What does a graduate research assistant do?
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 research assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real graduate research assistant resumes:
- Organize TA office hours, manage online gradebook, proctore exams.
- Create and lead exercises to teach linear algebra, calculus and statistics.
- Grade homework, quizzes and manage grades on online gradebook effectively as a lead TA.
- Foster cross laboratory collaboration between physics labs and between engineering, biology, and chemistry departments to accomplish share goals.
- Evaluate patients' study eligibility via medical history, obtain informed consent, enroll patients, and achieve enrollment quotas.
- Develop an RT-PCR SSCP analysis strategy for normal & tumor tissue RNA analysis.
- Experience in PCR and RT-PCR for studying the gene expression at RNA levels.
- Utilize gene silencing techniques such as CRISPR and RNA interference to study ISG gene function.
- Conduct help sessions for students needing extra help in economics, political science and business.
- Help the students perform experiments that quantify the effects of hormones on brain development and anatomy.
- Develop and maintain ESRI ArcGIS web application and services with JavaScript, HTML, and SQL programming.
- Sustain database and write various SQL queries and store procedures for database transactions by skillfully using PostgreSQL.
- Grade assignments, perform administrative work, help with economics research, lead study sessions, teach students.
- Conduct aerospace engineering research and teach undergraduate mathematics courses
- Provide research assistance in human anatomy & oncology studies.
Graduate research assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Graduate Research Assistants are proficient in R, Technical Reports, and Research Projects. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Graduate Research Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- R, 8%
Conducted high dimensional data visualization and multivariate statistical analysis using R and SAS.
- Technical Reports, 7%
Participated in meetings with academic as well as industry personnel, prepared technical reports, presentations and reviewed and recommended design changes
- Research Projects, 7%
Developed ideas for both individual and collaborative research projects; authored and submitted corresponding grant applications to provide funding for research.
- Graduate Research, 6%
Graduate research involved assessing the contribution of sympathetic nervous system in long-term regulation of blood pressure and development of hypertension.
- Data Collection, 6%
Collected data using questionnaires and organized data collection of a loss and trauma study and spearheaded community outreach to maximize study participation
- Data Analysis, 6%
Provided technical assistance to five graduate and undergraduate trainees in laboratory techniques, experimental design, data analysis, and presentation skills
Most graduate research assistants use their skills in "r," "technical reports," and "research projects" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential graduate research assistant responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a graduate research assistant to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what graduate research assistants do because "market research analysts must evaluate large amounts of data and information related to market conditions." Additionally, a graduate research assistant resume shows how graduate research assistants use analytical skills: "analyzed academic journal articles and appropriately sorted them based on multiple factors for further meta-analysis. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform graduate research assistant duties is communication skills. Graduate research assistants responsibilities require that "market research analysts must be able to clearly convey information when gathering material, interpreting data, and presenting results to clients." Graduate research assistants also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "performed data collection and analysis, assisted students with communications materials"
Detail oriented. This is an important skill for graduate research assistants to perform their duties. For an example of how graduate research assistant responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "market research analysts must pay attention to minutiae to evaluate data." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a graduate research assistant: "authored four scientific journal articles detailing this work. ".
The three companies that hire the most graduate research assistants are:
- University of Alaska19 graduate research assistants jobs
- UTRGV - The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley10 graduate research assistants jobs
- PSEA7 graduate research assistants jobs
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Compare different graduate research assistants
Graduate research assistant vs. Research fellow
A research fellow is an academic researcher who conducts research and analysis of comprehensive literature, data, and results and provides literature reviews. He/She supervises research assistants and recruits study participants to interview them for a particular study. To become a research fellow, a candidate should have a doctorate in a relevant discipline and publish peer-reviewed papers. Also, a research fellow can be an independent investigator or be supervised by a principal investigator.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between graduate research assistants and research fellow. For instance, graduate research assistant responsibilities require skills such as "technical reports," "graduate research," "analyze data," and "research data." Whereas a research fellow is skilled in "patients," "immunology," "crispr," and "cell biology." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Research fellows really shine in the non profits industry with an average salary of $57,261. Comparatively, graduate research assistants tend to make the most money in the education industry with an average salary of $35,188.research fellows tend to reach similar levels of education than graduate research assistants. In fact, research fellows are 3.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 26.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Graduate research assistant vs. Graduate internship
A graduate internship is a short-term experience that oftentimes leads to a permanent position. The academic program allows graduates to experience different roles within an organization. This professional learning experience provides them with practical and meaningful work associated with their career interest or field of study. Many interns are hired by the company where they are working under an internship program due to their relevant work experience.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, graduate research assistant responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "r," "technical reports," "graduate research," and "cell culture." Meanwhile, a graduate internship has duties that require skills in areas such as "patients," "java," "ladders," and "customer service." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Graduate interns earn a higher average salary than graduate research assistants. But graduate interns earn the highest pay in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $67,349. Additionally, graduate research assistants earn the highest salaries in the education with average pay of $35,188 annually.graduate interns earn similar levels of education than graduate research assistants in general. They're 1.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 26.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Graduate research assistant vs. Research engineer
Research Engineers are responsible for a wide range of duties, including researching and developing new technologies and prototypes, and finding solutions to improve techniques, procedures, and technologies.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a graduate research assistant is likely to be skilled in "graduate research," "cell culture," "literature reviews," and "synthesis," while a typical research engineer is skilled in "c #," "java," "software development," and "c."
Research engineers make a very good living in the start-up industry with an average annual salary of $141,240. On the other hand, graduate research assistants are paid the highest salary in the education industry, with average annual pay of $35,188.When it comes to education, research engineers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to graduate research assistants. In fact, they're 1.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 3.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Graduate research assistant vs. Research scientist
The job of research scientists is to design, undertake, and analyze information from experiments, trials, and laboratory-based investigations. They usually perform experiments in different areas, including medical research, pharmacology, and geoscience. They have varied duties and responsibilities that include planning and carrying out experiments, conducting fieldwork, and overseeing junior staff members like the technicians. They are typically working for a government laboratory, an environmental agency, and other organizations. Many of these scientists also work in teams and support staff.
Types of graduate research assistant
Updated January 8, 2025
