How To Become A Principal Investigator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a principal investigator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

The preparation, conduct, and administration of a research grant, contract, cooperative agreement, or other sponsored project is the sole responsibility of a principal investigator. He/She is responsible for developing project research designs. He/She plans, oversees, and participates in fieldwork and analysis and compiles various reports. Additionally, he/she keeps himself updated on the regulations surrounding his/her research, the additional requirements set by the funding agency, study sponsor, and relevant regulatory authorities. Lastly, he/she prepares costs estimates and budgets. The private investigator may consult with review agencies, tribal representatives, and other interested parties.

To become a private investigator, you need to be holding a master's degree or Ph.D. in anthropology or a related field. You must have at least ten years of fieldwork and analytical experience. You must be familiar with relevant regulations and laws. Private investigators earn a whooping sum of $106,052. Their salary varies from $63,000 to $180,000.

ScorePrincipal InvestigatorUS Average

Salary

6.6

Avg. Salary $84,635

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.70%

Asian 4.31%

Black or African American 10.32%

Hispanic or Latino 14.00%

Unknown 3.99%

White 66.68%

Gender

female 47.75%

male 52.25%

Age - 47

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 - 47

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a principal investigator

Explore principal investigator education requirements

Most common principal investigator degrees

Bachelor's

53.2 %

Master's

20.9 %

Doctorate

20.0 %

Start to develop specific principal investigator skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	10.25%
Data Collection	9.03%
Project Management	7.65%
Technical Reports	5.88%
FDA	4.20%

Complete relevant principal investigator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New principal investigators 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 principal investigator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real principal investigator resumes.

Research principal investigator duties and responsibilities

Serve chemistry project leads for two early-stage drug discovery projects.
Design, build and manage CADD, NMR and MRI facilities.
Attain IRB approval, recruit participants, analyze the data and present results
Manage outsource projects, and interact with vendors for API sourcing, and device components base on project needs.

Prepare your principal investigator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your principal investigator 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 principal investigator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable principal investigator resume templates

Build a professional principal investigator 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 principal investigator resume.