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What is a principal research economist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted expert
Erik Johnson Ph.D.

These guys are responsible for producing and distributing goods, resources, and services. They do this by analyzing data, researching trends, collecting data, evaluating economic issues, and researching trends. The primary job of a Principal Research Economist is to research and analyze economic-related issues.

They are also tasked with leading the economics and finance team, providing technical inputs to some required projects. There are some skills you need to have to increase your chances of getting this job, some of them include:

Detail Oriented: To make a good economic decision, there is a need to consider every detail you have at hand. And to do that, you must be meticulous with every available information.

Math Skills: You must be mathematically inclined to be able to handle this job; you must be able to comprehend and apply mathematical techniques.

Writing skills: Writing skills are needed while reporting your research; you must improve on your writing skills so you can draft a report everybody can easily understand.

As for the salary structure, it depends on the size of the organization, the experience of the candidate, and the country of residence. In the United States, an average Principal Research Economist earns between $144,053 and $229,000.

What general advice would you give to a principal research economist?

Erik Johnson Ph.D.Erik Johnson Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Assistant Professor of Economics, Carthage College

Economics gives you a set of tools to analyze a variety of policy and business problems. However, determining which tools to apply in which situation requires that you learn the industry, you are working from top to bottom. When you begin a new job in a new field, be sure to do everything you can to understand how the organization and the industry work to understand the primary incentives that everyone faces. One right way to do this is to make as many connections within the company you are working for as possible and always be on the lookout for new opportunities within the company and how they can help you learn more. Moreover, do your best to ensure that a significant portion of your job involves some creative endeavors such as economic modeling or building tools for yourself or others to use. As computing power continues to become cheaper, and artificial intelligence becomes more advanced, relatively repetitive tasks become more comfortable and easier to automate. Therefore you will have less job security. Creative tasks such as modeling and tool building are difficult to automate and are more likely to provide you with more satisfaction.
ScorePrincipal Research EconomistUS Average
Salary
7.1

Avg. Salary $91,494

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
3.6

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
2.4
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.24%

Asian 16.90%

Black or African American 5.75%

Hispanic or Latino 10.61%

Unknown 5.55%

White 60.96%

Gender

female 34.20%

male 65.80%

Age - 43
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 - 43
Stress level
3.6

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level
9.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
6.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Principal research economist career paths

Key steps to become a principal research economist

  1. Explore principal research economist education requirements

    Most common principal research economist degrees

    Bachelor's

    56.2 %

    Master's

    26.4 %

    Doctorate

    11.0 %
  2. Start to develop specific principal research economist skills

    SkillsPercentages
    C++17.63%
    Research Projects16.32%
    Data Analysis7.35%
    Data Collection6.33%
    Project Management5.30%
  3. Research principal research economist duties and responsibilities

    • Lead the advanced receiver hardware prototyping and evaluate the receiver performance.
    • Develop a discrete choice modeling procedure (CMDC) in the SAS cloud computingplatform (SAS Viya).
    • Initial testing involve regression modeling to determine external variable sensitivity to default and foreclosure.
    • Mitigate unexpected talent loss by developing a logistic regression model design to evaluate attrition risk for newly-hire employees.
  4. Get principal research economist experience

  5. Prepare your principal research economist resume

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

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  6. Apply for principal research economist jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a principal research economist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first principal research economist job

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Average principal research economist salary

The average principal research economist salary in the United States is $91,494 per year or $44 per hour. Principal research economist salaries range between $61,000 and $136,000 per year.

Average principal research economist salary
$91,494 Yearly
$43.99 hourly

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Principal research economist reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019
Cons

Language barrier can be a problem,because communication needs to be formed in the language that each community you interact with understands.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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