How to hire a research assistant

How to hire a research assistant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step research assistant hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a research assistant job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new research assistant
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a research assistant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your research assistant job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a research assistant for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a research assistant to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a research assistant that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of research assistant salaries for various roles:

   Type of Research Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Research Assistant	A Research Assistant helps carry out a particular research agenda. They are generally found in the social science or laboratory setting.	$13-30
   Graduate Researcher	A graduate researcher is responsible for supporting an educational institution's academic research processes. Graduate researchers assist in data gathering and performing in-depth analysis using research methodologies under the supervision of a research professor... Show more	$7-32
   Research Laboratory Technician	Research laboratory technicians play a vital role in scientific laboratories. They perform varied duties and responsibilities, which include setting up, operating, and maintaining the laboratory equipment, assisting in laboratory-based research activities such as sampling, testing, and analyzing results, and providing technical support to the laboratory team members... Show more	$14-23

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Lab Equipment
   • Data Collection
   • Laboratory Equipment
   • Research Projects
   • Data Analysis
   • R
   • Cell Culture
   • Literature Reviews
   • SPSS
   • Research Data
   • C++
   • IRB
   • Research Study

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Update twitter profile and manage social media campaign.
   • Manage social media publications to spread awareness and notifications on Facebook.
   • Evaluate patients' study eligibility via medical history, obtain informed consent, enroll patients, and achieve enrollment quotas.
   • Learned many laboratory techniques, assays, and protocols; western blot, real-time PCR, tick collection, DNA extraction.
   • Analyze the effects of estrogen on various tissues using molecular biology techniques such as RT-PCR, RNA and DNA extractions.
   • Gain familiarity with research terminology, development procedures, data collection and management, and IRB considerations.

   More research assistant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the research assistant job description is a good way to get more applicants. A research assistant salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a research assistant in Utah may be lower than in New Jersey, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level research assistant. Additionally, a research assistant with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average research assistant salary

   $42,896yearly

   $20.62 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level research assistant salary

   $28,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 24, 2025

   Average research assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New Jersey	$58,524	$28
   2	Massachusetts	$53,085	$26
   3	California	$52,332	$25
   4	District of Columbia	$51,473	$25
   5	Illinois	$50,272	$24
   6	Connecticut	$50,267	$24
   7	New York	$45,775	$22
   8	Rhode Island	$44,218	$21
   9	Pennsylvania	$43,746	$21
   10	North Carolina	$43,541	$21
   11	Oregon	$43,105	$21
   12	Georgia	$42,592	$20
   13	Michigan	$41,288	$20
   14	Florida	$41,207	$20
   15	Maryland	$41,035	$20
   16	Ohio	$40,134	$19
   17	Maine	$39,196	$19
   18	Missouri	$38,793	$19
   19	Washington	$38,579	$19
   20	Arkansas	$38,554	$19

   Average research assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$76,000	$36.54	115
   2	Google	$75,206	$36.16	133
   3	Governors State University	$73,977	$35.57
   4	Genentech	$73,160	$35.17	37
   5	Moody's	$71,427	$34.34	2
   6	Citi	$69,978	$33.64	3
   7	Children's Hospital New Orleans	$66,091	$31.77
   8	Frazier History Museum	$66,051	$31.76
   9	EDC	$65,573	$31.53
   10	Stanford Health Care	$65,040	$31.27	3
   11	Schneider Electric Industrial Services	$63,414	$30.49	1
   12	APCO Worldwide	$62,997	$30.29
   13	Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF)	$62,653	$30.12
   14	New Jersey Institute of Technology	$62,033	$29.82	16
   15	ABB	$61,198	$29.42	21
   16	Edgewood College	$60,812	$29.24	2
   17	Cook Children's Medical Center	$60,665	$29.17	17
   18	Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory	$60,436	$29.06	1
   19	Board Of Regents Of The University System Of Georgia	$60,246	$28.96
   20	New York Institute of Technology	$59,923	$28.81	3

4. Writing a research assistant job description

   A job description for a research assistant role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a research assistant job description:

   Research assistant job description example

   Our Teachers bring warmth, patience, and understanding to the classroom every day, encouraging children to learn and grow. They inspire children to be lifelong learners using our nationally recognized curriculum that promotes social, physical, verbal, and cognitive development. Our Teachers are committed to making their center successful and know that creating meaningful relationships with children, families, and their team play a crucial role in that success.
   As a member of our teaching staff, you will:
   
   Create a safe, nurturing environment where children can play and learn Partner with parents with a shared desire to provide the best care and education for their children Support your center's success by partnering with center staff and leadership to achieve goals around enrollment, accreditation, and engagement Cultivate positive relationships with families, teachers, state licensing authorities, community contacts and corporate partners Implement KCE's curriculum in a way that is consistent with the unique needs of each child
   The benefits our career professionals enjoy:
   
   Medical, dental and vision Childcare benefit Paid time off Education assistance and reimbursement Medical expense reimbursement/ Life insurance/Disability benefits/ Health and wellness programs 401(k) savings and investment plan with employer match Qualifications
   
   Desired Skills and Experience:
   
   CPR and First Aid Certification or willingness to obtain Active Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential (or willing to obtain) Completed 12 core ECE Units Infant/toddler OR BA Degree in Child Development Must be physically able to use a computer with basic proficiency, lift a minimum of 40 pounds, and work indoors or outdoors Ability to assume postures in low levels to allow physical and visual contact with children, see and hear well enough to keep children safe, and engage in physical activity with children Read, write, understand, and speak English to communicate with children and their parents in English All center staff applicants must meet state specific guidelines for the role Our highest priority has always been to keep our employees, children, families, and communities as safe and healthy as possible. Starting October 18, 2021, we began requiring COVID vaccinations or weekly COVID testing for all unvaccinated employees. We are also subject to state law, local ordinances, and Health Department requirements for child care workers or school staff.
   
   KinderCare Education is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, gender identity or expression, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal law.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right research assistant for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with research assistants they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit research assistants who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your research assistant job on Zippia to find and recruit research assistant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting research assistants requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new research assistant

   Once you've found the research assistant candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new research assistant. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a research assistant?