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.
Research And Development Specialist Overview
Research And Development Specialist Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a research and development specialist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $29.19 an hour? That's $60,722 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 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.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a research and development specialist, we found that a lot of resumes listed 18.7% of research and development specialists included r, while 11.1% of resumes included data analysis, and 9.5% of resumes included protocols. 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 and development specialist job title. But what industry to start with? Most research and development specialists actually find jobs in the manufacturing and technology industries.
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 45.1% of research and development specialists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 28.1% 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.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a research and development specialist. When we researched the most common majors for a research and development specialist, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on research and development specialist resumes include associate degree degrees or doctoral degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a research and development specialist. In fact, many research and development specialist jobs require experience in a role such as research assistant. Meanwhile, many research and development specialists also have previous career experience in roles such as internship or laboratory technician.
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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.
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Average Salary for a Research And Development Specialist
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Kelly Services 3705 Pharmaceutical R&D Sourcing Specialist-Virtual 3705 Pharmaceutical R&D Sourcing Specialist-Virtual | Kelly Services Kelly Services | 03/23/2021 03/23/2021 | $71,90003/23/2021 $71,900 |
Aerotek SR. R&D Food Science Specialist SR. R&D Food Science Specialist | Aerotek Aerotek | 10/28/2020 10/28/2020 | $80,00010/28/2020 $80,000 |
University of Virginia Research Specialist, Motivate LAB, Curry School of Education and Human Development Research Specialist, Motivate LAB, Curry School of Education and Human Development | University of Virginia University of Virginia | 06/20/2020 06/20/2020 | $35,00006/20/2020 $35,000 |
Kelly Services R&D Laboratory Specialist R&D Laboratory Specialist | Kelly Services Kelly Services | 02/12/2020 02/12/2020 | $62,61002/12/2020 $62,610 |
Mayo Clinic Process Development Specialist GMP Manufacturing-Research Process Development Specialist GMP Manufacturing-Research | Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic | 02/11/2020 02/11/2020 | $155,27302/11/2020 $155,273 |
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Top Colleges for Research And Development Specialists
1. University of Georgia
Athens, GA • Public
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
3. University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI • Public
4. University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD • Public
5. Ball State University
Muncie, IN • Public
6. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
7. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Public
8. University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lincoln, NE • Public
9. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
10. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Public
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, 18.7% of research and development specialists listed r on their resume, but soft skills such as detail oriented and analytical skills are important as well.
- R, 18.7%
- Data Analysis, 11.1%
- Protocols, 9.5%
- Elisa, 5.6%
- PCR, 5.0%
- Other Skills, 50.1% See All Research And Development Specialist Skills
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 Minnesota, Delaware, Connecticut, and Texas. Research and development specialists make the most in Minnesota with an average salary of $79,746. Whereas in Delaware and Connecticut, they would average $79,703 and $76,366, respectively. While research and development specialists would only make an average of $76,204 in Texas, 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. Minnesota
$79,746
Avg. Salary
2. Michigan
$73,788
Avg. Salary
3. Pennsylvania
$71,926
Avg. Salary
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