How To Become A Junior Research Fellow: What It Is and Career Path

What is a junior research fellow and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Betsy Smith,

Daniel Patten Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a junior research fellow. For example, did you know that they make an average of $31.09 an hour? That's $64,677 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 17% and produce 20,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a junior research fellow?

Dr. Betsy Smith

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Elmira College

I would advise students just graduating to be flexible and open-minded in their job search. Chemistry is a challenging major, and students who succeed in it have learned how to learn, so they shouldn't assume that pure chemistry is the only thing they can do. One growing field is biomedical research, and chemistry majors are often qualified for jobs in that area. If you have other strengths, like writing, there are often jobs that can combine them as a technical writer or work for a science journal. There are jobs out there that might be perfect for you that you haven't heard of until you see an ad for it, so be open to different possibilities.

ScoreJunior Research FellowUS Average

Salary

5.1

Avg. Salary $64,677

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.3

Growth rate 17%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.15%

Asian 37.27%

Black or African American 6.19%

Hispanic or Latino 9.38%

Unknown 4.05%

White 42.96%

Gender

female 50.52%

male 49.48%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress level

6.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a junior research fellow

Explore junior research fellow education requirements

Most common junior research fellow degrees

Bachelor's

49.9 %

Master's

40.5 %

Doctorate

6.4 %

Start to develop specific junior research fellow skills

Skills	Percentages
Cell Culture	7.51%
R	6.96%
Molecular Techniques	6.85%
Molecular Biology	6.44%
Chemistry	5.55%

Complete relevant junior research fellow training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New junior research fellows learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a junior research fellow based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real junior research fellow resumes.

Research junior research fellow duties and responsibilities

Manage social media publications to spread awareness and notifications on Facebook.
Work on synthesis of D-Serine from N-Acetyl-D-glucose using microorganisms, immobilize enzymes, and microbial cells in the key steps.
Estimate cytokines levels in human patient samples using ELISA methodology.
Assist in routine analysis using radio immuno assays such as ELISA.

Prepare your junior research fellow resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your junior research fellow resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a junior research fellow resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable junior research fellow resume templates

Build a professional junior research fellow resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your junior research fellow resume.