Research Assistant I salary

[likemike23]

What is the salary for a Research Assistant I these days?

Specifically, at a major academic hospital in Boston.

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[acb88]

http://www.indeed.com/salary?q1=Research+Assistant&l1=Boston,+MA

This says $35,000

 

[aliblack]

What is the salary for a Research Assistant I these days?

Specifically, at a major academic hospital in Boston.

Based on my personal experience interviewing for jobs and several friends who work as research assistants at MGH, it's about $25,000. I ultimately took a job elsewhere because the pay wasn't livable for me. The people I know who graduated and took those jobs were able to do so because they are from the boston area and able to live at home with their parents in order deal with the low salary.

Try to work at the VA hospital, I hear they pay their RAs better than MGH and other Harvard affiliates.

 

[shouldvestudied]

$30,000 - $35,000

Research really doesn't pay for ****.

 

[bookfreak89]

Based on my personal experience interviewing for jobs and several friends who work as research assistants at MGH, it's about $25,000. I ultimately took a job elsewhere because the pay wasn't livable for me. The people I know who graduated and took those jobs were able to do so because they are from the boston area and able to live at home with their parents in order deal with the low salary.

Try to work at the VA hospital, I hear they pay their RAs better than MGH and other Harvard affiliates.

This.

 

[DocWearUrMac]

I would say that 80% fall within 28K-31K. I learned this info from personal experiences on several interviews at Children's and BIDMC.

 

[Suenya]

26-30 is roughly average. I know a few that were 31-32. Alot more that were 22-24.

 

[fahimaz7]

I was getting 39k in Georgia, but I had a MS as well...

 

[RookTookIt]

When I started (22yo with only BS) I was earning abut $37k and certainly wasn't making more than my coworkers. Maybe because it was NYC it's a little higher than the other salaries mentioned here?

 

[jellybean13]

$35,000 is not correct and very high for an RA I in Boston.

I can pretty much tell you from my extensive experience:

BWH RA I - $25,000 - $29,000

Tufts Med RA I - $28,000 - $33,000

BIDMC - $28,000 - $32,000

This is assuming some experience but not > 1 year of full time experience.

Hope this helps! PM me if you would like more info, OR if you are looking for an RA position in Boston

 

[bucks2010]

Anyone know what the difference, if any, would be for a small company?

 

[ButImLETired]

Are all of these amounts before taxes? That's terrible.

 

[Minnerbelle]

MGH was 30k before taxes for me with 0 experience going in (slightly above $14.50/hr I think it was. And only expected to work 40 hr/wk). I frequently went in on the weekends, so I made up for it by strolling into work every morning at 10-11 am. I ended up working >60 hrs a lot of the time, but that was totally out of my own volition, and I had to be sneaky so the admin people wouldn't know. No overtime though. Most of the other people in the lab worked 40 or less. Benefits were really good with very generous vacation days.

Children's Hospital was 35k for my friend...

def not a lucrative career, but it paid in terms of good publications and rec letters.

Edit: seeing some of the posts below, it seems like I had it pretty good. Non-hospital university jobs seemed to pay substantially higher though... something to think about.

 

[Narmerguy]

Are all of these amounts before taxes? That's terrible.

Yeah, if so that's pathetic.

 

[bucks2010]

Not sure how accurate this is, but may be worth a look

http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/research-technologist-salary-SRCH_KO0,21.htm

 

[Total180]

25K for me. It's pretty bad.

 

[Kevin Baker]

I was verbally promised a salaried 30k for a year and benefits. It turned out to be 9.25 an hour with no paid overtime and no benefits until after a year of working.

Get everything in writing... fml

/wasted year of my life
// this is my last week
/// hopefully the pubs will be worth it

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

Are all of these amounts before taxes? That's terrible.

Research doesn't pay much.

I agree with others that $35k seems really high, unless you have a Master's or a lot of experience or something. I'm a research assistant currently at a big name institution and my salary falls in the window of $25k-$30k. And this doesn't take into account that I'm in the lab a LOT and am there pretty often on weekends too. If you break it down to an hourly wage, it's pretty pathetic. I'm not complaining though; the grad students and post-docs in my lab put in far more time than I do.

 

[bucks2010]

I'm not complaining though; the grad students and post-docs in my lab put in far more time than I do.

No joke. Post-doc salary here is pitiful. Shame to see such little compensation for a biomedical PhD. If I were a PhD I think I'd try my best to go the corporate route.

