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Graduate student internship vs graduate teaching assistant

The differences between graduate student interns and graduate teaching assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a graduate teaching assistant has an average salary of $44,994, which is higher than the $30,945 average annual salary of a graduate student internship.

The top three skills for a graduate student internship include patients, speech-language pathologist and data collection. The most important skills for a graduate teaching assistant are lab experiments, laboratory sections, and undergraduate courses.

Graduate student internship vs graduate teaching assistant overview

Graduate Student InternshipGraduate Teaching Assistant
Yearly salary$30,945$44,994
Hourly rate$14.88$21.63
Growth rate21%-
Number of jobs56,98212,598
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4444
Years of experience--

What does a graduate student internship do?

Graduate interns work in different industries, and their job responsibilities may vary. As a graduate student intern, you may be expected to offer your services free of charge to the company you find placement in exchange for the experience you'll be getting. In other cases, you may be offered compensation of some sort. Most often than not, you will be assigned to a department to work under the supervision of the head of that unit.

What does a graduate teaching assistant do?

A Graduate Teaching Assistant may work in Learning Facilities by teaching short courses under supervision or assist the Faculty Staff in various aspects such as research. They can also lend a hand in preparing and creating learning materials such as presentations, handouts, and other teaching-related tasks. Furthermore, among the duties of a Graduate Teaching Assistant may include handling written reports, preparing or cleaning laboratories and facilities, grading and evaluating students' papers, and preparing examinations or other quiz material.

Graduate student internship vs graduate teaching assistant salary

Graduate student interns and graduate teaching assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Graduate Student InternshipGraduate Teaching Assistant
Average salary$30,945$44,994
Salary rangeBetween $18,000 And $50,000Between $27,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City-Terre Haute, IN
Highest paying state-Pennsylvania
Best paying company-California State University, Fullerton
Best paying industry-Education

Differences between graduate student internship and graduate teaching assistant education

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

Graduate Student InternshipGraduate Teaching Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorPsychologyBiology
Most common collegeUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Graduate student internship vs graduate teaching assistant demographics

Here are the differences between graduate student interns' and graduate teaching assistants' demographics:

Graduate Student InternshipGraduate Teaching Assistant
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 25.8% Female, 74.2%Male, 50.4% Female, 49.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 5.7% White, 57.9% 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, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between graduate student internship and graduate teaching assistant duties and responsibilities

Graduate student internship example responsibilities.

  • Help veterans and their families learn to manage symptoms of PTSD through education, self-awareness, and becoming aware of triggers.
  • Collaborate with OTR on needs of clients to increase strength, endurance and independence with ADL's upon discharge.
  • Provide client and caregiver education regarding safety, ADL reeducation, or techniques and strategies that will benefit the client occupationally.
  • Perform kinetic and mechanistic studies using NMR spectroscopy.
  • Collaborate with organic chemists improving the effectiveness of RNA inhibitors.
  • Perform quantitative determination of primary pollutant's degradation using HPLC.
  • Show more

Graduate teaching assistant example responsibilities.

  • Accomplish assessment of PU foam samples base on morphology by SEM and optical microscope.
  • Assist classmates with developing positive study habits and strategies for managing classroom material.
  • Tutor calculus, algebra, probability, financial mathematics and others as requested.
  • Learned advance PCR techniques and troubleshooting.
  • Analyze yield of Suzuki reaction using HPLC.
  • Develop method for analysis of steroids in herbal medicines using HPLC.
  • Show more

Graduate student internship vs graduate teaching assistant skills

Common graduate student internship skills
  • Patients, 17%
  • Speech-Language Pathologist, 14%
  • Data Collection, 6%
  • Mental Health, 6%
  • Group Therapy Sessions, 4%
  • Traumatic Brain Injury, 3%
Common graduate teaching assistant skills
  • Lab Experiments, 22%
  • Laboratory Sections, 8%
  • Undergraduate Courses, 8%
  • Organic Chemistry, 6%
  • Mathematics, 3%
  • Course Materials, 3%

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