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

What is a sociology research assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Hansjakob Werlen Ph.D.

A sociology research assistant assists with the administrative tasks that would aid the success of a research. He/She helps with research management, qualitative data collection, and quantitative data analysis. He/She reads various papers and reviews literature to ensure the research is not a repeat. Asides from that, he/she contributes to proposals and research development. Likewise, he/she manages databases, summarizes findings, and presents data effectively in multiple formats. Also, he/she helps with research reports and briefs, blogs, and peer-reviewed publications.

To become a sociology research assistant, you need a bachelor's degree in sociology or any related field with at least two years of related experience. You must be conversant with statistical software. The skillset for this position includes communication, multitasking, interpersonal, and computer skills. Employment can be found in university research programs, government agencies, or private businesses. Sociology research assistant makes an average of $27.27 per hour, which is $56,732 a year.

What general advice would you give to a sociology research assistant?

Hansjakob Werlen Ph.D.

Professor, German Studies Coordinator, Swarthmore College

If your degree is not in a particular high-demand field, such as computer science or organic chemistry, consider positions that, while not exactly matching the field of your degree (e.g. in management, health care), provide job opportunities where strong language and writing skills are in demand while the specifics of the position can be learned. Make full use of the advantage your fluency in a foreign language gives you. Even a cursory look at job advertisements by German international companies shows that verbal and written knowledge of German is a prerequisite for being hired.

ScoreSociology Research AssistantUS Average

Salary

4.6

Avg. Salary $59,218

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

4.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.05%

Asian 11.74%

Black or African American 9.57%

Hispanic or Latino 16.91%

Unknown 5.88%

White 54.86%

Gender

female 69.36%

male 30.64%

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 sociology research assistant

Explore sociology research assistant education requirements

Most common sociology research assistant degrees

Bachelor's

73.4 %

Associate

10.3 %

Master's

8.7 %

Start to develop specific sociology research assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
SPSS	20.52%
Data Analysis	15.23%
Research Projects	12.16%
Data Collection	11.80%
Comprehensive Literature Review	7.57%

Complete relevant sociology research assistant training and internships

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

Research sociology research assistant duties and responsibilities

Evaluate patients' study eligibility via medical history, obtain informed consent, enroll patients, and achieve enrollment quotas.
Compose and submit IRB proposal.
Train students how to use SPSS and NVivo software.
Collaborate on database creation utilizing SPSS.

Prepare your sociology research assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your sociology research assistant resume.

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