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Research And Development Technician Education Requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a research and development technician. Research and development technicians usually study business, electrical engineering, or biology. 61% of research and development technicians hold a bachelor's degree, and 19% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 10,120 real research and development technician resumes to see exactly what research and development technician education sections show.

The most common colleges for research and development technicians are the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania State University.

There are also many online research and development technician courses to help get the education required to be a research and development technician.

There are certain research and development technician certifications that you should consider. These research and development technician certifications include Master Certified Electronics Technician (CETma) and Project Management Professional (PMP).

What education do you need to become a research and development technician?

What degree do you need to be a research and development technician?

The most common degree for research and development technicians is bachelor's degree, with 61% of research and development technicians earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 19% and associate degree degree at 11%.
  • Bachelor's, 61%
  • Associate, 19%
  • Master's, 11%
  • High School Diploma, 4%
  • Other Degrees, 5%

What should I major in to become a research and development technician?

You should major in business to become a research and development technician. 16% of research and development technicians major in business. Other common majors for a research and development technician include electrical engineering and biology.

Most common colleges for research and development technicians

Research and development technicians often get their degrees at Pennsylvania State University, University of Phoenix, and Purdue University. Here are the most common colleges for research and development technicians in the US based on their resumes.
Research And Development Technician Common CollegePercentages
Pennsylvania State University8.31%
University of Phoenix7.31%
Purdue University7.02%
University of California - Davis6.45%
DeVry University6.16%

Best majors for research and development technicians

Best colleges for research and development technicians

The best colleges for research and development technicians are Duke University, Stanford University, and Harvard University.

A research and development technician with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for research and development technicians. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become research and development technicians.

1. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

3. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,188

Enrollment

15,105

4. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

5. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

6. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

7. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

8. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

9. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-State Tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

10. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,430

Enrollment

5,963

20 best online courses for research and development technicians

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1. Creative Design, Prototyping, and Testing

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Designing the customer and user experience is essential to creating great products today. Gone is the old paradigm of “form follows function” model of design. The process must be iterative and follow the best product design and development processes. While designing a great user experience can be a lengthy and expensive process, there are approaches to doing it faster and smarter, without compromising results. This essential product management course explains key design thinking principles...

2. Product and Service Development: Empathy Mapping with Miro

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By the end of this project, you will be fluent in identifying and creating Empathy Maps based on persona for new products and services and in deriving opportunities from your analysis, thus generating positive results for your business venture. This project is designed to engage and harness your visionary and exploratory abilities. You will use proven models in strategy and product development with the Miro platform to explore and analyze customer data combined with the development of Empathy...

3. Mechanical design and Product development process

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4.2
(604)

Learn the basic ideas and concepts behind developing mechanical products related to mechanical engineering...

4. Improving software development productivity

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4.3
(299)

Improving software development productivity. Practical techniques...

5. Introduction to Test and Behavior Driven Development

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Successful developers need to not only build the right software but build it right. To know your software works correctly, you need to test each unit of code. One of the best methods for this unit-level testing is test driven development. This course provides a detailed overview of test driven development (TDD). First, you’ll learn what automated testing is and why it is essential for building robust applications resilient to failure. You’ll explore the basics of testing, including test cases,...

6. Uncertainty and Research

coursera

This course teaches the fundamentals of scientific research. We approach the research process as a means of systematically reducing uncertainty and demonstrate how conducting a scientific investigation can be posed as an exercise in Bayesian uncertainty quantification. We begin by exploring the scientific landscape to understand the different types of research, where they are conducted, how they are supported, and why each of these types of research is important. We then formalize scientific...

7. Product and Service Management

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4.7
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Know the Work that is Involved in Getting a Product Onto the Shelf and a Service Ready for Effective Delivery...

8. User Research And Testing For UX Writing

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4.4
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How To Prepare And Test UX Writing Decisions With User Research...

9. Strategic Product Development

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This course discusses how companies create new products that customers want while achieving their financial objectives. Learners begin by defining the product strategies necessary to ensure a company’s long-term growth. Learners then explore the different product development processes used by high-tech businesses today, such as Stage-Gate and Lean/Agile techniques. Learners conclude by illustrating the tools to build the high-performance teams that take the development process from concept...

10. Android Unit Testing and Test Driven Development

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4.5
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Unit test your Android applications and reap the benefits of professional test driven development in Android...

