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.
Research Scientist Overview
Research Scientist Careers
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 $38.57 an hour? That's $80,226 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.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the research scientist job title. But what industry to start with? Most research scientists actually find jobs in the education and health care industries.
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 16.6% of research scientists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 25.5% 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 doctoral degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on research scientist resumes include bachelor'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.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
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.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Research Scientist
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Leidos Cyber Research Scientist Cyber Research Scientist | Leidos Leidos | 03/31/2021 03/31/2021 | $54,60003/31/2021 $54,600 |
George Washington University Research Scientist Research Scientist | George Washington University George Washington University | 03/27/2021 03/27/2021 | $80,88703/27/2021 $80,887 |
University of Louisville Research Scientist (JOB ID: 40805) Research Scientist (JOB ID: 40805) | University of Louisville University of Louisville | 03/26/2021 03/26/2021 | $48,42103/26/2021 $48,421 |
Montana State University Research Scientist/Engineer Research Scientist/Engineer | Montana State University Montana State University | 03/25/2021 03/25/2021 | $65,00003/25/2021 $65,000 |
NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing Research Scientist (Smith LAB) Research Scientist (Smith LAB) | NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing | 03/25/2021 03/25/2021 | $80,00003/25/2021 $80,000 |
Calculate your salary
Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.
Research Scientist Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Research Scientist. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Research Scientist Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Research Scientist resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop 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 • Public
5. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
6. University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Public
7. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Public
8. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
9. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
10. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
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.
- PHD, 11.0%
- Python, 9.6%
- Procedures, 7.2%
- Data Analysis, 7.1%
- Research Projects, 6.3%
- Other Skills, 58.8% See All Research Scientist Skills
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, Connecticut, Nevada, and New Jersey. Research scientists make the most in California with an average salary of $111,142. Whereas in Connecticut and Nevada, they would average $98,797 and $98,539, respectively. While research scientists would only make an average of $96,730 in New Jersey, 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
$111,142
Avg. Salary
2. New Jersey
$96,730
Avg. Salary
3. Connecticut
$98,797
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 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 Massachusetts Institute of Technology was the best, especially with an average salary of $63,302. Facebook follows up with an average salary of $112,548, and then comes Intel with an average of $104,678. 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 Facebook, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman
Research Scientist Videos
