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Doctoral research assistant vs research fellow

The differences between doctoral research assistants and research 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 research fellow takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a doctoral research assistant has an average salary of $56,458, which is higher than the $53,823 average annual salary of a research fellow.

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

Doctoral research assistant vs research fellow overview

Doctoral Research AssistantResearch Fellow
Yearly salary$56,458$53,823
Hourly rate$27.14$25.88
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs53,09159,746
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 56%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age3841
Years of experience24

Doctoral research assistant vs research fellow salary

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

Doctoral Research AssistantResearch Fellow
Average salary$56,458$53,823
Salary rangeBetween $41,000 And $77,000Between $39,000 And $72,000
Highest paying CityBoston, MASouth San Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateMassachusettsHawaii
Best paying companyOak Ridge National LaboratoryMcKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industryEducationNon Profits

Differences between doctoral research assistant and research fellow education

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

Doctoral Research AssistantResearch Fellow
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 56%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorChemistryChemistry
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityDuke University

Doctoral research assistant vs research fellow demographics

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

Doctoral Research AssistantResearch Fellow
Average age3841
Gender ratioMale, 53.1% Female, 46.9%Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7%
Race ratioBlack 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, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 27.1% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between doctoral research assistant and research 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.
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Research fellow example responsibilities.

  • Collaborate with software engineers to automate identification of 15N- and 13C- labele LC-MS features.
  • Process and manage GIS databases to contribute towards research in human transportation behavior.
  • Manage investigator initiate and cooperative group correlative studies to identify biomarkers to ascertain tumor burden and clinical outcomes in lymphoma.
  • Analyze quantitative and qualitative data through statistical software SAS and SPSS.
  • Conduct sampling, PCR, data analysis and oral presentations of the work
  • Implement python and C++ codes for numerical computation of transport properties in models and materials.
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Doctoral research assistant vs research 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 research fellow skills
  • Patients, 10%
  • Research Projects, 6%
  • Data Analysis, 5%
  • Cell Culture, 5%
  • Immunology, 4%
  • CRISPR, 4%

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