Doctoral research assistant vs doctoral fellow

The differences between doctoral research assistants and doctoral fellows can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a doctoral research assistant, becoming a doctoral fellow takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a doctoral research assistant has an average salary of $56,458, which is higher than the $53,366 average annual salary of a doctoral fellow.

The top three skills for a doctoral research assistant include data collection, research projects and PI. The most important skills for a doctoral fellow are patients, cell culture, and data analysis.

Doctoral research assistant vs doctoral fellow overview

	Doctoral Research Assistant	Doctoral Fellow
Yearly salary	$56,458	$53,366
Hourly rate	$27.14	$25.66
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	53,091	22,661
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Doctoral Degree, 46%
Average age	38	41
Years of experience	2	4

Doctoral research assistant vs doctoral fellow salary

Doctoral research assistants and doctoral fellows have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Doctoral Research Assistant	Doctoral Fellow
Average salary	$56,458	$53,366
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $77,000	Between $39,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Hawaii
Best paying company	Oak Ridge National Laboratory	IBM
Best paying industry	Education	Pharmaceutical

Differences between doctoral research assistant and doctoral fellow education

There are a few differences between a doctoral research assistant and a doctoral fellow in terms of educational background:

	Doctoral Research Assistant	Doctoral Fellow
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Doctoral Degree, 46%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	Harvard University	Duke University

Doctoral research assistant vs doctoral fellow demographics

Here are the differences between doctoral research assistants' and doctoral fellows' demographics:

	Doctoral Research Assistant	Doctoral Fellow
Average age	38	41
Gender ratio	Male, 53.1% Female, 46.9%	Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 16.8% White, 52.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 32.9% White, 47.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between doctoral research assistant and doctoral fellow duties and responsibilities

Doctoral research assistant example responsibilities.

Process and manage GIS databases to contribute towards research in human transportation behavior.
Receive additional training in SAS.
Used electronic and structure evaluations using quantum chemistry packages such as GAUSSIAN.
Prepare and implement unique proposals for the synthesis of polymer and small molecule targets.
Discover novel mechanical functions for collagen and short DNA molecules in response to force.
Develop the use of FPLC for detection and characterization of large DNA structural motifs.

Doctoral fellow example responsibilities.

Lead the in-vitro biophysical and biochemical characterization of homologous recombination and investigate structure-function effects of mutant enzymes.
Attend courses in drug discovery, python programming, and next-generation sequencing analyses.
Coordinate the validation of data aquisition algorithms (C++, python) for all real and simulate data.
Conduct custom synthesis of organic molecules, key intermediates and building blocks for medicinal chemistry applications.
Design PCL/PLCL drug delivery system for DC immunotherapy.
Succeed in using CRISPR to genetically correct diseas iPSCs.

Doctoral research assistant vs doctoral fellow skills

Common doctoral research assistant skills

Data Collection, 12%
Research Projects, 11%
PI, 9%
Data Analysis, 6%
Molecular Biology, 5%
Cell Culture, 5%

Common doctoral fellow skills

Patients, 8%
Cell Culture, 6%
Data Analysis, 5%
Research Projects, 5%
Cell Biology, 5%
Immunology, 5%

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Doctoral Research Assistant
Doctoral Research Assistant vs Doctoral Fellow

Updated January 8, 2025

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