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Job outlook for research and development interns in the United States
Are research and development internship jobs in demand?
Research and development internship job and salary trends over time
Research and development internship jobs over time
Research and development internship job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2,601 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 3,203 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 3,226 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 26,075 | 0.01% |
| 2017 | 24,208 | 0.01% |
Average research and development internship salary over time
Research and development internship salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $38,489 | $18.50 | +3.4% |
| 2024 | $37,221 | $17.89 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $36,378 | $17.49 | +3.4% |
| 2022 | $35,195 | $16.92 | +2.4% |
| 2021 | $34,371 | $16.52 | +1.1% |
Research and development internship jobs by state
Most common states for research and development interns
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vermont | 623,657 | 239 | 38% |
| 2 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 202 | 35% |
| 3 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 285 | 33% |
| 4 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,761 | 32% |
| 5 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 332 | 32% |
| 6 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 317 | 30% |
| 7 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 230 | 30% |
| 8 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 2,170 | 29% |
| 9 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 547 | 28% |
| 10 | Delaware | 961,939 | 268 | 28% |
| 11 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 333 | 25% |
| 12 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 491 | 24% |
| 13 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 2,931 | 23% |
| 14 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 936 | 23% |
| 15 | Alaska | 739,795 | 168 | 23% |
| 16 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 161 | 23% |
| 17 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,741 | 21% |
| 18 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 1,480 | 21% |
| 19 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 655 | 21% |
| 20 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 624 | 21% |
Most common cities for research and development interns
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Livermore | 11 | 12% | $37,072 |
| 2 | Lexington | 2 | 6% | $35,840 |
| 3 | Midland | 2 | 5% | $37,360 |
| 4 | South San Francisco | 3 | 4% | $37,178 |
| 5 | Saginaw | 2 | 4% | $37,319 |
| 6 | Cambridge | 3 | 3% | $35,844 |
| 7 | Frederick | 2 | 3% | $36,065 |
| 8 | Greenwich | 2 | 3% | $38,964 |
| 9 | Plymouth | 2 | 3% | $39,441 |
| 10 | Santa Clara | 3 | 2% | $37,106 |
| 11 | Topeka | 3 | 2% | $35,670 |
| 12 | Boulder | 2 | 2% | $39,984 |
| 13 | Pleasanton | 2 | 2% | $37,093 |
| 14 | Boston | 6 | 1% | $35,845 |
| 15 | Minneapolis | 4 | 1% | $39,428 |
| 16 | San Diego | 4 | 0% | $36,174 |
| 17 | Phoenix | 3 | 0% | $41,362 |
| 18 | Chicago | 2 | 0% | $38,060 |
Research And Development Internship job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of research and development internship experts
Grambling State University
Gannon University
University of North Carolina Greensboro
University of Oregon
Mount Saint Mary College
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Cleveland State University
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
High Point University
University at Albany - SUNY
Virginia Military Institute
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
Arizona State University
Utah Valley University
George Washington University
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Arizona State University
SUNY at Binghamton
Siena College
DePaul University
Yenumula Reddy
IEEE Senior Member, ACM Senior Member, IARIA FellowGrambling State University
College of Arts and Sciences
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Research And Development Internship job market given the pandemic?
Yenumula Reddy: The biggest trend - students do not have enough hands-on, means they get but not enough.. F2F training helps a lot. During the COVID, F2F is very difficult even though we try to provide facilities. Internships became limited and work from home and students have limited experience with industry and work with mentors and other group students in the projects as they do F2F. Sharing their information with other students is limited during COVID.
What's a day at work look like for a Research And Development Internship?
Yenumula Reddy: It is entirely new world and lot of enthusiasm and many new faces. Try to adjust and socialize and try to have new friends. But, for a student had internship first day work may not much difference.
My students share their experience and I saw this difference between the student had internship and the one entered without.
But it is an unforgettable day.
What soft skills should all Research And Development Interns possess?
Yenumula Reddy: Mini and large project implementation and work on group projects is very important. Presenting the results in the workshops, annual meetings will help to improve the students' confidence and meet other educators and share their experiences. Certification helps to get the good starting jobs.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Research And Development Interns?
Dr. Stephen Frezza Ph.D.: YES. You will see more remote work for computing graduates. Consequently, the need for more remote teamwork experience with tools and projects will become more desirable.
What will help Research And Development Interns increase their earning potential?
Dr. Stephen Frezza Ph.D.: In computing, this will still remain similar to what it has been: Competency development, e.g., both 'soft skills' of working well to make technology work well, and the 'hard skills' related to specific technology needs. The latter are always changing.
Apoorva Patipati Ramesh
Lecturer & Director - Graduate ProgramsUniversity of North Carolina Greensboro
Department of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Research And Development Internship job market given the pandemic?
Apoorva Patipati Ramesh: - Shift towards jobs in the IT industry.
- More IT professionals coming back to attain higher education.
- Organizations more comfortable with hiring interns.
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Research And Development Interns?
Apoorva Patipati Ramesh: For students, courses and certificates that provide hands-on experience in skills like Tableau, Python, R, etc. can have a very positive impact on job prospects. Some of our academic graduate certificates also align very closely with industry certifications such as CISSP, CompTIA Network+ etc. These are highly valuable assets to have.
How have salaries changed over time for Research And Development Interns?
Apoorva Patipati Ramesh: Per 2020 data, STEM occupations - the ones our students typically land after completing the MS degree - have a median annual wage that is more than double that of the non-STEM jobs. This gap has been and is only widening with time. A graduate from an MS program is typically being offered anywhere between $60,000 and $120,000 in wages depending on the years of work experience they possess.
Hayden Harker
Senior Instructor, Head Undergraduate AdvisorUniversity of Oregon
Department of Mathematics
What soft skills should all Research And Development Interns possess?
Hayden Harker: For math majors, there are many jobs that specifically use mathematical techniques learned in a specific course and you don't prove theorems in jobs. However, these students need to be flexible and willing to solve many different problems even if they don't necessarily feel like a math calculation. Solid problem solving skills and logical thought process are some of the greatest assets for math majors.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Research And Development Internship job market given the pandemic?
Hayden Harker: Students should consider remote jobs if not going to graduate school. I suspect many businesses will keep some positions as remote ones.
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Research And Development Interns?
Robin Rosenberg: Certifications/Licenses/Courses--For anyone who is interested in a career in mental health treatment, graduate school and licensure in Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, or Mental Health Counseling is essential. For other professional careers at the Bachelor's level, courses or certification in care management is extremely helpful as that becomes more of the norm in the field of healthcare in general. Health insurance is changing, and one of the trends to keep costs down is to shift from a fee for service to a flat rate per patient. To make that financially feasible for the healthcare providers, there will be much more of an emphasis on prevention and wellness. Care managers will help to coordinate care and keep costs down by encouraging prevention, wellness, adherence to treatment for chronic medical conditions.
How have salaries changed over time for Research And Development Interns?
Robin Rosenberg: In social sciences, the salaries have gone up marginally. This is not a field for people who want to make a fortune, but it is a great field for people who want to make a living while helping other people with the most challenging aspects of life.
Sathish Kumar Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Computer ScienceCleveland State University
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Research And Development Interns?
Sathish Kumar Ph.D.: I think the coronavirus pandemic has only accelerated the technology trends such as digital payment, tele health, ecommerce, telework, elearning, AI/Robotics etc., All these accelerations of the technology trends only increase the demand for the graduates especially for the graduates majoring in computer science, and information systems/technology.
I believe the concept of remote work and remote meetings is going to stay and has changed how one would be working and the new graduated or the junior professional should try to adapt or build the skills to be successful in the new work environment.
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Research And Development Interns?
Sathish Kumar Ph.D.: I can speak of from computer science/ information systems/information technology perspective, which are my areas of expertise. Due to the steady growth in cloud computing and remote workcertifications/licenses/courses related to cloud technology will have great impact as well as the certifications/licenses/courses in the Machine Learning/Data Science and Cybersecurity due to the growth in that space.
Dr. Patrick Madsen
Executive DirectorUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte
University Career Center
What's a good job out of college for Research And Development Interns?
Dr. Patrick Madsen: A "good job" is defined in many different ways and is somewhat subjective. Most people begin that conversation with "does it pay enough", but we have really seen students start to drift from salary being at the top of their list to more things like: does it connect to my strengths, does the company value what I value, do I see a "future" with the company or opportunity for growth, and the importance of work/life balance. In our line of work, we call this "Purposeful Work".
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Research And Development Interns?
Dr. Patrick Madsen: At this time, it is hard to know if there will be an "enduring impact" on graduates but I can say that there has been a big difference between what we saw during the "Great Recession" versus our current situation. With our current situation, I have noticed employers really making a good effort to continue their internship programs in a remote environment, create new online training opportunities for students, and new partnerships in the development of NEW internships for students. Our career center has really stepped up to the plate to show students the multitude of ways they can continue to build skills and "resume capital" aside from just traditional internships during this time and providing them the skills to "recession proof" their careers in the future.
What will help Research And Development Interns increase their earning potential?
Dr. Patrick Madsen: What tends to help individuals do well in any field and increase their earning potential is to pay close attention to building a strong professional network, staying on top of the competencies/skills that the industry demands in candidates, and remembering to have a mindset of a "lifelong learner" - the future of work demands agile knowledge workers that are flexible to new situations and environments. The current pandemic is a perfect example of the need for an agile and flexible workforce.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Research And Development Interns?
Dr. Michael Oudshoorn: I suspect that for Computer Science graduates that this is likely - in a positive sense. During the pandemic many businesses opted to have employees work from home for an extended period of time. Many of these organizations have found that productivity did not fall and they save costs. If no one goes into the office then you save money on cleaning, office supplies, utilities, and maybe even rent. I suspect that some employers will opt to continue having employees work from home after the pandemic is over and hence continue to save money. This creates an opportunity to develop software products to support these businesses either through the development of enhanced video conference and collaboration tools, or through industry specific tools to help increase productivity when one has remote workers. Also if you have staff working from home, then those staff members could literally be anywhere in the world, so this opens the door for graduates to work for an employee irrespective of where they might physically be located.
There was a large, and growing, demand for computing professionals before the pandemic www.bls.gov, and that need has not gone away! In fact, the demand for computing professionals such as Information security analysts is expected to grow by 31% in the next 10 years. There continues to be unfiled demand for computing professionals and the number of vacancies continues to grow paloaltoonline.com .
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Research And Development Interns?
Dr. Michael Oudshoorn: Current growth areas are cybersecurity and data science. We live in a world where much of our activity and data resides in an electronic format. This opens us up to cybercriminals who can harvest that information and profit from it. Cybersecurity is the discipline that will help protect us from these cyberattacks and their impacts. Data is collected by companies at an astounding rate. These companies want to be able to mine that data for useful information. Data scientists are that with the skill to manipulate these huge data sets and make sense of it all. In addition to these two hot areas, the demand for computer science graduates continues to increase steadily. Almost every product we buy is computer controlled and increasingly products such as your car are less of a mechanical device and more of a computational device - it won't be long before we see fully autonomous vehicles in the road transporting passengers to wherever they need to be.
The certifications that will help graduates the most is a degree in computer science, cybersecurity, or data science. A bachelor's degree is the ideal start but increasingly graduates need to think about enhancing their qualifications to the Masters level just to deal with the changes in the discipline. Professional development courses are another big impact certification that can shown continuous professional growth and currency in the discipline.
What will help Research And Development Interns increase their earning potential?
Dr. Michael Oudshoorn: Earning potential is attached to 2 things: technical expertise and life skills. The technical skills are essential in order to do the job, but to be truly successful and move up the corporate ladder you need to demonstrate skills such as clear and concise communication, honest and ethical behavior, interpersonal skills, and leadership. Being a good team member and contributing in interdisciplinary teams are skills that cannot be underestimated.
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Research And Development Interns?
Charalampos Chelmis: The interest in skilled computer scientists and engineers is still high, so well versed job seekers don't have much to worry about. Machine learning and data science related experience, software development skills and the ability to quickly adapt to new environments/technologies are be critical.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Research And Development Internship job market given the pandemic?
Charalampos Chelmis: The pandemic seems to have changed the long-term planning and thinking of technologically advanced companies, so I wouldn't be surprised if many of the "big" employers start offering permanent remote positions. At the same time, other companies may still value regular face to face interactions. I expect such companies to keep hiring for "traditional" jobs, but perhaps they will chose to postpone the start date of new employees or ask them to start out as a contractors in order to balance out pandemic-related uncertainties. Similarly, given that in-person interviews and job fairs are being replaced by remote recruiting, job hunters need to both improve their online presence as well as master their communication skills to make a positive impression to prospective employers in a limited time phone or video interview.
How have salaries changed over time for Research And Development Interns?
Charalampos Chelmis: Computer scientists and engineers have seen a steady growth in salaries up to the years before the pandemic. Although I don't anticipate this trend to slow down, entry-level positions and positions whose profiles include a significant portion of remote activities may incur reduced salary as compared to on site positions.
Youna Jung Ph.D.
Assistant ProfessorVirginia Military Institute
Computer and Information Sciences
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Research And Development Interns?
Youna Jung Ph.D.: Yes, the pandemic seriously impacts the job market. As employers have frozen hiring or scaled back their businesses because of pandemic impacts, job insecurity has increased especially in entry-level or mid-level positions. Usually, our CIS graduates have received job offers before graduation but only sixty percent of students were able to secure their jobs before graduation last year and others had to spend few more months to find a job.
What will help Research And Development Interns increase their earning potential?
Youna Jung Ph.D.: We live in an age where new technologies are introduced every year. Continuous learning is therefore inevitable in this field. Developing new skills can increase your value to the company. It may also allow you to take on new projects outside your normal job duties. This both raises your profile and increases your value. Attending webinars to learn about cutting edge knowledge or taking online courses to get a license would be good ways.
Peter Schubert Ph.D.
ProfessorIndiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Research And Development Interns?
Peter Schubert Ph.D.: New graduates who experienced pandemic lock-down during their senior year are impacted by the challenges of working in laboratories and working in teams. While some students still get these experiences, some teams that have been working for me operated at effectiveness levels not the same as prior to the pandemic. Because these capstone or senior design courses help shape teamwork, cooperation, and hands-on practical know-how, there is the possibility that upcoming graduates will need more supportive environments in their work life to gain these important skills.
What's a day at work look like for a Research And Development Internship?
Peter Schubert Ph.D.: Engineering is a team sport. Meeting face-to-face by Zoom or teams is not a complete substitute for working shoulder-to-shoulder with colleagues. The different configuration of on-line collaboration means more individual work, less socialization, and therefore the esprit de corps may not be as strong. Working with colleagues around the world has always been a part of engineering, and people are now more skilled at this. By not working within a cubicle farm or open concept collaboration center, without conversations at the water cooler, and over beers after work, means that interpersonal connections may not be as strong. I think people will miss this, and want to return to it, once restrictions are lifted.
How have salaries changed over time for Research And Development Interns?
Jim Helm Ph.D.: Salaries have continued to rise. There are more open positions in cybersecurity than there are qualified individuals available to fill the position.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Research And Development Internship job market given the pandemic?
Jim Helm Ph.D.: Within Information Technology, we will see more of a transition to working remotely. Many companies have found productivity has increased by employees who work remotely. Of course this is not possible for all IT disciplines, but there are many cybersecurity and networking functions which can be done remotely.
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Research And Development Interns?
Dr. Sayeed Sajal: Certifications/licenses/courses that can boost the skills to support the key areas which I mentioned above, will have the biggest impact on the job prospects during the COVID19 pandemic.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Research And Development Internship job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Sayeed Sajal: During the pandemic, the biggest trends are online activities. It can be e-commerce, online teaching, remote learning, any works that the professionals can work from home. Health-related jobs and research are also getting more attention.
How have salaries changed over time for Research And Development Interns?
