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

What is a research team leader and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Heather Tanner Ph.D.,

Dr. Anne Paulet Ph.D.

Research team leaders head a division of employees focusing on business research projects. They oversee activities related to qualitative and quantitative research alike, the assembly of data found during primary research, as well as in-depth analysis of factors influencing the outcome of business operations.

Working in this position, it will be your job to coordinate the work of people on your team. You will be responsible for conducting industry research and creating company profiles. Your will construct viable business plans, strategies, and financial models to present to management.

A degree in a business or finance-related area is generally expected to get hired for this position. You will need patience and diligence here, and the ability to do in-depth research and data analysis, so an analytical mind and a talent for numbers will be essential. As a team leader, motivating your people and passing on project goals will be on you, which will require top-notch communication and interpersonal skills. Yearly salaries average around $99,110 for this position.

What general advice would you give to a research team leader?

Heather Tanner Ph.D.

Associate Professor, The Ohio State University

Most entry-level jobs have lots of boring elements, which is frustrating when you can't wait to jump in and tackle exciting challenges. However, it would help if you showed your immediate supervisor and the company/institution that you are a good team member, capable, and willing to take on tasks (challenging and boring). Routinely ask your supervisor for new jobs or projects to expand your skillset and knowledge of the company/institution. It would help if you also manage your expectations about how quickly you'll be promoted; it can be frustratingly slow. Finally, it's essential to recognize that you need to manage your reputation - this is a workplace where you need to be perceived as a responsible and competent professional. Therefore, only share information about your personal life and leisure time as if talking to your grandparents.

ScoreResearch Team LeaderUS Average

Salary

7.6

Avg. Salary $100,872

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 14.14%

Black or African American 4.71%

Hispanic or Latino 11.20%

Unknown 4.88%

White 64.94%

Gender

female 45.77%

male 54.23%

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 team leader

Explore research team leader education requirements

Most common research team leader degrees

Bachelor's

66.7 %

Master's

15.6 %

Associate

7.9 %

Start to develop specific research team leader skills

Skills	Percentages
Data Analysis	14.39%
Data Collection	12.48%
R	12.04%
Institutional Review	7.66%
FDA	4.21%

Complete relevant research team leader training and internships

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

Research research team leader duties and responsibilities

Develop and implement strategic merchandising plans to achieve revenue objectives and reduce expenditures while ensuring payroll remains within budget.
Prepare agenda for IRB meeting.
Conduct research for FDA and FDA associate companies.
Utilize SPSS to analyze survey data and gain meaningful insights for new and existing EDMC program and product strategy.

Get research team leader experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a research team leader. The most common roles before becoming a research team leader include research assistant, internship team lead and team leader.

Prepare your research team leader resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your research team leader 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 team leader resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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