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Science and Research | Research Associate (General)

Research Associate (General)

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A Research Associate 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 1176 Research Associate (General) job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 42241 in the United States.

We do not have this data at this time.

Salary

Many new Research Associate (General) 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 $69,785.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $63,267.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Research Associate (General) postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $50,179.

Education and Experience

Posted Research Associate (General) 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 LevelPercentage
Associate's Degree3.7%
Bachelor's Degree40.8%
Master's Degree26.43%
Doctoral Degree37.62%
Other4.41%

Posted Research Associate (General) 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 ExperiencePercentage
0 to 2 years55.07%
3 to 5 years36.74%
6 to 8 years5.21%
9+ years2.98%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Research Associate (General) 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 (90.24%)
  • Communication (32.51%)
  • Writing (28.96%)
  • Management (18.55%)
  • Detail Oriented (17.33%)
  • Presentations (16.99%)
  • Operations (11.49%)
  • Interpersonal Communications (10.93%)
  • Verbal Communication Skills (10.87%)
  • Self-Motivation (10.61%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

  • Cell Cultures (14.35%)
  • Molecular Biology (19.52%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

  • Finance (6.21%)
  • Clinical Trials (12.68%)
  • Biology (30.16%)
  • Biochemistry (16.29%)
  • Research Experiences (14.09%)
  • Python (Programming Language) (12.5%)
  • Chemistry (13.03%)
  • Biochemical Assays (15.42%)
  • Physics (8.94%)
  • Data Collection (17.47%)
  • Research Methodologies (5.9%)
  • Data Analysis (28.71%)
  • Project Management (10.51%)

Distinguishing Skills

A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.

  • Ribonucleic Acid Sequencing (7.87%)
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent (ELISA) Assay (6.21%)
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reactions (5.53%)
  • Flow Cytometry (7.62%)
  • Western Blot (5.47%)
  • Cell Biology (13.04%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with Research Associate (General) skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

  • Research Associate
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate
  • Postdoctoral Researcher
  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow
  • Research Fellow
  • Postdoctoral Fellow
  • Clinical Research Associate
  • Postdoctoral Associate
  • Associate Director of Research
  • Research and Development Associate

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.

Common Employers

Here are the employers that have posted the most Research Associate (General) jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

  • University of California (1225)
  • Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (769)
  • Cedars-Sinai (610)
  • Merck (571)
  • Actalent (430)
  • Oak Ridge National Laboratory (425)
  • Mayo Clinic (424)
  • The University of Texas System (416)
  • University of Massachusetts (404)
  • University of Pennsylvania (335)

North Carolina

  • Duke University (192)
  • University of North Carolina (149)
  • North Carolina State University (116)
  • Atrium Health (41)
  • Wake Forest Baptist Health (37)
  • North Carolina A&T State University (35)
  • Accellacare (18)
  • Asklepios Biopharmaceutical (16)
  • East Carolina University (14)
  • Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (13)

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!