What is a Research And Development Specialist?

A Research Specialist collects, sorts, and analyzes data. This position also develops, executes, and interprets research projects and performs laboratory experiments for product development. A Research Specialist also oversees the daily laboratory tasks.

A Research and Development Specialist finds positions in healthcare, technology, business, and pharmaceuticals. Each company has different duties for a Research and Development Specialist, but the position is responsible for overseeing the entire development process of new programs and products.

You will need a bachelor's or master's degree, leadership and management skills, know how to budget, and have communication and presentation skills. You need to be creative and have diversity. The median salary for a Research Specialist is $98,000.

What Does a Research And Development Specialist Do

There are certain skills that many research and development specialists 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 detail oriented, analytical skills and technical skills.

Learn more about what a Research And Development Specialist does

How To Become a Research And Development Specialist

If you're interested in becoming a research and development specialist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 64.3% of research and development specialists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 14.9% of research and development specialists have master's degrees. Even though most research and development specialists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Research And Development Specialist
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Research And Development Specialist Career Paths

As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a research and development specialist can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as consultant, progress to a title such as project manager and then eventually end up with the title product manager.

Research And Development Specialist

Average Salary for a Research And Development Specialist

Research And Development Specialists in America make an average salary of $74,263 per year or $36 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $115,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $47,000 per year.
Average Research And Development Specialist Salary
$74,263 Yearly
$35.70 hourly
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Roles and Types of Research And Development Specialist

The role of a research and development specialist includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general research and development specialist responsibilities:

  • Discover, analyze, and exploit zero-day vulnerabilities on software through manual
  • Responsible for implementing and maintaining the effectiveness of the quality system. Provides leadership
  • Educates customers – you know it all. Your merchandise can get complicated

There are several types of research and development specialist, including:

Marketing Coordinator

Role:

Marketing coordinators are important for any company. If you don't get word out about your company, how do you expect customers to come around? That's where marketing coordinators come into play. And it's also why their job is so important.

Marketing coordinators have a special skill. They can analyze market trends to determine exactly who their target audience is and how to appeal to them. It's truly a gift, and honestly, they seem a little nonhuman for that skill at times. But all of this helps the company attract more clients and get their name out there. Again, can't stress how important marketing coordinators are.

This job can come with a bit of stress, especially since it's an important position. But also because you have to stay ahead of your competitors. Sometimes you'll have to guess if a promotional product will hit well with your target audience. And most of the times it does. But sometimes a product will flop and that brings on a whole new kind of stress.

  • Average Salary: $48,326
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Research Analyst

Role:

As a Research Analyst, you will be collecting and studying data coming from different sources. After collection and study, you will then make recommendations to the management in order to help businesses or companies determine the products' target market and ideal price.

With a job growth rate of 20%, you are also given a chance to explore other roles and look into other tasks. You can be a Consultant, an Operations Manager, a Branch Manager, or a Manager and Assistant Vice President. This will all be dependent on the path you plan to pursue.

There are special skills you need to have in order to do your job well as a Research Analyst. You need to have great analytical skills in order to filter out information. You also need to have good communication skills to be able to deal with different people. Lastly, you need to be detail-oriented to avoid making mistakes.

  • Average Salary: $70,232
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Research And Development Technician

Role:

A research and development technician is an expert who majors in carrying out mathematical and laboratory activities. This is done to endorse projects regarding goods and improvement. Most times, you will have to operate as an aid to a more knowledgeable researcher. Your duties also center around performing examinations, creating models and paradigms, making reports, and executing several experiments. Additionally, serving this role, it is important to relate with all crew members and maintain precise documentation of all activities. All of your activities have to be with regards to the organization's policies and procedures. You are also expected to also direct and take part in organizational gatherings as well as overseeing the sustenance of appliances. In conclusion, you must input resultant information and ideas into the database.

To qualify for this job, you need a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or an associate degree. It is also crucial for you to possess certain skills like great analytical and communication skills. You must also be adept technologically. With these requirements met, you will earn an average of $68,685 annually or $33.02 per hour.

