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The differences between graduate research assistants and graduate researchers 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 $32,346 average annual salary of a graduate researcher.
The top three skills for a graduate research assistant include R, technical reports and research projects. The most important skills for a graduate researcher are R, cell culture, and research projects.
| Graduate Research Assistant | Graduate Researcher | |
| Yearly salary | $34,230 | $32,346 |
| Hourly rate | $16.46 | $15.55 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 52,695 | 17,313 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
A graduate researcher is responsible for supporting an educational institution's academic research processes. Graduate researchers assist in data gathering and performing in-depth analysis using research methodologies under the supervision of a research professor. In some cases, graduate researchers also conduct field investigations and analyze other research publications to verify data accuracy. They prepare reports, share recommendations, and keep an organized database for research records. A graduate researcher must have excellent communication skills, both written and oral, as this task requires interaction with the researchers and writing duties.
Graduate research assistants and graduate researchers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Graduate Research Assistant | Graduate Researcher | |
| Average salary | $34,230 | $32,346 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $52,000 | Between $15,000 And $68,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | - |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | - |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | - |
| Best paying industry | Education | - |
There are a few differences between a graduate research assistant and a graduate researcher in terms of educational background:
| Graduate Research Assistant | Graduate Researcher | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Chemistry |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Cornell University |
Here are the differences between graduate research assistants' and graduate researchers' demographics:
| Graduate Research Assistant | Graduate Researcher | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8% | Male, 57.3% Female, 42.7% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 11.9% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |