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The differences between graduate student assistants and graduate researchers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a graduate student assistant has an average salary of $37,164, which is higher than the $32,346 average annual salary of a graduate researcher.
The top three skills for a graduate student assistant include cell culture, R and chemistry. The most important skills for a graduate researcher are R, cell culture, and research projects.
| Graduate Student Assistant | Graduate Researcher | |
| Yearly salary | $37,164 | $32,346 |
| Hourly rate | $17.87 | $15.55 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 20,764 | 17,313 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| 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.
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.
Graduate student assistants and graduate researchers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Graduate Student Assistant | Graduate Researcher | |
| Average salary | $37,164 | $32,346 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $64,000 | Between $15,000 And $68,000 |
| Highest paying City | Berkeley, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | California | - |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Security LLC | - |
| Best paying industry | Education | - |
There are a few differences between a graduate student assistant and a graduate researcher in terms of educational background:
| Graduate Student Assistant | Graduate Researcher | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Biology | Chemistry |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cornell University |
Here are the differences between graduate student assistants' and graduate researchers' demographics:
| Graduate Student Assistant | Graduate Researcher | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.9% Female, 50.1% | Male, 57.3% Female, 42.7% |
| 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, 11.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 11.9% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |