1. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
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There are certain skills that many research assistants 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.
If you're interested in becoming a research assistant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 74.2% of research assistants have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 14.2% of research assistants have master's degrees. Even though most research assistants have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
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 project manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title project director.
Research Assistant
What Am I Worth?
The role of a research assistant 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 assistant responsibilities:
There are several types of research assistant, including:
Mouse over a state to see the number of active research assistant jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where research assistants earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-State Tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
New York, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$59,430
Enrollment
8,216
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,740
Enrollment
5,567
Durham, NC • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
Saint Louis, MO • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,399
Enrollment
7,356
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
Ithaca, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,188
Enrollment
15,105
Evanston, IL • Private
In-State Tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
Stony Brook, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$9,625
Enrollment
17,407
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, 9.2% of research assistants listed patients on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and communication skills are important as well.
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Research Assistant templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Research Assistant resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
1. Data Management for Clinical Research
This course presents critical concepts and practical methods to support planning, collection, storage, and dissemination of data in clinical research. Understanding and implementing solid data management principles is critical for any scientific domain. Regardless of your current (or anticipated) role in the research enterprise, a strong working knowledge and skill set in data management principles and practice will increase your productivity and improve your science. Our goal is to use these...
2. Data Analysis with R Programming
This course is the seventh course in the Google Data Analytics Certificate. These courses will equip you with the skills needed to apply to introductory-level data analyst jobs. In this course, you’ll learn about the programming language known as R. You’ll find out how to use RStudio, the environment that allows you to work with R. This course will also cover the software applications and tools that are unique to R, such as R packages. You’ll discover how R lets you clean, organize, analyze,...
3. SPSS For Research
SPSS data analysis made easy. Become an expert in advanced statistical analysis with SPSS...
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a research assistant. The best states for people in this position are New Jersey, Alaska, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Research assistants make the most in New Jersey with an average salary of $58,492. Whereas in Alaska and Massachusetts, they would average $54,653 and $53,102, respectively. While research assistants would only make an average of $50,955 in Vermont, 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. New Jersey
$58,492
Avg. Salary
2. Massachusetts
$53,102
Avg. Salary
3. Alaska
$54,653
Avg. Salary
What I like is that,you get to interact with different people from various communities.Relationships are formed in the process
Language barrier can be a problem,because communication needs to be formed in the language that each community you interact with understands.
Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Rutgers University | $57,180 | $27.49 | 1,148 |
2 | Michigan State University | $53,622 | $25.78 | 952 |
3 | University of Delaware | $48,746 | $23.44 | 692 |
4 | University of Wisconsin System | $47,054 | $22.62 | 848 |
5 | University of California Press | $46,612 | $22.41 | 1,541 |
6 | Boston University | $45,760 | $22.00 | 707 |
7 | University of Houston | $44,374 | $21.33 | 689 |
8 | Brigham Young University | $43,112 | $20.73 | 700 |
9 | University of Michigan | $42,002 | $20.19 | 1,278 |
10 | Arizona State University | $41,346 | $19.88 | 822 |
It takes 2 years of professional experience to become a research assistant. That is the time it takes to learn specific research assistant skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education. If you include the normal education requirements to complete a college degree, then it takes 5 to 7 years years to become a research assistant.
No, not anyone can be a research assistant. A research assistant position, typically in a clinical or academic setting, is usually for individuals who already have a bachelor's degree or master's degree and are considering a career in academia (e.g., Ph.D.) or more advanced clinical research procedures (e.g., DNA extraction).
No, you do not need a PhD to be a research assistant. The minimum educational requirements to become a Research Assistant will depend on the employer.
A degree in a relevant discipline with research experience (Honours) is commonly required, although some employers may require a master's level qualification or enrollment in a PhD program.
To get a job as a research assistant, you should have a bachelor's degree and a general interest in conducting research in an academic or clinical setting.
Many research assistants are bachelor's students (or soon-to-be graduates). However, some research assistants have a master's degree or Ph.D. (e.g., postdoc research assistant fellowship).
The qualifications you need to be a research assistant are a bachelor's degree (or in the process of earning one) and a keen interest in the research process.
The duties of a research assistant can vary throughout the life of a research project. In the early stages, you may be required to look for grants or funding opportunities. Many research projects cannot be undertaken without funding from an overseeing body such as a government department, research council, or private company.