 

[DonutShot]

Same. I got d'ed. For some reason I was hired a tier below whatever a research assistant makes which translates to 10 /hr job when it should be 14 /hr.

I was verbally promised a salaried 30k for a year and benefits. It turned out to be 9.25 an hour with no paid overtime and no benefits until after a year of working.

Get everything in writing... fml

/wasted year of my life
// this is my last week
/// hopefully the pubs will be worth it

 

[CharlieChap]

I'm actually looking at picking up an RA I job in Boston too and was wondering if anyone knew how possible it was to take classes at the same time? Not a full schedule or anything, but just a couple credits per term to boost GPA. I'm not sure if UMass or any of the surrounding places offered night classes, but it seems like early classes could work also too.

OP, when I was working at Dana Farber last year, the techs in our lab were at about 25-30K from what I remember.

 

[ButImLETired]

Wow, I was really lucky then. I was a RA for a couple of years at a big name institution elsewhere and I made 45k before taxes...lived comfortably, bought a car and furniture for med school, and my boss was awesome so I took all the time I needed for interviews as long as I put in the overtime to make up for it.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

Wow, I was really lucky then. I was a RA for a couple of years at a big name institution elsewhere and I made 45k before taxes...lived comfortably, bought a car and furniture for med school, and my boss was awesome so I took all the time I needed for interviews as long as I put in the overtime to make up for it.

Wow that's a lot. I don't think our post-docs even make that much!

If I remember correctly, you did clinical research right? I don't know if that tends to pay more than bench work (which is what I'm doing). My PI has been completely cool with the interviews and everything though, which really helped out.

 

[ButImLETired]

Wow that's a lot. I don't think our post-docs even make that much!

If I remember correctly, you did clinical research right? I don't know if that tends to pay more than bench work (which is what I'm doing). My PI has been completely cool with the interviews and everything though, which really helped out.

Yeah I did. I was doing drug trials so that probably has something to do with it too, since the pharm company was technically paying my salary (they paid the university for full-time staff on the project). Still yeah it was a lot. I remember the fellows were making only like 10k or so more than I did, which felt totally ridiculous to me.

 

[Limetime]

Indeed $45K sounds very high - lucky lucky. My most recent RA was $26K pre-tax at a large university, very basic benes. Schedule was really flexible though, my PI didn't care when we worked, as long as things got done. That was definitely a bonus during interviews.

@CharlieChap - I think a few credits would be fine. Just from my experience, I often had some down time waiting for things in the lab, so you could use that time to work through a course too.

 

[CoolWhipp]

UC Berkeley RA's get about 28-30k, UCSF 30-33k, Genentech 70k, Pfizer 65k, Stemcell Technologies 55k, Merck 70k

 

[twocentnews]

I work for a harvard-affiliated lab. Those RA I positions are usually 33-35k, not bad.

I also took a 4-credit class every semester from the beginning and it wasn't a problem. The only thing is you'll be doing a lot of work since you have at least 40 hrs in the lab plus additional homework, etc. But definitely do-able. I've gotten A's in the classes and worked on 2 big projects with 2nd author publications.

 

[jellybean13]

I work for a harvard-affiliated lab. Those RA I positions are usually 33-35k, not bad.

I also took a 4-credit class every semester from the beginning and it wasn't a problem. The only thing is you'll be doing a lot of work since you have at least 40 hrs in the lab plus additional homework, etc. But definitely do-able. I've gotten A's in the classes and worked on 2 big projects with 2nd author publications.

If you can find a Harvard RA position that is definitely the way to go - they pay the best of all of the RA positions at big academics in Boston.

 

[acb88]

What I posted as $35,000 was the average listed. I am sure lots of people are making more or less depending on where they work. I work as a tech in Dallas (you can't be a RA unless you have a masters) and make $27,000 (12.98/hour). I thought I had it bad until I realized that post-docs cap out at around $37,000. That's terrible considering how much schooling is involved (luckily there is little to no debt since a PhD is paid for). If I were to stay in research, I would definitely be going to industry. Academia is not worth it unless you want to be a PI

 

[startswithb]

$32,000 (gross) for entry level Research Specialist in UIC College of Medicine. Full benefits, though.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

What is the salary for a Research Assistant I these days?

Specifically, at a major academic hospital in Boston.

i am specifically a rsch asst 1 at a major academic hospital in boston, and the rate is TURRBLE. like 14/hr i believe.

