How to hire a student research assistant

How to hire a student research assistant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step student research assistant hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a student research assistant job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new student research assistant
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a student research assistant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your student research assistant job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a student research assistant for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

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   Hiring the perfect student research assistant also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents student research assistant salaries for various positions.

   Type of Student Research Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Student Research Assistant		$9-17
   Laboratory Internship	A laboratory intern is responsible for assisting laboratory operations and perform examinations and experiments under the supervision of tenured laboratory staff. Laboratory interns shadow all the laboratory processes, document their observations, and conduct an in-depth analysis of the results... Show more	$12-23
   Research Fellow	A research fellow is an academic researcher who conducts research and analysis of comprehensive literature, data, and results and provides literature reviews. He/She supervises research assistants and recruits study participants to interview them for a particular study... Show more	$18-34

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Lab Equipment
   • Student Research
   • Data Collection
   • Research Projects
   • Laboratory Equipment
   • C++
   • Cell Culture
   • R
   • Chemistry
   • Literature Reviews
   • Data Analysis
   • Research Data
   • SPSS
   • RT-PCR

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Evaluate patients' study eligibility via medical history, obtain informed consent, enroll patients, and achieve enrollment quotas.
   • Perform PCR amplification and electrophoresis.
   • Prepare agarose gels for electrophoresis and sequencing.
   • Perform biological experiments which provide data for further DNA analysis.
   • Provide DNA sequencing and primer support study transposition in tobacco/tomato root development.
   • Experience gain in polymer chemistry, polymer physics, material characterization, photo-polymerization techniques.

   More student research assistant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the student research assistant job description is a good way to get more applicants. A student research assistant salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a student research assistant in Tennessee may be lower than in Massachusetts, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level student research assistant. Additionally, a student research assistant with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average student research assistant salary

   $13.21hourly

   $27,475 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level student research assistant salary

   $19,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 15, 2026

   Average student research assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Alaska	$51,096	$25
   2	Massachusetts	$46,674	$22
   3	Illinois	$33,803	$16
   4	District of Columbia	$32,037	$15
   5	California	$31,584	$15
   6	Oregon	$31,403	$15
   7	New York	$29,859	$14
   8	Washington	$29,492	$14
   9	Virginia	$28,729	$14
   10	Utah	$28,678	$14
   11	Pennsylvania	$28,624	$14
   12	Michigan	$26,982	$13
   13	Colorado	$26,562	$13
   14	Florida	$26,378	$13
   15	North Carolina	$25,705	$12
   16	Kansas	$25,300	$12
   17	Wisconsin	$25,006	$12
   18	Mississippi	$23,162	$11
   19	Texas	$22,482	$11
   20	Ohio	$21,354	$10

   Average student research assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Google	$67,665	$32.53	183
   2	Los Alamos National Laboratory	$65,259	$31.37	69
   3	University of California-Berkeley	$49,665	$23.88
   4	Brigham and Women's Hospital	$48,163	$23.16	53
   5	UC Santa Barbara	$43,281	$20.81
   6	University of California	$41,222	$19.82	147
   7	Dana-Farber Cancer Institute	$40,476	$19.46	18
   8	PSEA	$38,175	$18.35	150
   9	Abbott	$37,955	$18.25	16
   10	Liberty University	$37,263	$17.91	60
   11	University of Alaska	$35,100	$16.88	110
   12	Touro College	$34,848	$16.75	5
   13	New York Medical College	$32,140	$15.45
   14	UCLA	$31,913	$15.34	33
   15	The Henry Ford	$31,038	$14.92
   16	Seattle Children's Healthcare System	$30,748	$14.78	8
   17	Shaw University	$30,702	$14.76	5
   18	UES	$30,548	$14.69
   19	Chapman University	$30,082	$14.46	42
   20	University of Georgia Small Business Development Center	$29,942	$14.40	201

4. Writing a student research assistant job description

   A job description for a student research assistant role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a student research assistant job description:

   Student research assistant job description example

   Applications will go live in late Fall 2022.
   
   Participation in this program requires that you are located in the United States for the duration of the engagement.
   
   This opportunity is intended for students who are pursuing a BS degree with an anticipated graduation date after December 2024, depending on their program and unique circumstances. If you are graduating before December 2024, we encourage you to apply to the Internship openings.
   
   To start the application process, you will need an updated CV or resume and a current unofficial or official transcript in English (PDFs preferred). Please ensure your anticipated graduation dates (in MM/YY) and any proficiency in coding languages are listed on resume
   
   Minimum qualifications:
   
   + Currently enrolled in a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Linguistics, Statistics, Biostatistics, Applied Mathematics, Operations Research, Economics, or Natural Sciences.
   
   + Experience in one area of computer science (e.g., Natural Language Understanding, Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Algorithmic Foundations of Optimization, Quantum Information Science, Data Science, Software Engineering, etc.).
   
   Preferred qualifications:
   
   + Currently attending a degree program in the US.
   
   + Currently enrolled in a full-time degree program and returning to the program after completion of the internship.
   
   + Experience as a researcher, including internships, full-time, or at a lab.
   
   + Experience contributing research to communities or efforts, including publishing papers in conferences or journals.
   
   + Experience with one or more general purpose programming languages (e.g., C/C++, Java, MATLAB, Go, Python, etc.).
   
   + Ability to speak and write in English fluently.
   
   The Student Researcher Program's primary objective is to foster academic collaborations with students through research at Google. Join us for a paid Student Researcher position that offers the opportunity to work directly with Google research scientists and engineers on research projects.
   
   The Student Researcher Program offers more opportunities for research students to work on critical research projects at Google in a less structured way. The program allows opportunities beyond the limitations of our traditional internship program on aspects such as duration, time commitment, and working location (with options for on-site or remote). The topics student researchers work on tend to be open-ended and exploratory, and don't always have a clear deliverable like a traditional internship would.
   
   Google Research is building the next generation of intelligent systems for all Google products. To achieve this, we're working on projects that utilize the latest computer science techniques developed by skilled software engineers and research scientists. Google Research teams collaborate closely with other teams across Google, maintaining the flexibility and versatility required to adapt new projects and foci that meet the demands of the world's fast-paced business needs.
   
   + Participate in research to develop solutions for real-world, large-scale problems.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right student research assistant for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your student research assistant job on Zippia to find and recruit student research assistant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting student research assistants requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new student research assistant

   Once you've decided on a perfect student research assistant candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new student research assistant. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a student research assistant?