  • Average Salary: $83,552
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree
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States With The Most Research And Development Specialist Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active research and development specialist jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where research and development specialists earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Research And Development Specialist Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California5,728$81,397
2Florida3,468$62,918
3Pennsylvania3,054$79,082
4Texas2,640$76,350
5Ohio2,150$81,732
6Georgia2,129$63,647
7Michigan1,901$81,997
8Minnesota1,825$77,487
9Illinois1,719$71,167
10New York1,628$92,059
11Arizona1,518$62,038
12Massachusetts1,382$71,867
13New Jersey1,369$81,264
14Indiana1,343$65,771
15Missouri1,307$52,528
16Tennessee1,292$67,232
17North Carolina1,278$85,505
18Virginia1,256$82,212
19Wisconsin1,141$64,379
20Colorado901$62,337
21Oregon829$79,113
22Maryland695$79,512
23Alabama687$55,633
24South Carolina656$62,611
25Iowa653$68,348
26Kentucky632$56,241
27Kansas627$56,343
28Washington598$103,926
29Oklahoma572$49,307
30Arkansas549$71,553
31Louisiana534$64,964
32Nebraska522$63,515
33Utah477$52,669
34New Mexico470$63,957
35Connecticut464$84,171
36Nevada386$68,548
37Mississippi338$48,742
38Montana328$70,703
39West Virginia312$60,731
40New Hampshire296$71,428
41South Dakota262$67,371
42Idaho224$65,055
43Rhode Island217$68,106
44North Dakota204$66,130
45Hawaii202$48,915
46Maine178$67,801
47Delaware172$104,796
48Alaska150$78,157
49Vermont122$64,695
50Wyoming78$58,100

Research And Development Specialist Education

Research And Development Specialist Majors

Chemistry
13.1 %
Business
12.9 %
Biology
10.1 %

Research And Development Specialist Degrees

Bachelors

64.3 %

Masters

14.9 %

Associate

11.5 %

Top Colleges for Research And Development Specialists

1. University of Georgia

Athens, GA • Private

In-State Tuition

$11,830

Enrollment

29,474

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

3. University of Wisconsin - Madison

Madison, WI • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,555

Enrollment

30,360

4. University of Maryland - College Park

College Park, MD • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,595

Enrollment

30,184

5. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

6. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

7. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

8. University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Lincoln, NE • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,242

Enrollment

20,592

9. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

10. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,992

Enrollment

33,495

Top Skills For a Research And Development Specialist

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, 12.9% of research and development specialists listed data analysis on their resume, but soft skills such as detail oriented and analytical skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Research And Development Specialist Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Research And Development Specialist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Research And Development Specialist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Research And Development Specialist diversity

Research And Development Specialist Gender Distribution

Male
Male
57%
Female
Female
43%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among research and development specialists, 43.3% of them are women, while 56.7% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among research and development specialists is White, which makes up 65.0% of all research and development specialists.

  • The most common foreign language among research and development specialists is Spanish at 25.9%.

Online Courses For Research And Development Specialist That You May Like

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Statistics is about extracting meaning from data. In this class, we will introduce techniques for visualizing relationships in data and systematic techniques for understanding the relationships using mathematics...

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Best States For a Research And Development Specialist

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a research and development specialist. The best states for people in this position are Delaware, Washington, New York, and North Carolina. Research and development specialists make the most in Delaware with an average salary of $104,796. Whereas in Washington and New York, they would average $103,926 and $92,059, respectively. While research and development specialists would only make an average of $85,505 in North Carolina, 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. Michigan

Total Research And Development Specialist Jobs: 1,901
Highest 10% Earn:
$128,000
Location Quotient:
1.35

$81,997

Avg. Salary

View 1,901 Research And Development Specialist Jobs In MI

2. Pennsylvania

Total Research And Development Specialist Jobs: 3,054
Highest 10% Earn:
$122,000
Location Quotient:
1.45

$79,082

Avg. Salary

View 3,054 Research And Development Specialist Jobs In PA

3. Ohio

Total Research And Development Specialist Jobs: 2,150
Highest 10% Earn:
$129,000
Location Quotient:
1.16

$81,732

Avg. Salary

View 2,150 Research And Development Specialist Jobs In OH
Full List Of Best States For Research And Development Specialists

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Top Research And Development Specialist Employers

Most Common Employers For Research And Development Specialist

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1SAS Institute$119,475$57.4424
2Bayer$116,837$56.177
3Oak Ridge National Laboratory$109,366$52.585
4Regeneron$104,010$50.0059
5The Dow Chemical Company$103,433$49.738
6Albemarle$101,783$48.936
7Nokia$99,425$47.808
8Praxair$93,571$44.9911
9Accenture$92,932$44.684
10IBM$84,086$40.434
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Updated April 6, 2023