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The differences between graduate assistants and graduate research assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a graduate research assistant has an average salary of $34,230, which is higher than the $31,704 average annual salary of a graduate assistant.
The top three skills for a graduate assistant include computer lab, undergraduate courses and research projects. The most important skills for a graduate research assistant are R, technical reports, and research projects.
| Graduate Assistant | Graduate Research Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $31,704 | $34,230 |
| Hourly rate | $15.24 | $16.46 |
| Growth rate | 20% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 3,026 | 52,695 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Graduate assistants are graduate or postgraduate students in a university who work part-time for a researcher, professor, or department in the university. They do a variety of tasks that would help expose them more to the field they are doing their studies in. Graduate assistants help researchers by conducting interviews, testing research tools, encoding and analyzing data, creating presentation materials, and managing the research schedule. They help professors in preparing for lessons, creating and updating presentation materials, and even trying their hand in teaching the professor's students. They help university departments in administrative, clerical, research, and any other task that may be needed.
Graduate research assistants are students who work for senior researchers or professors. They help professors in their research. Usually, graduate research assistants are given allowances or stipends in exchange for their help. Graduate research assistants help the researcher in testing research tools, gathering data, and analyzing data. They may also help researchers in creating presentations, interpreting data through graphs, and crafting other collateral that the researcher may need. It is usually required that the graduate research assistant is studying a specific field related to the research topic.
Graduate assistants and graduate research assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Graduate Assistant | Graduate Research Assistant | |
| Average salary | $31,704 | $34,230 |
| Salary range | Between $11,000 And $85,000 | Between $22,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | Sotheby's Institute of Art | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Education | Education |
There are a few differences between a graduate assistant and a graduate research assistant in terms of educational background:
| Graduate Assistant | Graduate Research Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Georgia Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between graduate assistants' and graduate research assistants' demographics:
| Graduate Assistant | Graduate Research Assistant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.9% Female, 57.1% | Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 11.0% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 11.8% White, 53.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |