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Teaching & research assistant vs graduate teaching assistant

The differences between teaching & research assistants and graduate teaching assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a graduate teaching assistant has an average salary of $44,994, 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 a graduate teaching assistant are lab experiments, laboratory sections, and undergraduate courses.

Teaching & research assistant vs graduate teaching assistant overview

Teaching & Research AssistantGraduate Teaching Assistant
Yearly salary$36,796$44,994
Hourly rate$17.69$21.63
Growth rate--
Number of jobs48,93612,598
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4444
Years of experience--

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 a graduate teaching assistant do?

A Graduate Teaching Assistant may work in Learning Facilities by teaching short courses under supervision or assist the Faculty Staff in various aspects such as research. They can also lend a hand in preparing and creating learning materials such as presentations, handouts, and other teaching-related tasks. Furthermore, among the duties of a Graduate Teaching Assistant may include handling written reports, preparing or cleaning laboratories and facilities, grading and evaluating students' papers, and preparing examinations or other quiz material.

Teaching & research assistant vs graduate teaching assistant salary

Teaching & research assistants and graduate teaching assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Teaching & Research AssistantGraduate Teaching Assistant
Average salary$36,796$44,994
Salary rangeBetween $20,000 And $64,000Between $27,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City-Terre Haute, IN
Highest paying state-Pennsylvania
Best paying company-California State University, Fullerton
Best paying industry-Education

Differences between teaching & research assistant and graduate teaching assistant education

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

Teaching & Research AssistantGraduate Teaching Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorChemistryBiology
Most common collegeNortheastern UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Teaching & research assistant vs graduate teaching assistant demographics

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

Teaching & Research AssistantGraduate Teaching Assistant
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 56.0% Female, 44.0%Male, 50.4% Female, 49.6%
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, 11.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 11.9% White, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between teaching & research assistant and graduate teaching assistant 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

Graduate teaching assistant example responsibilities.

  • Accomplish assessment of PU foam samples base on morphology by SEM and optical microscope.
  • Assist classmates with developing positive study habits and strategies for managing classroom material.
  • Tutor calculus, algebra, probability, financial mathematics and others as requested.
  • Learned advance PCR techniques and troubleshooting.
  • Analyze yield of Suzuki reaction using HPLC.
  • Develop method for analysis of steroids in herbal medicines using HPLC.
  • Show more

Teaching & research assistant vs graduate teaching assistant skills

Common teaching & research assistant skills
  • Lab Reports, 19%
  • Laboratory Sessions, 9%
  • Organic Chemistry, 7%
  • R, 6%
  • Research Projects, 6%
  • Undergraduate Courses, 5%
Common graduate teaching assistant skills
  • Lab Experiments, 22%
  • Laboratory Sections, 8%
  • Undergraduate Courses, 8%
  • Organic Chemistry, 6%
  • Mathematics, 3%
  • Course Materials, 3%

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