Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between faculty 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 faculty research assistant, becoming a research fellow takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a faculty research assistant has an average salary of $59,697, which is higher than the $53,823 average annual salary of a research fellow.
The top three skills for a faculty research assistant include research faculty, C++ and biomedical. The most important skills for a research fellow are patients, research projects, and data analysis.
| Faculty Research Assistant | Research Fellow | |
| Yearly salary | $59,697 | $53,823 |
| Hourly rate | $28.70 | $25.88 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 56,780 | 59,746 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 38 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
The main job of a faculty research assistant is to gather and log experimental data. Faculty research assistants analyze the statistical aspect of data sets. They prepare spreadsheets and graphs to portray research results. Their duties and responsibilities include the creation of posters and slides to aid researchers in presenting their findings. They need to develop skills in communication, technical, critical thinking, scheduling, and planning. Also, they must know how to maintain safety, quality, and infection control standards.
A research fellow is an academic researcher who conducts research and analysis of comprehensive literature, data, and results and provides literature reviews. He/She supervises research assistants and recruits study participants to interview them for a particular study. To become a research fellow, a candidate should have a doctorate in a relevant discipline and publish peer-reviewed papers. Also, a research fellow can be an independent investigator or be supervised by a principal investigator.
Faculty research assistants and research fellows have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Faculty Research Assistant | Research Fellow | |
| Average salary | $59,697 | $53,823 |
| Salary range | Between $38,000 And $92,000 | Between $39,000 And $72,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | South San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | McKinsey & Company Inc | |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between a faculty research assistant and a research fellow in terms of educational background:
| Faculty Research Assistant | Research Fellow | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Biology | Chemistry |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between faculty research assistants' and research fellows' demographics:
| Faculty Research Assistant | Research Fellow | |
| Average age | 38 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 47.3% Female, 52.7% | Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 16.5% White, 52.8% 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 Percentage | 8% | 8% |