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The differences between graduate research assistants and graduate student assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a graduate student assistant has an average salary of $37,164, which is higher than the $34,230 average annual salary of a graduate research assistant.
The top three skills for a graduate research assistant include R, technical reports and research projects. The most important skills for a graduate student assistant are cell culture, R, and chemistry.
| Graduate Research Assistant | Graduate Student Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $34,230 | $37,164 |
| Hourly rate | $16.46 | $17.87 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 52,695 | 20,764 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| 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.
Graduate student assistants are graduate students who are employed as support personnel in universities. They assist professors as teaching assistants, research assistants, or aides, depending on their assigned instructions. Their duties include assisting professors in administrative tasks, organizing undergraduate events, and conducting research as well as analyzing data. During the assistantship period, instead of wages, they are given a stipend as compensation to the service provided. This graduate assistantship gives graduate students relevant experience and more employment options in the future.
Graduate research assistants and graduate student assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Graduate Research Assistant | Graduate Student Assistant | |
| Average salary | $34,230 | $37,164 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $52,000 | Between $21,000 And $64,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Berkeley, CA |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | California |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | Los Alamos National Security LLC |
| Best paying industry | Education | Education |
There are a few differences between a graduate research assistant and a graduate student assistant in terms of educational background:
| Graduate Research Assistant | Graduate Student Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Biology |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between graduate research assistants' and graduate student assistants' demographics:
| Graduate Research Assistant | Graduate Student Assistant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8% | Male, 49.9% Female, 50.1% |
| 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, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |