Research scientists gather information and generate knowledge through both theoretical and experimental means. They contribute to knowledge in the fields of natural science, medical science, computer science, environmental science, and social science.
These scientists develop hypotheses, collect data, and interpret results to answer questions in both the natural world and the man made world. Research scientists are involved in planning, designing, and conducting experiments to investigate and analyse scientific phenomena and then extrapolating data to develop theories which aim to explain these phenomena.
Research scientists are commonly responsible for keeping up to date by reading specialist literature, writing scientific articles for publication, writing research grant proposals and applications for funding, and managing a research team. Many research scientists also teach undergraduate and postgraduate classes and supervise graduate student research.
Becoming a research scientist requires a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree in their field of study depending on the role they want to fulfill and experience it needs. They typically earn $78,060 a year, which breaks down to $37.53 an hour. The career growth for this job is projected at 8%, creating 10,600 new jobs by 2028.
How to Become a Research Scientist
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a research scientist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $40.44 an hour? That's $84,125 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 8% and produce 10,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Research Scientist Do
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a research scientist, we found that a lot of resumes listed 11.0% of research scientists included phd, while 9.6% of resumes included python, and 7.2% of resumes included procedures. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
How To Become a Research Scientist
If you're interested in becoming a research scientist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 51.7% of research scientists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 19.7% of research scientists have master's degrees. Even though most research scientists have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a research scientist. When we researched the most common majors for a research scientist, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or doctoral degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on research scientist resumes include master's degree degrees or associate degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a research scientist. In fact, many research scientist jobs require experience in a role such as research assistant. Meanwhile, many research scientists also have previous career experience in roles such as research associate or research fellow.
Research Scientist Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of consultant you might progress to a role such as supervisor eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title quality assurance director.
Average Salary for a Research Scientist
What Am I Worth?
Top Colleges for Research Scientists
1. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
2. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
3. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
5. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
6. University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
7. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
8. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
9. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
10. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Top Skills For a Research Scientist
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 11.0% of research scientists listed phd on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and observation skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Research Scientist Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Research Scientist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Research Scientist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Research Scientist Demographics
Research Scientist Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among research scientists, 37.5% of them are women, while 62.5% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among research scientists is White, which makes up 53.9% of all research scientists.
- The most common foreign language among research scientists is Spanish at 21.7%.
Online Courses For Research Scientist That You May Like
Academic Research Business Research Thesis & Dissertation Report Research Paper / Journal...
A Primer in Research Methodology and Statistics in the Social Sciences...
A-Z guide to writing a rockstar Research Paper with a bulletproof Research Methodology!...
Best States For a Research Scientist
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a research scientist. The best states for people in this position are California, Hawaii, Maine, and Connecticut. Research scientists make the most in California with an average salary of $115,520. Whereas in Hawaii and Maine, they would average $104,025 and $100,403, respectively. While research scientists would only make an average of $96,854 in Connecticut, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. California
$115,520
Avg. Salary
2. Connecticut
$96,854
Avg. Salary
3. New Jersey
$92,269
Avg. Salary
How Do Research Scientist Rate Their Jobs?
3.0
3.0
I have 2 years of clinical experience. That is what I enjoy about research • May 2019What do you like the most about working as Research Scientist?
Science of observation Show MoreWhat do you NOT like?
Haven't gotten to that point yet! you are looking for a story that has yet left the summary Show MoreTop Research Scientist Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ research scientists and discovered their number of research scientist opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Meta was the best, especially with an average salary of $168,277. Massachusetts Institute of Technology follows up with an average salary of $73,236, and then comes Amazon with an average of $121,257. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a research scientist. The employers include Intel, Sony Electronics, and Charles River Labs
Most Common Employers For Research Scientist
| Rank  | Company  | Average Salary  | Hourly Rate  | Job Openings  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $168,277 | $80.90 | 1,847 |
| 2 | $161,785 | $77.78 | 500 | |
| 3 | Intel | $135,778 | $65.28 | 595 |
| 4 | Amazon | $121,257 | $58.30 | 886 |
| 5 | Battelle | $116,403 | $55.96 | 212 |
| 6 | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | $100,865 | $48.49 | 223 |
| 7 | Bristol-Myers Squibb | $95,292 | $45.81 | 279 |
| 8 | Eli Lilly and Company | $94,678 | $45.52 | 373 |
| 9 | Pearson | $89,629 | $43.09 | 236 |
| 10 | Stanford University | $86,805 | $41.73 | 420 |
Research Scientist Videos
Becoming a Research Scientist FAQs
Do you need a Ph.D. to be a research scientist?
No, you do not need a Ph.D. to be a research scientist. However, it is highly recommended to possess, at a minimum, a bachelor's degree in a closely related field for most positions as a research scientist. Usually, a master's degree or a Ph.D. is preferred.
How long does it take to become a research scientist?
It takes about six to ten years to become a research scientist. Most research scientists have a Ph.D., which takes about four to five years to complete on top of your bachelor's degree, which takes four years to complete.
What degree do you need to become a researcher?
The degree you need to become a researcher is a doctorate in the field you'd like to research. In some cases, a researcher can have just a master's degree and several years of work experience, depending on the industry.
What does a research scientist do daily?
What a research scientist does daily are laboratory-based experiments and trials. You can find research scientists in various fields, including medicine, political science, biology, chemistry, computer science, and environmental science.