Staff associate of research vs senior research associate

The differences between staff associate of research and senior research associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a staff associate of research, becoming a senior research associate takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a senior research associate has an average salary of $72,618, which is higher than the $64,982 average annual salary of a staff associate of research.

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

Staff associate of research vs senior research associate overview

	Staff Associate Of Research	Senior Research Associate
Yearly salary	$64,982	$72,618
Hourly rate	$31.24	$34.91
Growth rate	17%	6%
Number of jobs	120,096	58,903
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	41	44
Years of experience	4	2

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 senior research associate do?

A Senior Research Associate works closely with research team members to implement research ideas. They diagnose, solve system/software problems, and install application software according to research needs.

Staff associate of research vs senior research associate salary

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

	Staff Associate Of Research	Senior Research Associate
Average salary	$64,982	$72,618
Salary range	Between $45,000 And $92,000	Between $51,000 And $102,000
Highest paying City	Oak Ridge, TN	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Washington
Best paying company	NVIDIA	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Technology	Government

Differences between staff associate of research and senior research associate education

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

	Staff Associate Of Research	Senior Research Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	University of Southern California	Stanford University

Staff associate of research vs senior research associate demographics

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

	Staff Associate Of Research	Senior Research Associate
Average age	41	44
Gender ratio	Male, 48.1% Female, 51.9%	Male, 53.6% Female, 46.4%
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, 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 staff associate of research and senior research 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.

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.

Staff associate of research vs senior research 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 senior research associate skills

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

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Staff Associate Of Research
Staff Associate Of Research vs Senior Research Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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