracy, and write reports of findings according to research requirements and methodologies. They also contribute significant areas of study according to market demands and public needs. A staff associate of research must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in coding information on the database and revising content as needed.

What does a postdoctoral associate do?

A postdoctoral associate is responsible for researching to support scientific claims and theories by collecting evidence and information to answer scientific questions. Postdoctoral associates must have excellent communication skills, both oral and written, to interact with people and document investigation findings. They also utilize laboratory tools and equipment for scientific researches, conduct field investigations, and interview participants. A postdoctoral associate designs comprehensive research models to discuss results with the panel and the team efficiently and accurately.

Staff associate of research vs postdoctoral associate salary

Staff associate of research and postdoctoral associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Staff Associate Of Research	Postdoctoral Associate
Average salary	$64,982	$54,350
Salary range	Between $45,000 And $92,000	Between $39,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	Oak Ridge, TN	Berkeley, CA
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Maine
Best paying company	NVIDIA	Argonne National Laboratory
Best paying industry	Technology	Education

Differences between staff associate of research and postdoctoral associate education

There are a few differences between a staff associate of research and a postdoctoral associate in terms of educational background:

	Staff Associate Of Research	Postdoctoral Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Doctoral Degree, 47%
Most common major	Biology	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	Duke University

Staff associate of research vs postdoctoral associate demographics

Here are the differences between staff associate of research' and postdoctoral associates' demographics:

	Staff Associate Of Research	Postdoctoral Associate
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 48.1% Female, 51.9%	Male, 63.2% Female, 36.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 28.8% White, 50.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 39.4% White, 42.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between staff associate of research and postdoctoral associate duties and responsibilities

Staff associate of research example responsibilities.

Manage a NIH grant study using MRI to determine relationship between bone and cartilage in osteoarthritic knees.
Manage a clinical pharmaceutical trial attempting to improve attention and behavior in Parkinson's disease patients with cognitive impairment.
Introduce new mutations into DNA vectors using PCR and other techniques, test the mutations with gel electrophoresis.
Complete data collection from various clinical populations including patients with traumatic brain injury and epilepsy.
Perform fermentation experiments, enzymatic assays, gel electrophoresis, RNA isolation and purification and HPLC testing.
Test samples for different studies using ELISA kits and NanoDrop spectrophotometer.

Postdoctoral associate example responsibilities.

Develop and manage third party claim investigations and contractor remedial oversight for various insurance companies.
Co-Authore NIH grant proposal on membrane protein folding.
Participate in writing research grant applications including NIH and NSF.
X-ray protein crystallographic studies on the structures of antibodies and DNA.
Purify DNA from subject blood samples and organize the genome screen.
Complete mice handling training and currently using CRISPR technology to knockout genes in cell lines.

Staff associate of research vs postdoctoral associate skills

Common staff associate of research skills

Patients, 7%
Data Collection, 6%
Molecular Biology, 5%
Data Analysis, 5%
Laboratory Equipment, 5%
Data Entry, 4%

Common postdoctoral associate skills

Patients, 8%
TIP, 7%
Data Analysis, 6%
Biomedical, 5%
CRISPR, 5%
Python, 4%

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Staff Associate Of Research
Staff Associate Of Research vs Postdoctoral Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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