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The differences between medical research assistants and graduate research assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a medical research assistant has an average salary of $40,303, which is higher than the $34,230 average annual salary of a graduate research assistant.
The top three skills for a medical research assistant include patients, patient care and DR. The most important skills for a graduate research assistant are R, technical reports, and research projects.
| Medical Research Assistant | Graduate Research Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $40,303 | $34,230 |
| Hourly rate | $19.38 | $16.46 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 125,533 | 52,695 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 37 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 12 | - |
A medical research assistant is primarily in charge of performing support tasks in a laboratory or similar environment. Their responsibilities include gathering and organizing samples, preparing the laboratories and other facilities, compiling and managing data, updating databases, and conducting examinations and analysis, all while adhering to the laboratory's policies and regulations. They may also liaise with clients, answering inquiries as necessary. Furthermore, it is vital to maintain an active line with researchers, coordinating with them every step of the way to ensure an efficient workflow.
Graduate research assistants are students who work for senior researchers or professors. They help professors in their research. Usually, graduate research assistants are given allowances or stipends in exchange for their help. Graduate research assistants help the researcher in testing research tools, gathering data, and analyzing data. They may also help researchers in creating presentations, interpreting data through graphs, and crafting other collateral that the researcher may need. It is usually required that the graduate research assistant is studying a specific field related to the research topic.
Medical research assistants and graduate research assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Research Assistant | Graduate Research Assistant | |
| Average salary | $40,303 | $34,230 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $64,000 | Between $22,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | Worcester, MA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | Norton Rose Fulbright | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Education | Education |
There are a few differences between a medical research assistant and a graduate research assistant in terms of educational background:
| Medical Research Assistant | Graduate Research Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Medical Assisting Services | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | - | Georgia Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between medical research assistants' and graduate research assistants' demographics:
| Medical Research Assistant | Graduate Research Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 19.0% Female, 81.0% | Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 24.3% Asian, 9.7% White, 50.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 11.8% White, 53.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |