Research volunteer vs research assistant

The differences between research volunteers and 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 research assistant. Additionally, a research volunteer has an average salary of $54,668, which is higher than the $42,896 average annual salary of a research assistant.

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

Research volunteer vs research assistant overview

	Research Volunteer	Research Assistant
Yearly salary	$54,668	$42,896
Hourly rate	$26.28	$20.62
Growth rate	19%	19%
Number of jobs	50,334	51,080
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	2	2

Research volunteer vs research assistant salary

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

	Research Volunteer	Research Assistant
Average salary	$54,668	$42,896
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $85,000	Between $28,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City	-	New Brunswick, NJ
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between research volunteer and research assistant education

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

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

Research volunteer vs research assistant demographics

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

	Research Volunteer	Research Assistant
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 38.7% Female, 61.3%	Male, 46.3% Female, 53.7%
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, 8.6% 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 volunteer and 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.

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 volunteer vs 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 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 Volunteer
Research Volunteer vs Research Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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