Dr. Matthew Shirrell Ph.D.: Salaries have remained relatively constant, in general, compared to other lines of work. Educational leaders can expect to be well-paid, but they should also not go into educational leadership expecting to get rich. Educational leaders often work long hours, and are often expected to be on call at all hours of the day, including weekends. Relative to the amount of work that educational leaders engage in, and the challenges that educational leaders face, the compensation is not extraordinary. But educational leaders are rewarded in other ways, particularly by the influence their work can have on children and families.
How have salaries changed over time for Research And Development Interns?
John Talburt Ph.D.: I see salaries continuing to rise for data skills, especially data science roles. Data science salaries are now on par with and sometimes more than salaires for programming and software development roles. Companies are beginning to value people who can build end-to-end solutions from customer requirements rather than those graduates highly trained in just one particular technology.
These are the major trends I see from the perspective of our programs.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Research And Development Internship job market given the pandemic?
John Talburt Ph.D.: I see demand for data skills rising significantly. Due to their training, most of our graduates are being hired for data roles including data governance, data quality, data analytics, master data management, and data science. From the supply side, the pandemic has significantly reduced the number of international students coming into our program. However, this has been more than compensated by the increase in domestic working professionals enrolling in our online graduate programs. It appears that data professionals working online from home see this as an opportunity to also enroll in online graduate programs to upgrade their degree credentials.
Hemanth Kumar Demakethepalli Venkateswara Ph.D.
Assistant Research ProfessorArizona State University
School of Computing Informatics
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Research And Development Interns?
Hemanth Kumar Demakethepalli Venkateswara Ph.D.: The current batch of students graduating this year have all been equally affected by the pandemic. Newly graduated students are all facing the same challenge - the downturn in the economy which will affect the entire job market. As always, if the graduate is able to stand out from the crowd, they will have a better chance at landing a good job. The converse is also true - a poor job market will make it difficult for more graduates to find good jobs. The trick as always is to be better prepared. However, this situation will not last forever. The end of the pandemic will revive the chances of landing a good job. So, graduates should not despair if they do not get a good job in these times. They must be prepared to invest more effort towards improving their chances by taking up more courses and earning new certifications.
There is no doubt the pandemic is a defining moment in this century. It has set the marker for a 'Before Covid' and 'After Covid' timeline. However, with successful vaccination, we will soon see the end of the pandemic and get back to living how we did before the pandemic. Nonetheless, the pandemic has demonstrated the possibilities and opportunities in online learning. In the post-pandemic era, educational institutions and online learning platforms will take advantage of the promise in online learning. There will be an increase in demand for online learning leading to more affordable college education. We will reach a new equilibrium in the percentage of online to in-person curriculum. Students will benefit by having the opportunity to attend classes remotely. The benefits of online learning will outweigh the challenges. With improvements in technology and standardization of online pedagogy, online learning will be of great benefit to the institutions, faculty and the students. In this way the pandemic will have an enduring impact on the lives of graduates.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Research And Development Interns?
Alexey Kolmogorov Ph.D.: I can say that we have received about 25% more PhD applications this year. It could be because there are fewer non-academic jobs available at the moment or because our department continues to grow. Unfortunately, several admitted international students could not enter the country and have had to defer the start of their graduate study.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Research And Development Internship job market given the pandemic?
Jami Cotler Ph.D.: In the past I've known of tech shops offering work hour flexibility often with required face-to-face team meetings. I think the pandemic has shown across many industries that work can be distributed while maintaining a high level of efficiency and effectiveness. I think we will see more employees in the tech industry having more work from home options post pandemic.
I think the need for tech has also been both recognized and has increased as we have had to rely on it to track and report pandemic data. I think there has also been a great awareness of tech tools such as web conferencing tools such as zoom that have now become commonplace tools for everyone to use. Online delivery services have also experienced greater demand, which increases the demand for tech professionals to work in these areas as well. As I tell my students, it is a really good time to be in this industry.
What will help Research And Development Interns increase their earning potential?
Jacob Furst: Anything you do in your work that goes beyond expectations will provide benefit later on. Extra education, certifications, volunteering for tough assignments, getting to know you coworkers better, creating a fun and interesting workplace for you and peers. Again, no magic. Always be looking for ways to be better.