 

[soundnin]

I'm actually looking at picking up an RA I job in Boston too and was wondering if anyone knew how possible it was to take classes at the same time? Not a full schedule or anything, but just a couple credits per term to boost GPA. I'm not sure if UMass or any of the surrounding places offered night classes, but it seems like early classes could work also too.

OP, when I was working at Dana Farber last year, the techs in our lab were at about 25-30K from what I remember.

i took night classes at harvard extension school while working.

and i think 35 is too high to start as well. from personal experience and networking, 28-30k is normal starting. after a few years you might be up to 35.

nobody does science for money!

 

[twocentnews]

Wow, I thought we RA-I's in my lab had it bad, but it looks like we're some of the richer ones...

 

[likemike23]

If anyone wants to meet me in person I'll be the guy sleeping on a park bench at brigham circle... throw some change in my cup and I'll do your orgo hw

 

[Minnerbelle]

if the op wants to go to a higher paid position, non-hospital research tech jobs tend to pay much better in the boston area (or so i've heard)

i know someone at HMS who earns something between 40-45K for an entry level position in a lab.

as for whether you can take classes while working, I know several people who took courses through harvard extension while working as a research tech in MGH, Children's, and BWH. A couple of people had issues with passive aggressive post-docs/PI's who didn't like that they had to leave right at 4:00 on days they had class at night. Otherwise, it seemed to work out fine. I can't remember if tuition was paid for as a part of benefits or not.

 

[sustentacular]

What is the salary for a Research Assistant I these days?

Specifically, at a major academic hospital in Boston.

i am specifically a rsch asst 1 at a major academic hospital in boston, and the rate is TURRBLE. like 14/hr i believe.

Yes, my friend was making $14/hr as a research assistant at a major academic hospital in Boston, about 2yrs ago.

 

[smarts1]

Wow those are really low... College graduates with college research experience (no pubs or anything) got 40K starting in my lab (in New York City) (about $20 an hour) and they got paid overtime. And in all honesty, my lab is pretty small, so we don't have much money.

So then how much do postdocs and PIs make??? I've heard that postdocs generally make around 50-55K starting fresh out of grad school.

 

[twocentnews]

as for whether you can take classes while working, I know several people who took courses through harvard extension while working as a research tech in MGH, Children's, and BWH. A couple of people had issues with passive aggressive post-docs/PI's who didn't like that they had to leave right at 4:00 on days they had class at night. Otherwise, it seemed to work out fine. I can't remember if tuition was paid for as a part of benefits or not.

My PI and post-docs were totally fine with it, and I had to leave at 4 almost 3 times per week! Just do your end of the work, work hard & no one will ever complain. And tuition up to $2000/year is paid for by Partners (if you work at MGH or BWH) after 6 months of employment. So if you start in the summer, fall classes are out-of-pocket but spring won't be.

 

[Minnerbelle]

My PI and post-docs were totally fine with it, and I had to leave at 4 almost 3 times per week! Just do your end of the work, work hard & no one will ever complain.

Like I said, most of the people I know had no problems. But ******* PI's and post-docs do exist, and in that case, I personally wouldn't risk it (no matter how hard you work). Definitely check with the bossman/woman first to make sure they're totally fine with it. And if they say yes, make sure they know if you're going to have to leave at a certain time/have limited weekend availabilities because of it. Friend's boss said, oh sure, go and take that class... but then was resentful later. There are a lot of PI's and postdocs who are so wrapped up in their research, that they have major organizational issues or don't have the ability to think things like that through until it becomes a problem.

The most important things coming out of working in a lab as a pre-health IMO is going to be LORs and publications, both of which can be in jeopardy if your boss perceives you as someone who's either lazy or cares more about getting into med school (and only going through the motions of lab work) than the actual research itself. That perception may be totally off base, but at the end of the day, it will matter. No one cares how hard *you* think you worked if PI says you didn't, and you have nothing to show for it.

 

[girlinthegarden]

My PI and post-docs were totally fine with it, and I had to leave at 4 almost 3 times per week! Just do your end of the work, work hard & no one will ever complain. And tuition up to $2000/year is paid for by Partners (if you work at MGH or BWH) after 6 months of employment. So if you start in the summer, fall classes are out-of-pocket but spring won't be.

At MGH, tuition is not reimbursed unless you are enrolled in a degree program. I believe it is paid for at BWH though.