11. Unit Testing and Test Driven Development in Python

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4.3
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Learning the discipline of Test Driven Development (also known as TDD) Using the Python Programming Language...

12. Product Development & Systems Engineering

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4.6
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The complete Product Development & Systems Engineering course! Earn 25 contact hours AND prepare to take the INCOSE Exam...

13. 50 Personal Development And Personal Productivity Skills

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4.7
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Personal transformation to be a top-1% performer! Personal development, business productivity, and personal productivity...

14. Technical Product Management: learn on 4 real industry cases

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4.3
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Boost your technicality (as a PM) or tech product skills (as an engineer) to grow in your current role...

15. Operations Management: Supply Chains, Products and Services

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4.3
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Master Supply Chain Management and Product and Service Development in Manufacturing and Service Organizations...

16. Fast-start Usability Testing and UX Research - Begin Today!

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Beginner to advanced in mere hours! Learn to confidently use modern, effective usability testing and UX research methods...

17. Customer Service, Customer Support, And Customer Experience

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4.6
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Customer service, customer support, and customer experience training. Loyal clients through world-class customer service...

18. Insightful Customer Interviews for Product Managers

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4.5
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Direct conversations with real customers to gain insight, test product concepts, and drive product success...

19. Executive Coaching and Business Case Development

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4
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The Guide to Executive Coaching and Business Case Development Success...

20. Software Testing,QA Testing, Manual Testing,SDLC,Test Plan

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4.2
(1,574)

Become an expert QA Tester by mastering software testing, manual testing, SDLC, test plan and test case concepts....

Top 10 most affordable universities for research and development technicians

The most affordable schools for research and development technicians are University of Florida, california state university - long beach, and california state university - bakersfield.

If the best universities for research and development technicians are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for research and development technicians.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-State Tuition

$6,381

Cost of Attendance

21,034

2. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$6,798

Cost of Attendance

18,306

3. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,309

Cost of Attendance

16,714

4. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-State Tuition

$5,620

Cost of Attendance

18,136

5. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$6,886

Cost of Attendance

17,645

6. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,306

Cost of Attendance

16,091

7. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-State Tuition

$6,410

Cost of Attendance

20,456

8. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$6,749

Cost of Attendance

14,823

9. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,262

Cost of Attendance

14,046

10. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,987

Cost of Attendance

25,527

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for research and development technicians

The hardest universities for research and development technicians to get into are Duke University, Stanford University, and Harvard University.

Some great schools for research and development technicians are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for research and development technicians based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions Rate

9%

SAT Average

1,516

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions Rate

4%

SAT Average

1,497

3. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions Rate

5%

SAT Average

1,520

4. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions Rate

11%

SAT Average

1,513

5. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions Rate

8%

SAT Average

1,492

6. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions Rate

6%

SAT Average

1,512

7. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

Admissions Rate

6%

SAT Average

1,517

8. University of Chicago

Chicago, IL • Private

Admissions Rate

7%

SAT Average

1,520

9. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

Admissions Rate

11%

SAT Average

1,471

10. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions Rate

8%

SAT Average

1,508

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for research and development technicians

The easiest schools for research and development technicians to get into are Mount Saint Mary's University, notre dame de namur university, and d'youville college.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a research and development technician without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for research and development technicians.

1. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions Rate

84%

SAT Average

1,031

2. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions Rate

82%

SAT Average

983

3. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions Rate

100%

SAT Average

1,072

4. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions Rate

98%

SAT Average

1,003

5. Curry College

Milton, MA • Private

Admissions Rate

93%

SAT Average

1,026

6. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions Rate

91%

SAT Average

1,006

7. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions Rate

90%

SAT Average

994

8. Marymount University

Arlington, VA • Private

Admissions Rate

91%

SAT Average

1,065

9. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions Rate

68%

SAT Average

964

10. Our Lady of the Lake University

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions Rate

93%

SAT Average

1,002

Average research and development technician salary by education level

Research and development technicians with a Bachelor's degree earn more than those without, at $83,497 annually. With a Associate degree, research and development technicians earn a median annual income of $73,549 compared to $71,750 for research and development technicians with an High School Diploma degree.
Research And Development Technician education levelResearch And Development Technician salary
High School Diploma or Less$71,750
Bachelor's Degree$83,497
Some College/ Associate Degree$73,549

Research And Development Technician Education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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