Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between graduate assistants and graduate teaching assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a graduate teaching assistant has an average salary of $44,994, 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 teaching assistant are lab experiments, laboratory sections, and undergraduate courses.
| Graduate Assistant | Graduate Teaching Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $31,704 | $44,994 |
| Hourly rate | $15.24 | $21.63 |
| Growth rate | 20% | - |
| Number of jobs | 3,026 | 12,598 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| 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.
A Graduate Teaching Assistant may work in Learning Facilities by teaching short courses under supervision or assist the Faculty Staff in various aspects such as research. They can also lend a hand in preparing and creating learning materials such as presentations, handouts, and other teaching-related tasks. Furthermore, among the duties of a Graduate Teaching Assistant may include handling written reports, preparing or cleaning laboratories and facilities, grading and evaluating students' papers, and preparing examinations or other quiz material.
Graduate assistants and graduate teaching assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Graduate Assistant | Graduate Teaching Assistant | |
| Average salary | $31,704 | $44,994 |
| Salary range | Between $11,000 And $85,000 | Between $27,000 And $74,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Terre Haute, IN |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | Sotheby's Institute of Art | California State University, Fullerton |
| Best paying industry | Education | Education |
There are a few differences between a graduate assistant and a graduate teaching assistant in terms of educational background:
| Graduate Assistant | Graduate Teaching Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Biology |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between graduate assistants' and graduate teaching assistants' demographics:
| Graduate Assistant | Graduate Teaching Assistant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.9% Female, 57.1% | Male, 50.4% Female, 49.6% |
| 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, 17.7% Asian, 11.9% White, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |