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The differences between graduate research assistants and postdoctoral research associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a postdoctoral research associate has an average salary of $52,785, 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 postdoctoral research associate are python, research projects, and chemistry.
| Graduate Research Assistant | Postdoctoral Research Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $34,230 | $52,785 |
| Hourly rate | $16.46 | $25.38 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 52,695 | 59,377 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Doctoral Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
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 postdoctoral research associate is responsible for assisting the educational institution's research department, writing research reports, analyzing research methods, and collecting information and related studies to support the research claims. Postdoctoral research associates must have excellent communication skills, both oral and written, reporting research updates to the research head, performing adjustments as needed, and gaining more expertise on the subject by brainstorming and discussing strategic procedures for the study. They may also conduct field investigation or coordinate with other institutions for additional reference, depending on the research's scope and limitation.
Graduate research assistants and postdoctoral research associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Graduate Research Assistant | Postdoctoral Research Associate | |
| Average salary | $34,230 | $52,785 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $52,000 | Between $38,000 And $72,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Memphis, TN |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | Argonne National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Education | Professional |
There are a few differences between a graduate research assistant and a postdoctoral research associate in terms of educational background:
| Graduate Research Assistant | Postdoctoral Research Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Doctoral Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Chemistry |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Duke University |
Here are the differences between graduate research assistants' and postdoctoral research associates' demographics:
| Graduate Research Assistant | Postdoctoral Research Associate | |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8% | Male, 65.7% Female, 34.3% |
| 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, 5.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 38.1% White, 43.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 8% |