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The differences between graduate student assistants and faculty assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a faculty assistant has an average salary of $63,373, which is higher than the $37,164 average annual salary of a graduate student assistant.
The top three skills for a graduate student assistant include cell culture, R and chemistry. The most important skills for a faculty assistant are powerpoint, professional development, and word processing.
| Graduate Student Assistant | Faculty Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $37,164 | $63,373 |
| Hourly rate | $17.87 | $30.47 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 20,764 | 27,152 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Graduate student assistants are graduate students who are employed as support personnel in universities. They assist professors as teaching assistants, research assistants, or aides, depending on their assigned instructions. Their duties include assisting professors in administrative tasks, organizing undergraduate events, and conducting research as well as analyzing data. During the assistantship period, instead of wages, they are given a stipend as compensation to the service provided. This graduate assistantship gives graduate students relevant experience and more employment options in the future.
Faculty assistants, also known as teaching assistants, aid the primary instructor of an institution. They help the primary instructor map out learning strategies, prepare teaching aids, and distribute handouts. They also give feedback, evaluate learning plans, and assess students' progress. Faculty assistants must be organized, know basic first aid, be resourceful, be team-oriented, be able to multitask, and have a significant level of patience.
Graduate student assistants and faculty assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Graduate Student Assistant | Faculty Assistant | |
| Average salary | $37,164 | $63,373 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $64,000 | Between $39,000 And $101,000 |
| Highest paying City | Berkeley, CA | New Rochelle, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | Maine |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Security LLC | UCI Health |
| Best paying industry | Education | Education |
There are a few differences between a graduate student assistant and a faculty assistant in terms of educational background:
| Graduate Student Assistant | Faculty Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Biology | Business |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between graduate student assistants' and faculty assistants' demographics:
| Graduate Student Assistant | Faculty Assistant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.9% Female, 50.1% | Male, 41.0% Female, 59.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 11.9% White, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 9.1% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |