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The differences between graduate student assistants and researchers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a researcher has an average salary of $67,145, 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 researcher are python, lab equipment, and C++.
| Graduate Student Assistant | Researcher | |
| Yearly salary | $37,164 | $67,145 |
| Hourly rate | $17.87 | $32.28 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 20,764 | 30,498 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
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 researcher is responsible for collating, organizing, and verifying necessary information for a specific subject. Researchers' duties include analyzing data, gathering and comparing resources, ensuring facts, sharing findings with the whole research team, adhering to required methodologies, performing fieldwork as needed, and keeping critical information confidential. Researchers must be knowledgeable about the current market trends and align findings with the research goals. A researcher must show strong communication skills, as well as strong attention to detail and time-management skills to meet deadlines under minimal supervision.
Graduate student assistants and researchers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Graduate Student Assistant | Researcher | |
| Average salary | $37,164 | $67,145 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $64,000 | Between $37,000 And $119,000 |
| Highest paying City | Berkeley, CA | Newark, NJ |
| Highest paying state | California | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Security LLC | Renaissance Learning |
| Best paying industry | Education | - |
There are a few differences between a graduate student assistant and a researcher in terms of educational background:
| Graduate Student Assistant | Researcher | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Biology | Biology |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between graduate student assistants' and researchers' demographics:
| Graduate Student Assistant | Researcher | |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.9% Female, 50.1% | Male, 50.9% Female, 49.1% |
| 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, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 26.4% White, 53.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 8% |