Research Analyst Overview
Research Analyst Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a research analyst. For example, did you know that they make an average of $30.01 an hour? That's $62,414 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 20% and produce 139,200 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Research Analyst Do
There are certain skills that many research analysts 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 analytical skills, communication skills and detail oriented.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a research analyst, we found that a lot of resumes listed 11.1% of research analysts included research projects, while 9.4% of resumes included data analysis, and 6.9% of resumes included procedures. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the research analyst job title. But what industry to start with? Most research analysts actually find jobs in the finance and education industries.
How To Become a Research Analyst
If you're interested in becoming a research analyst, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 45.7% of research analysts have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 35.8% of research analysts have master's degrees. Even though most research analysts 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 analyst. When we researched the most common majors for a research analyst, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on research analyst resumes include doctoral degree degrees or associate degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a research analyst. In fact, many research analyst jobs require experience in a role such as internship. Meanwhile, many research analysts also have previous career experience in roles such as research assistant or customer service representative.
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Research Analyst 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 consultant you might progress to a role such as operations manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title manager, assistant vice president.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Research Analyst
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Wisconsin Government Research Analyst Research Analyst | Wisconsin Government Wisconsin Government | 01/28/2021 01/28/2021 | $50,60601/28/2021 $50,606 |
Pearson Research and Psychometric Services Analyst Research and Psychometric Services Analyst | Pearson Pearson | 01/22/2021 01/22/2021 | $85,00001/22/2021 $85,000 |
Pearson Research and Psychometric Services Analyst Research and Psychometric Services Analyst | Pearson Pearson | 01/22/2021 01/22/2021 | $85,00001/22/2021 $85,000 |
Pearson Research and Psychometric Services Analyst Research and Psychometric Services Analyst | Pearson Pearson | 01/22/2021 01/22/2021 | $85,00001/22/2021 $85,000 |
Pearson Research and Psychometric Services Analyst Research and Psychometric Services Analyst | Pearson Pearson | 01/22/2021 01/22/2021 | $85,00001/22/2021 $85,000 |
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Research Analyst Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Research Analyst. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Research Analyst Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Research Analyst resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop Colleges for Research Analysts
1. University of Georgia
Athens, GA • Public
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
3. University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI • Public
4. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
5. University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD • Public
6. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Public
7. Ball State University
Muncie, IN • Public
8. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Public
9. Howard University
Washington, DC • Private
10. Texas State University
San Marcos, TX • Public
Top Skills For a Research Analyst
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, 11.1% of research analysts listed research projects on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and communication skills are important as well.
- Research Projects, 11.1%
- Data Analysis, 9.4%
- Procedures, 6.9%
- Market Research, 6.7%
- Data Collection, 4.9%
- Other Skills, 61.0% See All Research Analyst Skills
Best States For a Research Analyst
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a research analyst. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, New York, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Research analysts make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $95,918. Whereas in New York and Rhode Island, they would average $76,876 and $76,855, respectively. While research analysts would only make an average of $75,231 in Connecticut, 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. Rhode Island
$76,855
Avg. Salary
2. New York
$76,876
Avg. Salary
3. Connecticut
$75,231
Avg. Salary
How Do Research Analyst Rate Their Jobs?
4.0
4.0
Interesting job, lots of flexibility • February 2019What do you like the most about working as Research Analyst?
I get to work on data that interests me and help make sure that data collection goes as planned. Lots of problem-solving with the flexibility to work a slightly different schedule or from home. Show MoreTop Research Analyst 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 analysts and discovered their number of research analyst opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Wells Fargo was the best, especially with an average salary of $98,161. JPMorgan Chase follows up with an average salary of $118,555, and then comes CoStar Group with an average of $78,563. 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 analyst. The employers include Essentia Health, Allen Public Library, and Frost & Sullivan