Research staff member vs research assistant

The differences between research staff members and research assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a research staff member, becoming a research assistant takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a research staff member has an average salary of $110,035, which is higher than the $42,896 average annual salary of a research assistant.

The top three skills for a research staff member include python, machine learning and research projects. The most important skills for a research assistant are patients, lab equipment, and data collection.

Research staff member vs research assistant overview

	Research Staff Member	Research Assistant
Yearly salary	$110,035	$42,896
Hourly rate	$52.90	$20.62
Growth rate	17%	19%
Number of jobs	118,661	51,080
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age	41	38
Years of experience	4	2

What does a research staff member do?

A Research Staff Member is a part of the research team who will assist in the entire research project. The staff member will work on various research stages and assist in collating information from different sources. One of the research staff members' responsibilities is to understand all facets of conducting research, get all government policies regarding the particular topic in research, and ensure that all procedures are legal and ethical. The research staff member is a broad term for a person part of a research team and is often given specific tasks when one is officially part of the team.

What does a research assistant do?

Research assistants give support to researchers or other professionals who need assistance as they conduct experiments, studies, or other research projects. Research assistants help in conducting experiments, surveys, or interviews under the supervision of the primary researcher. They also work on research activities such as literature reviews, collect data, assist in interpreting results, prepare designs or visuals for the presentation of the results, and even ensure that all the tools and documentation related to the study are properly organized. They also assist in fact-checking the output and ensure that the data presented are accurate. Research assistants usually possess an academic background that is related to the main research topic.

Research staff member vs research assistant salary

Research staff members and research assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Research Staff Member	Research Assistant
Average salary	$110,035	$42,896
Salary range	Between $77,000 And $156,000	Between $28,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	New Brunswick, NJ
Highest paying state	Connecticut	New Jersey
Best paying company	PARC	JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Best paying industry	Technology	Health Care

Differences between research staff member and research assistant education

There are a few differences between a research staff member and a research assistant in terms of educational background:

	Research Staff Member	Research Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Psychology
Most common college	Duke University	Harvard University

Research staff member vs research assistant demographics

Here are the differences between research staff members' and research assistants' demographics:

	Research Staff Member	Research Assistant
Average age	41	38
Gender ratio	Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1%	Male, 46.3% Female, 53.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 26.2% White, 53.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 16.9% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between research staff member and research assistant duties and responsibilities

Research staff member example responsibilities.

Invent and develop new (user) input technology then lead the design and prototyping of its applications.
Design, analyze, and oversee HIV relate research projects including IRB protocol.
Perform testing for urinalysis, blood sugar, EKG, eye examinations, and blood pressure.
Prove that single amino acid changes affect protein oligomerization as well as DNA / RNA - protein binding.
Develop advance visualization components and diagrams using C++ third party libraries.
Research chemistry and biology projects pertaining to the synthesis of gamma amino derivatives

Research assistant example responsibilities.

Update twitter profile and manage social media campaign.
Manage social media publications to spread awareness and notifications on Facebook.
Evaluate patients' study eligibility via medical history, obtain informed consent, enroll patients, and achieve enrollment quotas.
Learned many laboratory techniques, assays, and protocols; western blot, real-time PCR, tick collection, DNA extraction.
Analyze the effects of estrogen on various tissues using molecular biology techniques such as RT-PCR, RNA and DNA extractions.
Gain familiarity with research terminology, development procedures, data collection and management, and IRB considerations.

Research staff member vs research assistant skills

Common research staff member skills

Python, 17%
Machine Learning, 14%
Research Projects, 6%
DOE, 6%
Data Analysis, 5%
Java, 4%

Common research assistant skills

Patients, 9%
Lab Equipment, 9%
Data Collection, 8%
Laboratory Equipment, 5%
Research Projects, 5%
Data Analysis, 5%

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Research Staff Member vs Research Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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