Research Assistant
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Research Assistant assists with a research program or project. Works in a variety of fields within science or the social sciences, in programs based at a university or research institution, or works on government or industry sponsored research projects. Conducts field or library research or recruits participants for a study; may also assist with legal research.
Job Outlook
There were 497 Research Assistant job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 24238 in the United States.
We do not have this data at this time.
Salary
Many new Research Assistant jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $55,752.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $50,767.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Research Assistant postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $40,472.
Education and Experience
Posted Research Assistant jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 8.23% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 54.05% |
| Master's Degree | 19.43% |
| Doctoral Degree | 16.57% |
| Other | 11.67% |
Posted Research Assistant jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 68.83% |
| 3 to 5 years | 26.45% |
| 6 to 8 years | 3.13% |
| 9+ years | 1.6% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Research Assistant positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Research (95.56%)
- Communication (35.23%)
- Writing (25.85%)
- Detail Oriented (22.14%)
- Management (16.9%)
- Organizational Skills (15.05%)
- Presentations (14.34%)
- Microsoft Office (13.47%)
- Microsoft Excel (12.91%)
- Interpersonal Communications (12.36%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Data Collection (30.69%)
- Data Analysis (25.93%)
- Research Experiences (15.85%)
- Psychology (11.03%)
- Laboratory Equipment (14.44%)
- Research Methodologies (7.52%)
- Biology (33.64%)
- Molecular Biology (15.89%)
- Clinical Research (14.39%)
- Cell Cultures (11.81%)
- Biochemistry (11.76%)
- Clinical Trials (11.27%)
- Data Entry (17.07%)
- Chemistry (11.54%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Western Blot (6.06%)
- Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) (4.59%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) (100%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Research Assistant skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Research Assistant Professor
- Student Research Assistant
- Graduate Research Assistant
- Research Laboratory Assistant
- Neuroscience Research Assistant
- Undergraduate Research Assistant
- Biology Research Assistant
- Research Study Assistant
- University Assistant
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Research Associate (General)
- Research Technician
- Research Scientist
- Biomedical Scientist
- Natural Science Research Manager (General)
- Biologist (General)
- Research and Development Manager
- Research Analyst
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Research Assistant jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Pennsylvania State University (850)
- Mass General Brigham (479)
- University of California (437)
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (430)
- Case Western Reserve University (310)
- The University of Texas System (276)
- University of Pennsylvania (265)
- UT Health (254)
- University of Chicago (215)
- Rutgers University (213)
North Carolina
- University of North Carolina (90)
- North Carolina State University (87)
- East Carolina University (42)
- Duke University (36)
- Wake Forest University (15)
- Western Carolina University (11)
- Atrium Health (8)
- Wake Forest Baptist Health (8)
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (7)
- The Geneva Foundation (6)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Fundamentals of Entomology Undergraduate Certificates
- Microbiology Undergraduate Certificates
- Statistics Master's Degrees
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.