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Volunteer research assistant vs research fellow

The differences between volunteer research assistants and research fellows can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a volunteer research assistant, becoming a research fellow takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a research fellow has an average salary of $53,823, which is higher than the $52,906 average annual salary of a volunteer research assistant.

The top three skills for a volunteer research assistant include lab equipment, DR and literature reviews. The most important skills for a research fellow are patients, research projects, and data analysis.

Volunteer research assistant vs research fellow overview

Volunteer Research AssistantResearch Fellow
Yearly salary$52,906$53,823
Hourly rate$25.44$25.88
Growth rate19%17%
Number of jobs50,98359,746
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age3841
Years of experience24

Volunteer research assistant vs research fellow salary

Volunteer research assistants and research fellows have different pay scales, as shown below.

Volunteer Research AssistantResearch Fellow
Average salary$52,906$53,823
Salary rangeBetween $34,000 And $81,000Between $39,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City-South San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-Hawaii
Best paying company-McKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industry-Non Profits

Differences between volunteer research assistant and research fellow education

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

Volunteer Research AssistantResearch Fellow
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorPsychologyChemistry
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityDuke University

Volunteer research assistant vs research fellow demographics

Here are the differences between volunteer research assistants' and research fellows' demographics:

Volunteer Research AssistantResearch Fellow
Average age3841
Gender ratioMale, 39.3% Female, 60.7%Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 16.4% White, 53.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 27.1% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between volunteer research assistant and research fellow duties and responsibilities

Volunteer research assistant example responsibilities.

  • Evaluate patients' study eligibility via medical history, obtain informed consent, enroll patients, and achieve enrollment quotas.
  • Compile subject questionnaires using SPSS data analysis software.
  • Perform DNA extraction and estimation.
  • Analyze isolated purity of RNA samples with Nanodrop machine.
  • Assist in procedures when need, such as isolating DNA.
  • Perform tissue homogenization, RNA isolation, and Qiagen RNA easy clean up.
  • Show more

Research fellow example responsibilities.

  • Collaborate with software engineers to automate identification of 15N- and 13C- labele LC-MS features.
  • Process and manage GIS databases to contribute towards research in human transportation behavior.
  • Manage investigator initiate and cooperative group correlative studies to identify biomarkers to ascertain tumor burden and clinical outcomes in lymphoma.
  • Analyze quantitative and qualitative data through statistical software SAS and SPSS.
  • Conduct sampling, PCR, data analysis and oral presentations of the work
  • Implement python and C++ codes for numerical computation of transport properties in models and materials.
  • Show more

Volunteer research assistant vs research fellow skills

Common volunteer research assistant skills
  • Lab Equipment, 14%
  • DR, 12%
  • Literature Reviews, 7%
  • Data Collection, 6%
  • Cell Culture, 5%
  • Research Projects, 5%
Common research fellow skills
  • Patients, 10%
  • Research Projects, 6%
  • Data Analysis, 5%
  • Cell Culture, 5%
  • Immunology, 4%
  • CRISPR, 4%

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