How To Become A Research Associate R & D: What It Is and Career Path

What is a research associate r & d and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Ben Brown,

Daniel Patten Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a research associate r & d. For example, did you know that they make an average of $34.05 an hour? That's $70,829 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 19% and produce 150,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a research associate r & d?

Ben Brown

Professor, Ohio State University

There are a lot of good jobs out there, and people are hiring. The job market just looks a little different because most of it is virtual. This may mean that the applicant has to source out employers instead of the employers coming to the student in the form of career fairs.

ScoreResearch Associate R & DUS Average

Salary

5.5

Avg. Salary $70,829

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.9

Growth rate 19%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.13%

Asian 14.48%

Black or African American 4.79%

Hispanic or Latino 11.39%

Unknown 4.90%

White 64.31%

Gender

female 49.56%

male 50.44%

Age - 34

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 34

Stress level

4.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.2

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a research associate r & d

Explore research associate r & d education requirements

Most common research associate r & d degrees

Bachelor's

73.3 %

Master's

17.7 %

Associate

3.7 %

Start to develop specific research associate r & d skills

Skills	Percentages
Cell Culture	7.26%
Elisa	6.05%
Analyze Data	5.15%
Data Analysis	5.13%
Cell-Based Assays	4.62%

Complete relevant research associate r & d training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New research associate r & ds learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a research associate r & d based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real research associate r & d resumes.

Research research associate r & d duties and responsibilities

Manage training records for a department of 50 plus individuals ensuring company compliance with GLP practices.
Lead the execution of protein extraction, quantification and identification from medicinal plants, germinating seeds and seedlings.
Perform high-throughput DNA extraction utilizing Roche MagNaPure instrumentation.
Used LIMS to enter all analytical data in reports.

Prepare your research associate r & d resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your research associate r & d resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a research associate r & d resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable research associate r & d resume templates

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