How To Become A Research Internship: What It Is and Career Path

Q: How long does it take to become a Research Internship?

It takes one year or less to become a research internship. That is the time it takes to learn specific research internship 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 4 to 6 years years to become a research internship.

Q: Do research interns get paid?

Yes, research interns generally get paid. However, whether a research intern is paid or not largely depends on the specific company and internship. In a research internship, a person will undertake research work for a company to work on. In most research work, the intern will work under a professor independently or in the R&D department of the company.

Q: How do I get a research internship with no experience?

Typically, by nature, internships do not require prior experience. But if you are applying for a competitive internship where there are likely many other qualified applicants, a person will need to stand out.

Q: How old do you have to be to be a research intern?

You have to be at least 18 years old to be a research intern. Typically companies hire research interns that are going into their junior and senior years of college. These students typically have the career knowledge and soft skill sets needed to explore their career options through internships.

Q: What does a research intern at Microsoft do?

Research interns at Microsoft contribute to the various research projects that Microsoft has available. These can include artificial intelligence, economics, and security, privacy, and cryptography -- whatever a person is interested in related to the product Microsoft produces.

Q: What skills are required for a research internship?

Research interns need a wide variety of skills to be successful, but the most important is the ability to learn and take correction and good listening skills. The goal in a research internship, at least for the intern, is to learn as much as possible about the company, role, and industry and assess whether it is a good fit.

What is a research internship and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Friedbert Ninow Ph.D.,

Daniel Patten Ph.D.

Collect. Analyze. And repeat. A research internship is a great way to gain experience in the career you're heading into. It provides you with a lot of information related to that field and presents problems and real-life situations that you may have to deal with during your career.

The research internship is also a great way to impress any potential employers you might have. Plus, you'll see how the career you've been dreaming of really is day-to-day. You may even find out it's too boring for you. But you'll probably end up loving it, even more than before your research internship.

Typically, research interships are saved for students who are on their last year of school or those who recently graduated. Most internships are paid, so you won't be doing all of this work for nothing.

What general advice would you give to a research internship?

Friedbert Ninow Ph.D.

Dean, La Sierra University

A degree in theological and ministerial studies (or more generally in Religious Studies) does not necessarily have to lead into pastoral ministry. There are many opportunities where a Religion degree is a good foundation: Chaplaincy (e.g., Hospital, Army, Jail, etc.), Politics & Society, Journalism, Health Sciences, Arts, etc.

General advice: Let your heart speak first, not possible career chances or salary perspectives, etc. (I understand that this is important, too).

ScoreResearch InternshipUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $39,573

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 14.10%

Black or African American 4.70%

Hispanic or Latino 11.18%

Unknown 4.88%

White 65.01%

Gender

female 52.13%

male 47.87%

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 internship

Explore research internship education requirements

Most common research internship degrees

Bachelor's

74.4 %

Master's

14.8 %

Associate

4.9 %

Start to develop specific research internship skills

Skills	Percentages
Python	12.86%
C++	8.45%
Research Intern	8.24%
Java	6.72%
Data Collection	4.82%

Complete relevant research internship training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New research interns 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 internship based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real research internship resumes.

Research research internship duties and responsibilities

Manage grant base research and submit the grant proposal to ICAR and get approved for fund research.
Evaluate patients' study eligibility via medical history, obtain informed consent, enroll patients, and achieve enrollment quotas.
Perform organic extractions of DNA from various sources and set up PCR reactions.
Assist with study design, protocol review, IRB submission and data collection technique.

Prepare your research internship resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your research internship 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 internship 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 internship resume templates

Build a professional research internship resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your research internship resume.

Apply for research internship jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a research internship job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do research interns rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Research internship reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020

Pros

Exploring more about reseaching field by building knowledge in a certain subject of research and growing the wisdom and knowledge.

Cons

The struggle of not breaking a certain research topic.

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020

Pros

It's all about getting data, follow up on project, ensuring that jobs are done properly, write reports after a project is done. You travel if the job or project you're handling is out station.

Cons

Nothing really, it's just that sometimes getting data can be very difficult

A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2019

Pros

I like to explore more in community health related field and benefit the future generations from avoidable diseases and help them with information related to health aspects.

What is a research internship and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a research internship?

Research internship career paths

Key steps to become a research internship

Explore research internship education requirements

Most common research internship degrees

Start to develop specific research internship skills

Complete relevant research internship training and internships

Research research internship duties and responsibilities

Prepare your research internship resume

Choose from 10+ customizable research internship resume templates

Apply for research internship jobs

How did you land your first research internship job

Average research internship salary

How do research interns rate their job?

Research internship reviews

Research internship FAQs

How long does it take to become a Research Internship?

Do research interns get paid?

How do I get a research internship with no experience?

How old do you have to be to be a research intern?

What does a research intern at Microsoft do?

What skills are required for a research internship?

Search for research internship jobs

Research internship jobs by state