How to hire a research internship

How to hire a research internship, step by step

Here's a step-by-step research internship 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 internship job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new research internship
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a research internship do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a research internship, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect research internship also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

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

   Type of Research Internship	Description	Hourly rate
   Research Internship	Market research analysts study market conditions to examine potential sales of a product or service. They help companies understand what products people want, who will buy them, and at what price.	$12-28
   Marketing Department Internship	A marketing department internship is a marketing degree program requirement in most colleges. This is the work experience period where interns get to apply the knowledge they acquire in the real world... Show more	$12-18
   Data Analyst Internship	A data analyst internship involves a trainee who wants to gain working experience in the field of information technology (IT) by assisting data analyst professionals. Data analyst interns should examine information using data analysis tools so that they can help their employers make important decisions by identifying various facts and trends... Show more	$12-27

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Python
   • C++
   • Research Intern
   • Java
   • Data Collection
   • Data Analysis
   • Facebook
   • R
   • PowerPoint
   • Cell Culture
   • TensorFlow
   • Statistical Analysis
   • Literature Reviews
   • Supervised Learning

   Check all skills

   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.
   • Uncover potential biomarkers of BCR-ABL drug resistance.
   • Learned to retrieve information from databases specific to NIH.

   More research internship duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your research internship job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A research internship salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, research interns' average salary in wyoming is 59% less than in new jersey.
   • Seniority. Entry-level research interns earn 56% less than senior-level research interns.
   • Certifications. A research internship with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a research internship's salary.

   Average research internship salary

   $39,573yearly

   $19.03 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level research internship salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 21, 2025

   Average research internship salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New Jersey	$58,588	$28
   2	California	$57,016	$27
   3	Washington	$56,366	$27
   4	New York	$50,627	$24
   5	Massachusetts	$50,349	$24
   6	Texas	$50,332	$24
   7	Virginia	$48,826	$23
   8	Delaware	$48,707	$23
   9	Illinois	$45,990	$22
   10	District of Columbia	$45,632	$22
   11	Oregon	$43,237	$21
   12	Pennsylvania	$42,634	$21
   13	Arizona	$41,001	$20
   14	Colorado	$40,300	$19
   15	Minnesota	$40,292	$19
   16	Wisconsin	$40,211	$19
   17	North Carolina	$39,008	$19
   18	Iowa	$36,734	$18
   19	Ohio	$36,317	$17
   20	Georgia	$35,418	$17

   Average research internship salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$87,094	$41.87	264
   2	Microsoft	$83,136	$39.97	259
   3	MSCI	$77,485	$37.25	3
   4	HP	$75,858	$36.47	11
   5	Google	$72,131	$34.68	137
   6	IBM	$71,851	$34.54	95
   7	Siemens	$67,611	$32.51	8
   8	Genentech	$66,329	$31.89	33
   9	Los Alamos National Laboratory	$64,764	$31.14	73
   10	Susquehanna International Group	$63,531	$30.54	28
   11	APCO Worldwide	$63,307	$30.44
   12	Weber Shandwick	$62,770	$30.18
   13	Point72	$62,259	$29.93	31
   14	NEC Laboratories America	$59,000	$28.37	14
   15	Kabam	$57,558	$27.67
   16	Palo Alto Networks	$57,367	$27.58	14
   17	Health Alliance	$55,923	$26.89	4
   18	Hoffmann-LA Roche Inc	$55,217	$26.55	8
   19	Rutgers University	$55,101	$26.49	94
   20	KLA	$54,235	$26.07	16

4. Writing a research internship job description

   A good research internship job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a research internship job description:

   Research internship job description example

   The Energy Systems Group develops technology solutions that enhance the resilience and efficiency of both tactical and domestic energy systems. This includes developing advanced architectures and system designs to improve the resilience of power grids, developing new control techniques for microgrids and distributed energy resources, and developing hardware and real-time simulation testbeds.
   Job Description
   
   Summer Intern - Energy System Data Collection
   
   The Energy System Group seeks a summer intern to work with a multi-disciplinary team to develop a data collection pipeline for a hardware-in-the-loop microgrid test bed. The candidate will develop and test extract, transform, load (ETL) processes for power system controllers across the testbed, including generator controllers, photovoltaic inverters, and electrical relays. The candidate will integrate this data pipeline with modeling and simulation algorithms, and develop a visualization system for end users to view data.
   
   Candidates who are in the process of earning a B.S., M.S., and or Ph.D. in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, physics, mathematics, computer science, or other engineering discipline will be considered. Fluency with object-oriented Python, and experience navigating Linux is required. Experience with SQL databases, ETL processes, and control system protocols like Modbus, are helpful, but not required. A working knowledge of energy generation and storage technologies is required. However, it is not required to have experience or coursework in power system control, and this internship will offer an opportunity to learn about the control and configuration of distributed energy resources across the power grid.
   
   Selected candidate will be subject to a pre-employment background investigation and must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret level DoD security clearance.
   
   To safeguard our health and well-being, MIT Lincoln Laboratory requires COVID-19 vaccination for all employees. Individuals may request exemption from the vaccine requirement for medical or religious reason.
   
   MIT Lincoln Laboratory is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability status, or genetic information; U.S. citizenship is required.
   
   
   Nearest Major Market: Boston

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right research internship for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your research internship job on Zippia to find and attract quality research internship candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting research interns 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.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 internship

   Once you've selected the best research internship candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new research internship first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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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