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The differences between graduate research assistants and research assistant professors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a research assistant professor has an average salary of $73,455, 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 research assistant professor are research projects, biomedical, and research program.
| Graduate Research Assistant | Research Assistant Professor | |
| Yearly salary | $34,230 | $73,455 |
| Hourly rate | $16.46 | $35.31 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 52,695 | 62,395 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Doctoral Degree, 44% |
| 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 research assistant professor works part-time at colleges or universities where they focus on conducting research and extensive studies. They typically work under the supervision and directives of a professor and perform support tasks such as gathering and analyzing samples through different scientific procedures, completing interviews and surveys, performing experiments and assessments, maintaining records, and handling calls and other forms of correspondence. Additionally, a research assistant professor may also teach undergraduates and participate in preparing activities and curriculum materials.
Graduate research assistants and research assistant professors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Graduate Research Assistant | Research Assistant Professor | |
| Average salary | $34,230 | $73,455 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $52,000 | Between $52,000 And $102,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | Stanford University |
| Best paying industry | Education | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a graduate research assistant and a research assistant professor in terms of educational background:
| Graduate Research Assistant | Research Assistant Professor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Doctoral Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Chemistry |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between graduate research assistants' and research assistant professors' demographics:
| Graduate Research Assistant | Research Assistant Professor | |
| Average age | 44 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8% | Male, 62.9% Female, 37.1% |
| 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, 8.6% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 16.7% White, 52.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 8% |