 

[kami333]

Wow those are really low... College graduates with college research experience (no pubs or anything) got 40K starting in my lab (in New York City) (about $20 an hour) and they got paid overtime. And in all honesty, my lab is pretty small, so we don't have much money.

So then how much do postdocs and PIs make??? I've heard that postdocs generally make around 50-55K starting fresh out of grad school.

You do live in NYC so your cost of living is about 50% higher than say a mid sized mid-Western city, but that's still pretty generous. But overtime? That's pretty much unheard of in most labs. My PI got tired of me bitching about overtime so he made me salaried and exempt.

50k starting? They wish. Most institutions tie their postdoc minimum requirements to the NIH NRSA stipend (with some CoL allowances particularly in places like NYC).
Postdoctoral
Years of Experience:

0​

$37,740​

1​

$39,756​

2​

$42,624​

3​

$44,304​

4​

$45,960​

5​

$47,940​

6​

$49,836​

7 or more​

$52,068​

Some PIs get around minimum wage requirements when they hire foreign postdocs by classifying them differently, at one university I worked at it wasn't uncommon to have Chinese postdocs making $6k-12k/yr.

PIs, especially non-tenure track research PIs don't make very much. It's very institution dependent but $60k-90k is pretty common (CoL adjusted for NYC would be around 90k-180k). Since you live in NY, you can look up the salary of anyone who works for a public institution (including your PI?): http://www.seethroughny.net/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx

 

[soundnin]

At MGH, tuition is not reimbursed unless you are enrolled in a degree program. I believe it is paid for at BWH though.

BWH is the same benefits as MGH - they're both under partners healthcare i believe. when i was at BIDMC, they would do tuition reimbursement.

...(about $20 an hour) and they got paid overtime...

are you for real? lol... all those years pulling 80-120h/week = very rich even on a low base salary...

 

[RogueUnicorn]

Some PIs get around minimum wage requirements when they hire foreign postdocs by classifying them differently, at one university I worked at it wasn't uncommon to have Chinese postdocs making $6k-12k/yr.

the thing is the chinese government frequently (always?) sponsors these trainees as well, so they're not QUITE slave labor

 

[girlinthegarden]

BWH is the same benefits as MGH - they're both under partners healthcare i believe. when i was at BIDMC, they would do tuition reimbursement.

Not to beat this issue to death, but MGH and BWH actually handle this differently for whatever reason. I currently work at MGH and cannot get any tuition reimbursement since I am not in a degree program, but my friend at BWH has gotten reimbursed for 2 classes that she took last semester. Just an FYI for anyone planning to work at MGH vs BWH! I was misled about this in my interview here so I want to make sure that I spread the word to others

 

[soundnin]

Not to beat this issue to death, but MGH and BWH actually handle this differently for whatever reason. I currently work at MGH and cannot get any tuition reimbursement since I am not in a degree program, but my friend at BWH has gotten reimbursed for 2 classes that she took last semester. Just an FYI for anyone planning to work at MGH vs BWH! I was misled about this in my interview here so I want to make sure that I spread the word to others

wow that is just plain not fair lol.

to add to what girlinthegarden said (for people to also take the benefits into consideration) - i went from working at bidmc to mgh with an increase of about 10k/year. but the benefits at mgh are much much worse VS bidmc... also factor in that i have to pay for two courses i'm currently enrolled in - and it's an increase of chump change per week VS my old weekly pay...

 

[kami333]

the thing is the chinese government frequently (always?) sponsors these trainees as well, so they're not QUITE slave labor

Not all of them are sponsored. I think the better ones usually are, but some of the more desperate ones aren't. The ones that were got about $1k/month, I never figured out if this was CoL or salary dependent (I think it might be for visa reasons since they require proof of support over a certain level).

One of the postdocs I worked with would frequently joke that his wife who worked as a cashier at the local Chinese market made more than he did.

(My old PI was somewhat notorious for running a "sweatshop")

 

[peweee17]

Research Assistant at Syracuse University= 25K/ year

 

[PsychDO]

Research assistant at a state school (in neuro)- 25k. Not a perfect job, but better than spending my gap year waitressing.

 

[pinkzebra]

Im a research assistant I in the boston area and began at $36,500 fresh from undergrad

 

[CharlieChap]

Im a research assistant I in the boston area and began at $36,500 fresh from undergrad

Are you at one of the Longwood hospitals?