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What is a research trainee and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted experts
Dr. Betsy Smith,
Daniel Patten Ph.D.

As a research trainee, you are responsible for performing tasks that provide support to the professional conducting the research and experiments. In your position, whether it be in the arts or the sciences, you are also expected to conduct interviews and experiments while maintaining quality control standards.

As a research trainee, you may work in research laboratories, universities, or market research firms under the guidance of the chief researcher. Your duty is to assist in carrying out research pertaining to the project at hand, collecting the relevant data, analyzing it, and displaying this data on the appropriate charts. Your role may further be extended to editing and proofreading the accuracy of research papers.

For this position, you need to be highly organized and be equipped with the tenacity to work hard under pressure. You need to have excellent verbal and written communication skills and be able to graphically display data. Your analytical skills need to be brilliant, and the same goes for your critical thinking skills. To become a research trainee, you will need an undergraduate degree in the relevant field and also be in pursuit of either your Master's or Doctoral degree.

What general advice would you give to a research trainee?

Dr. Betsy SmithDr. Betsy Smith LinkedIn profile

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Elmira College

I would advise students just graduating to be flexible and open-minded in their job search. Chemistry is a challenging major, and students who succeed in it have learned how to learn, so they shouldn't assume that pure chemistry is the only thing they can do. One growing field is biomedical research, and chemistry majors are often qualified for jobs in that area. If you have other strengths, like writing, there are often jobs that can combine them as a technical writer or work for a science journal. There are jobs out there that might be perfect for you that you haven't heard of until you see an ad for it, so be open to different possibilities.
ScoreResearch TraineeUS Average
Salary
3.8

Avg. Salary $48,078

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 14.31%

Black or African American 4.75%

Hispanic or Latino 11.30%

Unknown 4.89%

White 64.62%

Gender

female 61.60%

male 38.40%

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

Research trainee career paths

Key steps to become a research trainee

  1. Explore research trainee education requirements

    Most common research trainee degrees

    Bachelor's

    63.5 %

    Master's

    24.9 %

    Doctorate

    6.6 %
  2. Start to develop specific research trainee skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Cell Culture6.00%
    R5.76%
    Data Analysis5.70%
    Elisa4.52%
    MRI4.25%
  3. Complete relevant research trainee training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New research trainees 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 trainee based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real research trainee resumes.
  4. Research research trainee duties and responsibilities

    • Manage laboratory requirements and mentor other food engineers how to use HPLC and UPLC
    • Evaluate patients' study eligibility via medical history, obtain informed consent, enroll patients, and achieve enrollment quotas.
    • Conduct the DNA extraction and ELISA on blood samples.
    • Work on rabies vaccine production from chick embryo and extraction of DNA and RNA from animal tissue and cells.
  5. Prepare your research trainee resume

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

    Choose from 10+ customizable research trainee resume templates

    Build a professional research trainee resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your research trainee resume.
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    Research Trainee Resume
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    Research Trainee Resume
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    Research Trainee Resume
    Research Trainee Resume
    Research Trainee Resume
  6. Apply for research trainee jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a research trainee job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first research trainee job

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Are you a research trainee?

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Average research trainee salary

The average research trainee salary in the United States is $48,078 per year or $23 per hour. Research trainee salaries range between $34,000 and $66,000 per year.

Average research trainee salary
$48,078 Yearly
$23.11 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do research trainees rate their job?

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Research trainee reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020
Pros

It's all about getting data, follow up on project, ensuring that jobs are done properly, write reports after a project is done. You travel if the job or project you're handling is out station.

Cons

Nothing really, it's just that sometimes getting data can be very difficult


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2019
Pros

I like to explore more in community health related field and benefit the future generations from avoidable diseases and help them with information related to health aspects.

Cons

None


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019
Pros

What I like is that,you get to interact with different people from various communities.Relationships are formed in the process

Cons

Language barrier can be a problem,because communication needs to be formed in the language that each community you interact with understands.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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