Research administrators are responsible for funding research divisions in educational institutions and non-profit organizations, among others. They support their research teams to secure funds by finding funding sources, planning the required forms and recommendations to seek funding, and dispersing this funding to various parties in need.
To decide which parties are eligible for funding, research administrators may need to do objective analyses, review applications, and consult with other researchers to determine how much funding is required and for what reasons, such as materials, personnel, and travel. They also monitor the budgets of the research divisions to ensure that they conform to the restrictions and regulations.
This is typically a full-time job in the office setting, although some travel can be required to collaborate with different sponsors. A bachelor's degree may be a prerequisite qualification for this position, and previous academic experience may also be required. Some employers may favor applicants with a master's degree and work experience.
How to Become a Research Administrator
What is a Research Administrator
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Research Administrator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.47 an hour? That's $50,899 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 3,700 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Research Administrator Do
There are certain skills that many Research Administrators have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Communication skills, Interpersonal skills and Leadership skills.
How To Become a Research Administrator
If you're interested in becoming a Research Administrator, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 62.5% of Research Administrators have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 18.2% of Research Administrators have master's degrees. Even though most Research Administrators have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Research Administrator. When we researched the most common majors for a Research Administrator, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Master's Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Research Administrator resumes include Associate Degree degrees or Doctoral Degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Research Administrator. In fact, many Research Administrator jobs require experience in a role such as Administrative Assistant. Meanwhile, many Research Administrators also have previous career experience in roles such as Research Assistant or Internship.
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And if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Research Administrator Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of Office Manager you might progress to a role such as Operations Manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title Project Director.
Research Administrator Jobs You Might Like
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Average Salary for a Research Administrator
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Choose From 10+ Customizable Research Administrator Resume templates
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Research Administrator Demographics
Research Administrator Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among Research Administrators, 69.4% of them are women, while 30.6% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among Research Administrators is White, which makes up 74.6% of all Research Administrators.
- The most common foreign language among Research Administrators is Spanish at 39.3%.
Find the best Research Administrator job for you
Research Administrator Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Research Administrator Jobs - $67K and Up
- Work From Home Research Administrator Jobs
- Entry Level Research Administrator Jobs
- Part Time Research Administrator Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Research Administrator Jobs
Top Colleges for Research Administrators
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
4. Maine Maritime Academy
Castine, ME • Private
5. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
6. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
7. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
8. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
9. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
10. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
Find the best Research Administrator job for you
Research Administrator Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Research Administrator Jobs - $67K and Up
- Work From Home Research Administrator Jobs
- Entry Level Research Administrator Jobs
- Part Time Research Administrator Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Research Administrator Jobs
Online Courses For Research Administrator That You May Like
The Essentials of Clinical Trials - Clinical Research for Beginners...
An Introduction to Good Clinical Practice ICH GCP E6 (R2) for Investigators & Clinical Research Staff...
If you've ever skipped over`the results section of a medical paper because terms like "confidence interval" or "p-value" go over your head, then you're in the right place. You may be a clinical practitioner reading research articles to keep up-to-date with developments in your field or a medical student wondering how to approach your own research. Greater confidence in understanding statistical analysis and the results can benefit both working professionals and those undertaking research themsel...
Top Skills For a Research Administrator
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 12.2% of Research Administrators listed Procedures on their resume, but soft skills such as Communication skills and Interpersonal skills are important as well.
Best States For a Research Administrator
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a Research Administrator. The best states for people in this position are Connecticut, Maine, North Dakota, and Hawaii. Research Administrators make the most in Connecticut with an average salary of $66,040. Whereas in Maine and North Dakota, they would average $65,012 and $65,009, respectively. While Research Administrators would only make an average of $64,867 in Hawaii, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. North Dakota
$65,009
Avg. Salary
2. Massachusetts
$64,815
Avg. Salary
3. New Hampshire
$63,381
Avg. Salary
How Do Research Administrator Rate Their Jobs?
Top Research Administrator Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ Research Administrators and discovered their number of Research Administrator opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that University of Florida was the best, especially with an average salary of $45,118. University of California, Berkeley follows up with an average salary of $54,048, and then comes Northwestern University with an average of $52,237. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a Research Administrator. The employers include University of Michigan, Miami University, and University of California, Berkeley