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The differences between psychology research assistants and biology research assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a psychology research assistant and a biology research assistant. Additionally, a psychology research assistant has an average salary of $54,582, which is higher than the $50,800 average annual salary of a biology research assistant.
The top three skills for a psychology research assistant include data collection, SPSS and research projects. The most important skills for a biology research assistant are laboratory equipment, laboratory techniques, and cell culture.
| Psychology Research Assistant | Biology Research Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $54,582 | $50,800 |
| Hourly rate | $26.24 | $24.42 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 48,891 | 50,666 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Psychologists are responsible for studying cognitive and social processes through observation and therapy. They typically focus on understanding and articulating the emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and feelings of their clients. Their typical day-to-day duties may include researching clients' behavior and brain functionality, identifying emotional and behavioral patterns of their clients, and diagnosing and treating emotional, mental, or behavioral disorders. Other duties include developing programs to address psychological issues and collaborating with other health care professionals or social workers in treating patients.
A biological research assistant's role is to perform support tasks for biologists and researchers. Their responsibilities typically revolve around organizing samples and research documents, updating databases, reviewing documents, summarizing results into reports and presentations, handling calls and correspondence, coordinating with external parties, and running errands. There are also instances when a biological research assistant prepare laboratories and instruments, cleaning and sanitizing them as needed. Furthermore, one can also perform experiments and analyses under the supervision or directives of a more experienced researcher.
Psychology research assistants and biology research assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Psychology Research Assistant | Biology Research Assistant | |
| Average salary | $54,582 | $50,800 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $86,000 | Between $32,000 And $78,000 |
| Highest paying City | Piscataway, NJ | New Brunswick, NJ |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | MassBay Community College | Battelle |
| Best paying industry | Education | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a psychology research assistant and a biology research assistant in terms of educational background:
| Psychology Research Assistant | Biology Research Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Biology |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between psychology research assistants' and biology research assistants' demographics:
| Psychology Research Assistant | Biology Research Assistant | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 27.2% Female, 72.8% | Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 11.5% White, 54.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 16.9% White, 52.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |