How To Become A Teaching & Research Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a teaching & research assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Autumn Mathias Ph.D., LCSW

Primarily, a teaching assistant assists the teachers at a school. His/Her duties include taking attendance every day and reporting it to the teacher, working individually with students to improve their performance, and answering questions about the lesson. Asides from this, he/she helps teachers in preparing the lesson materials and school equipment. Being a research assistant also, you will be responsible for compiling accurate information on a subject and reporting your findings to the appropriate staff. Your duties will include browsing archives for information, completing literature reviews, and conducting research interviews.

The basic academic requirement for this role varies from a high school diploma to a college degree. The degree must be in a relevant discipline. Applicants must possess communication, problem-solving, multitasking, time management, organization, and listening skills. You must possess previous work experience in a similar role. Teaching & Research Assistants make an average salary of $28,462 per year. This ranges from $20,000 to $40,000.

What general advice would you give to a teaching & research assistant?

Autumn Mathias Ph.D., LCSW

Associate Professor, Website

Similar to my answer for the first question, I think that this begins during college as students
build their overall portfolio of knowledge and skills. In addition to strategically selecting
courses, students might think about different volunteer activities (both on and off campus) and
experiential learning opportunities that could help them to further develop skills and build
professional connections. For instance, students can ask professors if there are opportunities for
them to work as a research assistant, or develop their own independent research project. In
addition, students can complete internships with public or private organizations within
community, or even through study abroad programs. In some cases, internships can provide a
bridge to employment post-graduation in that organization.
After students graduate and secure employment, they might consider different ways to engage in
professional development and continuing education. This can occur both within and outside
employer-sponsored activities. For instance, graduates might consider online courses on software
such as Excel, ArcGIS, Python, Tableau, or R. In addition, graduates may think of creative ways
to take leadership on projects in their respective organizations, and/or make a significant
contribution to their organization that will showcase their professional strengths. Finally,
graduates may consider pursuing graduate degrees according to their professional goals, such as

a Master of Social Work (MSW), Master of Public Health (MPH), Juris Doctor (JD), Master's in
Education (M.Ed.), or a Master of Public Administration (MPA).

ScoreTeaching & Research AssistantUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $36,796

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

8.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.11%

Asian 11.65%

Black or African American 10.97%

Hispanic or Latino 17.57%

Unknown 4.52%

White 54.20%

Gender

female 43.96%

male 56.04%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

3.7

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.8

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.0

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a teaching & research assistant

Explore teaching & research assistant education requirements

Most common teaching & research assistant degrees

Bachelor's

67.5 %

Master's

23.3 %

Doctorate

6.5 %

Start to develop specific teaching & research assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Lab Reports	19.18%
Laboratory Sessions	9.40%
Organic Chemistry	6.61%
R	6.22%
Research Projects	5.90%

Research teaching & research assistant duties and responsibilities

Evaluate patients' study eligibility via medical history, obtain informed consent, enroll patients, and achieve enrollment quotas.
Design and teach workshops on serial communication, basic python, and open computer vision library.
Guide and monitor classroom lab activities involving SPSS software, research analysis, and data compilation.
Assemble, correlate and analyze research outcomes using SPSS, and synthesize data and findings graphically using charts.

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