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

What is a research volunteer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted experts

Friedbert Ninow Ph.D.,

Daniel Patten Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a research volunteer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $26.28 an hour? That's $54,668 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 19% and produce 150,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a research volunteer?

Friedbert Ninow Ph.D.

Dean, La Sierra University

A degree in theological and ministerial studies (or more generally in Religious Studies) does not necessarily have to lead into pastoral ministry. There are many opportunities where a Religion degree is a good foundation: Chaplaincy (e.g., Hospital, Army, Jail, etc.), Politics & Society, Journalism, Health Sciences, Arts, etc.

General advice: Let your heart speak first, not possible career chances or salary perspectives, etc. (I understand that this is important, too).

ScoreResearch VolunteerUS Average

Salary

4.3

Avg. Salary $54,668

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.5

Growth rate 19%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.03%

Asian 16.87%

Black or African American 8.61%

Hispanic or Latino 15.35%

Unknown 6.03%

White 52.10%

Gender

female 61.34%

male 38.66%

Age - 35

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 - 35

Stress level

4.5

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.8

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a research volunteer

Explore research volunteer education requirements

Most common research volunteer degrees

Bachelor's

73.6 %

Master's

13.2 %

Associate

5.4 %

Start to develop specific research volunteer skills

Skills	Percentages
Lab Procedures	11.01%
Cell Culture	7.56%
Laboratory Techniques	6.81%
Data Collection	5.77%
R	4.25%

Complete relevant research volunteer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New research volunteers 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 volunteer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real research volunteer resumes.

Research research volunteer duties and responsibilities

Evaluate patients' study eligibility via medical history, obtain informed consent, enroll patients, and achieve enrollment quotas.
Assist in monitoring MRI scans.
Assist in cloning and expression for RNA research.
Analyze cell lysates and purify proteins by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis.

Prepare your research volunteer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your research volunteer 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 volunteer 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 volunteer resume templates

Build a professional research volunteer 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 volunteer resume.

Apply for research volunteer jobs

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

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

How do research volunteers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Research volunteer reviews

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

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

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.

What is a research volunteer and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a research volunteer?

Research volunteer career paths

Key steps to become a research volunteer

Explore research volunteer education requirements

Most common research volunteer degrees

Start to develop specific research volunteer skills

Complete relevant research volunteer training and internships

Research research volunteer duties and responsibilities

Prepare your research volunteer resume

Choose from 10+ customizable research volunteer resume templates

Apply for research volunteer jobs

How did you land your first research volunteer job

Average research volunteer salary

How do research volunteers rate their job?

Research volunteer reviews