Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between graduate research assistants and laboratory research assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a laboratory research assistant has an average salary of $36,537, 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 laboratory research assistant are data collection, patients, and laboratory equipment.
| Graduate Research Assistant | Laboratory Research Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $34,230 | $36,537 |
| Hourly rate | $16.46 | $17.57 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 52,695 | 87,343 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Average age | 44 | 38 |
| Years of experience | - | 2 |
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 laboratory research assistant is an individual who performs lab experiments and carries out projects designed by senior lab staff members. Laboratory research assistants design and conduct experiments using biohazards and other dangerous materials to gain information and test scientific processes. They must write detailed reports of their research and experiments and then deliver these reports in written and verbal forms. Laboratory research assistants may also work in different settings such as medical facilities and pharmaceutical companies.
Graduate research assistants and laboratory research assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Graduate Research Assistant | Laboratory Research Assistant | |
| Average salary | $34,230 | $36,537 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $52,000 | Between $24,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | New York University |
| Best paying industry | Education | Education |
There are a few differences between a graduate research assistant and a laboratory research assistant in terms of educational background:
| Graduate Research Assistant | Laboratory Research Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Biology |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between graduate research assistants' and laboratory research assistants' demographics:
| Graduate Research Assistant | Laboratory Research Assistant | |
| Average age | 44 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8% | Male, 46.2% Female, 53.8% |
| 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, 8.5% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 16.6% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 8% |