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

What is a research staff member and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Sage Franetovich,

Daniel Patten Ph.D.

A Research Staff Member is a good career with a job growth rate of 8% over the next ten years. You will need observation skills, creativity, communication skills, machine learning algorithms, and Pythom or artificial intelligence language knowledge. Research Staff Members work with other team members to ensure the project stays on schedule and the goals of the research project are reached. You will use research methods and other test parameters and review and analyze data during the course of the project. You will need communication skills to report on research, collaborate with team members, and transfer knowledge for the benefit of your employer and team. You must be honest and ethical in the course of your research.

A Research Staff Member must have information gathering skills, discover, recover, and explore. They must test, describe and summarize theories. You need a bachelor's or possible doctorate in your chosen field of research plus experience as a research assistant. Academic experience and experience with datasets and software are also required. As a Research Staff Assistant, you can make a yearly salary of anywhere from $26,000 to $150,000 depending on education, experience, and duties.

What general advice would you give to a research staff member?

Sage Franetovich

Science Technology Engineering Math, Holyoke Community College

Keep an open mind, and be willing to try new things, and work with all kinds of people. We, the professors, are preparing you for a job market that is constantly changing.

ScoreResearch Staff MemberUS Average

Salary

7.9

Avg. Salary $110,035

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.3

Growth rate 17%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.15%

Asian 26.24%

Black or African American 6.54%

Hispanic or Latino 9.81%

Unknown 4.16%

White 53.11%

Gender

female 31.07%

male 68.93%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress level

6.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a research staff member

Explore research staff member education requirements

Most common research staff member degrees

Bachelor's

57.7 %

Master's

20.5 %

Doctorate

17.2 %

Start to develop specific research staff member skills

Skills	Percentages
Python	16.92%
Machine Learning	14.48%
Research Projects	6.18%
DOE	5.87%
Data Analysis	4.82%

Complete relevant research staff member training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New research staff members 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 staff member based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real research staff member resumes.

Research research staff member duties and responsibilities

Invent and develop new (user) input technology then lead the design and prototyping of its applications.
Design, analyze, and oversee HIV relate research projects including IRB protocol.
Perform testing for urinalysis, blood sugar, EKG, eye examinations, and blood pressure.
Prove that single amino acid changes affect protein oligomerization as well as DNA / RNA - protein binding.

Prepare your research staff member resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your research staff member resume.

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