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Graduate researcher vs teaching & research assistant

The differences between graduate researchers and teaching & research assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a teaching & research assistant has an average salary of $36,796, which is higher than the $32,346 average annual salary of a graduate researcher.

The top three skills for a graduate researcher include R, cell culture and research projects. The most important skills for a teaching & research assistant are lab reports, laboratory sessions, and organic chemistry.

Graduate researcher vs teaching & research assistant overview

Graduate ResearcherTeaching & Research Assistant
Yearly salary$32,346$36,796
Hourly rate$15.55$17.69
Growth rate17%-
Number of jobs17,31348,936
Job satisfaction3-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age4444
Years of experience--

What does a graduate researcher do?

A graduate researcher is responsible for supporting an educational institution's academic research processes. Graduate researchers assist in data gathering and performing in-depth analysis using research methodologies under the supervision of a research professor. In some cases, graduate researchers also conduct field investigations and analyze other research publications to verify data accuracy. They prepare reports, share recommendations, and keep an organized database for research records. A graduate researcher must have excellent communication skills, both written and oral, as this task requires interaction with the researchers and writing duties.

What does a teaching & research assistant do?

The job of teaching and research assistants is to support faculty members in course material preparation and instruction. They often work in educational institutions such as universities and colleges. They perform varied duties and responsibilities that may include organizing visual aids and reference materials, conducting discussion groups, laboratory sessions, and seminars, and grading term papers, exams, and laboratory reports. Teaching and research assistants may also teach sections, conduct tutorials, and assist in overseeing study projects. The skills and qualifications required for this role may include being enrolled in a doctoral or master's study program and excellent communication skills.

Graduate researcher vs teaching & research assistant salary

Graduate researchers and teaching & research assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Graduate ResearcherTeaching & Research Assistant
Average salary$32,346$36,796
Salary rangeBetween $15,000 And $68,000Between $20,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between graduate researcher and teaching & research assistant education

There are a few differences between a graduate researcher and a teaching & research assistant in terms of educational background:

Graduate ResearcherTeaching & Research Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorChemistryChemistry
Most common collegeCornell UniversityNortheastern University

Graduate researcher vs teaching & research assistant demographics

Here are the differences between graduate researchers' and teaching & research assistants' demographics:

Graduate ResearcherTeaching & Research Assistant
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 57.3% Female, 42.7%Male, 56.0% Female, 44.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 11.9% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 11.6% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between graduate researcher and teaching & research assistant duties and responsibilities

Graduate researcher example responsibilities.

  • Lead the in-vitro biophysical and biochemical characterization of homologous recombination and investigate structure-function effects of mutant enzymes.
  • Analyze the expression of MZF-1 gene using western blots and RT-PCR.
  • Train undergraduate, masters, and PhD-level students on HPLC and UPLC instruments.
  • Use of NMR, IR, and TLC to analyze product purity and identity.
  • Experience using GC/MS, LC/MS, and NMR to analyze molecules produce in the lab.
  • Create buffers, HPLC solvents, maintain laboratory notebooks, order chemical reagents and perform serial dilutions.
  • Show more

Teaching & research assistant example responsibilities.

  • Evaluate patients' study eligibility via medical history, obtain informed consent, enroll patients, and achieve enrollment quotas.
  • Design and teach workshops on serial communication, basic python, and open computer vision library.
  • Guide and monitor classroom lab activities involving SPSS software, research analysis, and data compilation.
  • Assemble, correlate and analyze research outcomes using SPSS, and synthesize data and findings graphically using charts.
  • Prepare and teach lab sections for undergraduate-level cartography and spatial statistics courses, and graduate-level raster GIS course.
  • Design questionnaire for tobacco study, collect data by going on fields, enter data, create SAS databases.
  • Show more

Graduate researcher vs teaching & research assistant skills

Common graduate researcher skills
  • R, 9%
  • Cell Culture, 8%
  • Research Projects, 6%
  • Protein Expression, 5%
  • Chemistry, 4%
  • Data Analysis, 4%
Common teaching & research assistant skills
  • Lab Reports, 19%
  • Laboratory Sessions, 9%
  • Organic Chemistry, 7%
  • R, 6%
  • Research Projects, 6%
  • Undergraduate Courses, 5%

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