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Teaching & research assistant vs assistant professor

The differences between teaching & research assistants and assistant professors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an assistant professor has an average salary of $87,099, which is higher than the $36,796 average annual salary of a teaching & research assistant.

The top three skills for a teaching & research assistant include lab reports, laboratory sessions and organic chemistry. The most important skills for an assistant professor are patients, public health, and pediatrics.

Teaching & research assistant vs assistant professor overview

Teaching & Research AssistantAssistant Professor
Yearly salary$36,796$87,099
Hourly rate$17.69$41.87
Growth rate-12%
Number of jobs48,93630,531
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age4446
Years of experience-4

What does a teaching & research assistant do?

The job of teaching and research assistants is to support faculty members in course material preparation and instruction. They often work in educational institutions such as universities and colleges. They perform varied duties and responsibilities that may include organizing visual aids and reference materials, conducting discussion groups, laboratory sessions, and seminars, and grading term papers, exams, and laboratory reports. Teaching and research assistants may also teach sections, conduct tutorials, and assist in overseeing study projects. The skills and qualifications required for this role may include being enrolled in a doctoral or master's study program and excellent communication skills.

What does an assistant professor do?

An assistant professor is an entry-level position who teaches in a university, conducts research, and assists senior professors. Assistant professors supervise undergraduate and graduate students at the same time provide professors and department heads with feedback on the progress of their students. To be effective in teaching and mentoring students, assistant professors must possess strong communication skills with advanced knowledge of their field. They must also have a Ph. D degree in the relevant academic discipline as well as teaching experience in a university setting.

Teaching & research assistant vs assistant professor salary

Teaching & research assistants and assistant professors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Teaching & Research AssistantAssistant Professor
Average salary$36,796$87,099
Salary rangeBetween $20,000 And $64,000Between $50,000 And $151,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-Hawaii
Best paying company-UT Medical Group, Inc.
Best paying industry-Government

Differences between teaching & research assistant and assistant professor education

There are a few differences between a teaching & research assistant and an assistant professor in terms of educational background:

Teaching & Research AssistantAssistant Professor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common majorChemistryNursing
Most common collegeNortheastern UniversityUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Teaching & research assistant vs assistant professor demographics

Here are the differences between teaching & research assistants' and assistant professors' demographics:

Teaching & Research AssistantAssistant Professor
Average age4446
Gender ratioMale, 56.0% Female, 44.0%Male, 55.5% Female, 44.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 11.6% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 17.4% White, 62.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage6%16%

Differences between teaching & research assistant and assistant professor duties and responsibilities

Teaching & research assistant example 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.
  • Prepare and teach lab sections for undergraduate-level cartography and spatial statistics courses, and graduate-level raster GIS course.
  • Design questionnaire for tobacco study, collect data by going on fields, enter data, create SAS databases.
  • Show more

Assistant professor example responsibilities.

  • Lead outreach to community and statewide stakeholders in the PPCC entrepreneurship program.
  • Used blackboard online to manage students tests, grade papers and assign materials.
  • Develop courses in immunology and research ethics, and develop super laboratory courses in cellular physiology and molecular biology.
  • Conduct research using molecular biology, genetics, histochemistry, cell biology, biochemistry.
  • Chair psychology and sociology departments, teach psychology classes, revise student practicum program, establish outreach mechanisms to reach alternative students
  • Serve as professor for humanities and sociology.
  • Show more

Teaching & research assistant vs assistant professor skills

Common teaching & research assistant skills
  • Lab Reports, 19%
  • Laboratory Sessions, 9%
  • Organic Chemistry, 7%
  • R, 6%
  • Research Projects, 6%
  • Undergraduate Courses, 5%
Common assistant professor skills
  • Patients, 17%
  • Public Health, 6%
  • Pediatrics, 5%
  • Curriculum Development, 4%
  • Research Projects, 4%
  • Professional Development, 4%

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