Research scientists gather information and generate knowledge through both theoretical and experimental means. They contribute to knowledge in the fields of natural science, medical science, computer science, environmental science, and social science.
These scientists develop hypotheses, collect data, and interpret results to answer questions in both the natural world and the man made world. Research scientists are involved in planning, designing, and conducting experiments to investigate and analyse scientific phenomena and then extrapolating data to develop theories which aim to explain these phenomena.
Research scientists are commonly responsible for keeping up to date by reading specialist literature, writing scientific articles for publication, writing research grant proposals and applications for funding, and managing a research team. Many research scientists also teach undergraduate and postgraduate classes and supervise graduate student research.
Becoming a research scientist requires a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree in their field of study depending on the role they want to fulfill and experience it needs. They typically earn $78,060 a year, which breaks down to $37.53 an hour. The career growth for this job is projected at 8%, creating 10,600 new jobs by 2028.
How to Become a Research Scientist
What is a Research Scientist
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Research Scientist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $40.44 an hour? That's $84,125 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 8% and produce 10,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Research Scientist Do
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a Research Scientist, we found that a lot of resumes listed 11.0% of Research Scientists included PHD, while 9.6% of resumes included Python, and 7.2% of resumes included Procedures. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
How To Become a Research Scientist
If you're interested in becoming a Research Scientist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 51.7% of Research Scientists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 19.7% of Research Scientists have master's degrees. Even though most Research Scientists have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Research Scientist. When we researched the most common majors for a Research Scientist, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Doctoral Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Research Scientist resumes include Master's Degree degrees or Associate Degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Research Scientist. In fact, many Research Scientist jobs require experience in a role such as Research Assistant. Meanwhile, many Research Scientists also have previous career experience in roles such as Research Associate or Research Fellow.
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Research Scientist Career Paths
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 Supervisor eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title Quality Assurance Director.
Research Scientist Jobs You Might Like
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Average Salary for a Research Scientist
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12 Research Scientist Resume Examples
Build a professional research scientist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 12+ resume templates to create your research scientist resume.
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Jean Freeman Research Scientist |
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Michelle Baker Research Scientist Experience Research Scientist2011 - Present Morgan Stanley•Houston, TX
Research Analyst2008 - 2011 Morgan Stanley•Houston, TX
Research Coordinator2003 - 2004 University of California Press•Gilman DR, LA Jolla, CA
Skills Analyze DataData AnalysisLimsStudy ProtocolGLPProject ManagementInternetCommunicationROIPublic Health Education Doctoral Degree Chemistry2005 - 2008 University of Texas at Austin•Austin, TX Master's Degree Chemistry2004 - 2005 Texas A&M University•College Station, TX Bachelor's Degree Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology2000 - 2003 University of California - San Diego•Gilman DR, LA Jolla, CA |
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Learn How To Write a Research Scientist Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Research Scientist resumes and compiled some information about how to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Research Scientist Resume Examples And TemplatesAnd if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Choose From 10+ Customizable Research Scientist Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Research Scientist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Research Scientist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Research Scientist Demographics
Research Scientist Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among Research Scientists, 37.5% of them are women, while 62.5% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among Research Scientists is White, which makes up 53.9% of all Research Scientists.
- The most common foreign language among Research Scientists is Spanish at 21.7%.
Find the best Research Scientist job for you
Research Scientist Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Research Scientist Jobs - $133K and Up
- Work From Home Research Scientist Jobs
- Entry Level Research Scientist Jobs
- Part Time Research Scientist Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Research Scientist Jobs
Top Colleges for Research Scientists
1. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
2. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
3. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
5. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
6. University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
7. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
8. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
9. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
10. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Find the best Research Scientist job for you
Research Scientist Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Research Scientist Jobs - $133K and Up
- Work From Home Research Scientist Jobs
- Entry Level Research Scientist Jobs
- Part Time Research Scientist Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Research Scientist Jobs
Online Courses For Research Scientist That You May Like
Academic Research Business Research Thesis & Dissertation Report Research Paper / Journal...
A Primer in Research Methodology and Statistics in the Social Sciences...
A-Z guide to writing a rockstar Research Paper with a bulletproof Research Methodology!...
Top Skills For a Research Scientist
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, 11.0% of Research Scientists listed PHD on their resume, but soft skills such as Communication skills and Observation skills are important as well.
Best States For a Research Scientist
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a Research Scientist. The best states for people in this position are California, Hawaii, Maine, and Connecticut. Research Scientists make the most in California with an average salary of $115,520. Whereas in Hawaii and Maine, they would average $104,025 and $100,403, respectively. While Research Scientists would only make an average of $96,854 in Connecticut, 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. California
$115,520
Avg. Salary
2. Connecticut
$96,854
Avg. Salary
3. New Jersey
$92,269
Avg. Salary
How Do Research Scientist Rate Their Jobs?
3.0
3.0
I have 2 years of clinical experience. That is what I enjoy about research • May 2019What do you like the most about working as Research Scientist?
Science of observation Show MoreWhat do you NOT like?
Haven't gotten to that point yet! you are looking for a story that has yet left the summary Show MoreTop Research Scientist Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ Research Scientists and discovered their number of Research Scientist opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Facebook was the best, especially with an average salary of $168,277. Massachusetts Institute of Technology follows up with an average salary of $73,236, and then comes Amazon with an average of $121,257. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a Research Scientist. The employers include Twitter, Facebook, and Lockheed Martin
Research Scientist Videos
Becoming a Research Scientist FAQs
Do you need a Ph.D. to be a research scientist?
No, you do not need a Ph.D. to be a research scientist. However, it is highly recommended to possess, at a minimum, a bachelor's degree in a closely related field for most positions as a research scientist. Usually, a master's degree or a Ph.D. is preferred.
Depending on what you want to research will determine your major. For example, if you're going to research medicine, chemistry, or biology, a degree in biochemistry, biology, pharmacology, or pre-med can work well. If you are interested in being a computer research scientist or information research scientist, then a degree in information technology is appropriate. If you are unsure, a general degree in clinical research is a good option.
How To Become A Research Scientist:
Obtain a bachelor's degree.
Complete a master's degree.
Gain research experience.
Complete relevant certifications:
The Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP)
Certified Clinical Research Associate
Certified Principal Investigator
ACRP Certified Professional designations
You could also consider a doctorate, which takes around eight to ten years to complete but provides you with comprehensive research experience. With that said, there are high-paying bachelor's degree jobs in research science, including chemistry ($79,300 a year), geography ($85,430 a year), and microbiology ($84,040 a year).
How long does it take to become a research scientist?
It takes about six to ten years to become a research scientist. Most research scientists have a Ph.D., which takes about four to five years to complete on top of your bachelor's degree, which takes four years to complete.
Some research scientists pursue a master's degree and then gain work experience through internships or entry-level research positions. After about three to five years to advance into a research scientist role.
Master's degrees may be sufficient for many positions with private companies or government agencies. Still, both universities and any research leadership positions are likely to require candidates to hold a Ph.D.
However, a science-based bachelor's degree is not worthless depending on the field of study. An atmospheric scientist, for example, earns a median salary of $99,740 a year and this position only requires a bachelor's degree.
What degree do you need to become a researcher?
The degree you need to become a researcher is a doctorate in the field you'd like to research. In some cases, a researcher can have just a master's degree and several years of work experience, depending on the industry.
The first step in becoming a researcher is to obtain a bachelor's degree. If you are unsure, a general degree in clinical research can be a good option. If you want to research medicine, chemistry, or biology, a degree in biochemistry, biology, pharmacology, or pre-med can work well. If you are interested in being a computer and information research scientist, then a degree in information technology is appropriate.
After that, you'll want to apply to either a Master's or Doctorate graduate program. To get into graduate school, you'll want to have a high GPA and good GRE scores. Ph.D. programs are typically harder to get into, but doctorate programs, unlike master's, usually provide students with a stipend that covers some of the cost of tuition.
In total, it will take about ten years to become a researcher. This amount of time includes a four-year bachelor's degree, three to five years in graduate school, and several years of research experience. Researchers can gain research experience by working in research labs within your university or through internships.
What does a research scientist do daily?
What a research scientist does daily are laboratory-based experiments and trials. You can find research scientists in various fields, including medicine, political science, biology, chemistry, computer science, and environmental science.
The day-to-day duties of a research scientist vary depending on the project they're working on and the company. Some of the work involves:
Planning and conducting research experiments to analyze specific data and interpret results
Writing grant proposals and complete applications for funding to ensure that you have the funds needed to carry out the project.
Collaborating with team members and support staff
Presenting results to senior staff or other research teams
Supervising junior staff members or graduate student research
Recording and analyzing data
Carrying out fieldwork, e.g., collecting samples
Presenting results to senior/other research staff
Writing research papers, reports, reviews, and summaries
Demonstrating procedures
Preparing research proposals and funding applications/bids
Supervising junior staff, including technicians
Organizing product/materials testing
Liaising with research and production staff
Developing original solutions to problems
Keeping up to date with relevant scientific and technical developments
Teaching