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The differences between research associates and 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 research associate and an assistant. Additionally, a research associate has an average salary of $60,166, which is higher than the $37,363 average annual salary of an assistant.
The top three skills for a research associate include patients, research projects and data analysis. The most important skills for an assistant are patients, customer service, and patient care.
| Research Associate | Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $60,166 | $37,363 |
| Hourly rate | $28.93 | $17.96 |
| Growth rate | 17% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 63,884 | 557,900 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 38 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A research associate is responsible for assisting the research team, organizing and interpreting findings, and verifying information before presenting the study to the board. Research associates duties also include gathering and comparing data from multiple sources, analyzing the current industry trends, creating draft outlines for reports, collecting individual contacts for interview purposes, and helping with the development of research procedures. A research associate must have excellent time-management skills and ability to multi-task, especially on meeting strict deadlines and conducting studies.
An assistant intern is responsible for facilitating administrative and clerical tasks as assigned by the management. Assistant interns' duties include keeping records of meetings, receiving calls and handling customer inquiries, assisting on writing reports and data entry processing, cooperating and providing support for business events, and adhering to company policies and regulatory procedures. Successful assistant interns must have excellent time-management, multi-tasking, and communication skills. They must be a team player and fast-learner to handle various tasks in the corporate industry.
Research associates and assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Research Associate | Assistant | |
| Average salary | $60,166 | $37,363 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $87,000 | Between $16,000 And $82,000 |
| Highest paying City | Worcester, MA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | Latham & Watkins |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Education |
There are a few differences between a research associate and an assistant in terms of educational background:
| Research Associate | Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Biology | Business |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between research associates' and assistants' demographics:
| Research Associate | Assistant | |
| Average age | 38 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.8% Female, 49.2% | Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 16.6% White, 52.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 6% |