Research volunteer vs laboratory research assistant

The differences between research volunteers and laboratory 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 research volunteer and a laboratory research assistant. Additionally, a research volunteer has an average salary of $54,668, which is higher than the $36,537 average annual salary of a laboratory research assistant.

The top three skills for a research volunteer include lab procedures, cell culture and laboratory techniques. The most important skills for a laboratory research assistant are data collection, patients, and laboratory equipment.

Research volunteer vs laboratory research assistant overview

	Research Volunteer	Laboratory Research Assistant
Yearly salary	$54,668	$36,537
Hourly rate	$26.28	$17.57
Growth rate	19%	17%
Number of jobs	50,334	87,343
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	2	2

Research volunteer vs laboratory research assistant salary

Research volunteers and laboratory research assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Research Volunteer	Laboratory Research Assistant
Average salary	$54,668	$36,537
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $85,000	Between $24,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	-	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	New York University
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between research volunteer and laboratory research assistant education

There are a few differences between a research volunteer and a laboratory research assistant in terms of educational background:

	Research Volunteer	Laboratory Research Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	Harvard University	Harvard University

Research volunteer vs laboratory research assistant demographics

Here are the differences between research volunteers' and laboratory research assistants' demographics:

	Research Volunteer	Laboratory Research Assistant
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 38.7% Female, 61.3%	Male, 46.2% Female, 53.8%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 16.6% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between research volunteer and laboratory research assistant duties and responsibilities

Research volunteer example responsibilities.

Evaluate patients' study eligibility via medical history, obtain informed consent, enroll patients, and achieve enrollment quotas.
Assist in monitoring MRI scans.
Assist in cloning and expression for RNA research.
Analyze cell lysates and purify proteins by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis.
Design a PowerPoint presentation to teach senior adults about email accounts.
Assist with laboratory experiments, collect data and DNA samples, contribute to lab protocols.

Laboratory research assistant example responsibilities.

Manage participant records according to IRB guidelines to ensure confidentiality.
Lead experiments to assess survivor behavior differences in zebrafish contaminate with dietary mercury.
Maintain microbial culture and isolate and purify bacterial and viral DNA and RNA to study the genome of common pathogenic bacteria.
Perform protein extraction on larvae.
Perform biological assays, including ELISA and RT-PCR.
Gain extensive MLST, RT-PCR, conventional PCR, primer design and gel-electrophoresis experience.

Research volunteer vs laboratory research assistant skills

Common research volunteer skills

Lab Procedures, 11%
Cell Culture, 8%
Laboratory Techniques, 7%
Data Collection, 6%
R, 4%
RT-PCR, 4%

Common laboratory research assistant skills

Data Collection, 5%
Patients, 5%
Laboratory Equipment, 5%
Lab Procedures, 5%
Laboratory Techniques, 5%
Molecular Biology, 4%

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Research Volunteer vs Laboratory Research Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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