Graduate student assistant vs laboratory research assistant

The differences between graduate student assistants and laboratory research assistants 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 $36,537 average annual salary of a laboratory research assistant.

The top three skills for a graduate student assistant include cell culture, R and chemistry. The most important skills for a laboratory research assistant are data collection, patients, and laboratory equipment.

Graduate student assistant vs laboratory research assistant overview

	Graduate Student Assistant	Laboratory Research Assistant
Yearly salary	$37,164	$36,537
Hourly rate	$17.87	$17.57
Growth rate	19%	17%
Number of jobs	20,764	87,343
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age	44	38
Years of experience	-	2

What does a graduate student assistant do?

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.

What does a laboratory research assistant do?

A laboratory research assistant is an individual who performs lab experiments and carries out projects designed by senior lab staff members. Laboratory research assistants design and conduct experiments using biohazards and other dangerous materials to gain information and test scientific processes. They must write detailed reports of their research and experiments and then deliver these reports in written and verbal forms. Laboratory research assistants may also work in different settings such as medical facilities and pharmaceutical companies.

Graduate student assistant vs laboratory research assistant salary

Graduate student assistants and laboratory research assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Graduate Student Assistant	Laboratory Research Assistant
Average salary	$37,164	$36,537
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $64,000	Between $24,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	Berkeley, CA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	California	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Los Alamos National Security LLC	New York University
Best paying industry	Education	Education

Differences between graduate student assistant and laboratory research assistant education

There are a few differences between a graduate student assistant and a laboratory research assistant in terms of educational background:

	Graduate Student Assistant	Laboratory Research Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Harvard University

Graduate student assistant vs laboratory research assistant demographics

Here are the differences between graduate student assistants' and laboratory research assistants' demographics:

	Graduate Student Assistant	Laboratory Research Assistant
Average age	44	38
Gender ratio	Male, 49.9% Female, 50.1%	Male, 46.2% Female, 53.8%
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, 8.5% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 16.6% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	6%	8%

Differences between graduate student assistant and laboratory research assistant duties and responsibilities

Graduate student assistant example responsibilities.

Lead the in-vitro biophysical and biochemical characterization of homologous recombination and investigate structure-function effects of mutant enzymes.
Cloned genes by lambda phage library screening and RT-PCR.
Used differential display RT-PCR to identify candidate mRNA's.
Develop test suite to automatically test this system using python.
Develop assays for kinetic analyses of DNA strand-displacement reactions on fix cells.
Used OWASP ESAPI to validate input and to counter SQL and XSS injection.

Laboratory research assistant example responsibilities.

Manage participant records according to IRB guidelines to ensure confidentiality.
Lead experiments to assess survivor behavior differences in zebrafish contaminate with dietary mercury.
Maintain microbial culture and isolate and purify bacterial and viral DNA and RNA to study the genome of common pathogenic bacteria.
Perform protein extraction on larvae.
Perform biological assays, including ELISA and RT-PCR.
Gain extensive MLST, RT-PCR, conventional PCR, primer design and gel-electrophoresis experience.

Graduate student assistant vs laboratory research assistant skills

Common graduate student assistant skills

Cell Culture, 9%
R, 8%
Chemistry, 5%
Molecular Biology, 5%
Research Projects, 4%
GPA, 4%

Common laboratory research assistant skills

Data Collection, 5%
Patients, 5%
Laboratory Equipment, 5%
Lab Procedures, 5%
Laboratory Techniques, 5%
Molecular Biology, 4%

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Graduate Student Assistant
Graduate Student Assistant vs Laboratory Research Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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