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The differences between graduate research assistants and student research assistants 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 $27,475 average annual salary of a student research assistant.
The top three skills for a graduate research assistant include R, technical reports and research projects. The most important skills for a student research assistant are lab equipment, student research, and data collection.
| Graduate Research Assistant | Student Research Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $34,230 | $27,475 |
| Hourly rate | $16.46 | $13.21 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 52,695 | 59,758 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| 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 student research assistant is responsible for supporting the school's research department on conducting various research tasks using the techniques and resources provided by the supervising faculty. Student research assistants collect and verify research data, interpret and document findings using research methodologies, organize and prepare research materials, write research reports, and provide recommendations to improve research strategies and techniques. A student research assistant must have excellent communication and organizational skills, as well as the ability to multitask and be a fast-learner to interpret data within a specific time.
Graduate research assistants and student research assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Graduate Research Assistant | Student Research Assistant | |
| Average salary | $34,230 | $27,475 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $52,000 | Between $19,000 And $37,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Fairbanks, AK |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | |
| Best paying industry | Education | Education |
There are a few differences between a graduate research assistant and a student research assistant in terms of educational background:
| Graduate Research Assistant | Student Research Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Biology |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between graduate research assistants' and student research assistants' demographics:
| Graduate Research Assistant | Student Research Assistant | |
| Average age | 44 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8% | Male, 44.1% Female, 55.9% |
| 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, 16.7% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 8% |