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

What is a research assistant lead and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Mary Neuburger

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a research assistant lead. For example, did you know that they make an average of $32.67 an hour? That's $67,946 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 19% and produce 150,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Research Assistant Lead?

Mary Neuburger

Director, Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies, University of Texas at Austin

Network as much as possible, online (LinkedIn or social media) and at events related to Russian studies or policy. These tend to be open to the public at most large er universities and some smaller. Attend, ask good questions, and introduce yourself to people. Make sure you highlight all of the skills you have gained on your CV-include projects in courses, extracurricular activities, study abroad etc.

ScoreResearch Assistant LeadUS Average

Salary

5.3

Avg. Salary $67,946

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

4.5

Growth Rate 19%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.98%

Asian 10.49%

Black or African American 9.48%

Hispanic or Latino 16.77%

Unknown 5.68%

White 56.59%

Gender

female 62.69%

male 37.31%

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 research assistant lead

Explore research assistant lead education requirements

Most common research assistant lead degrees

Bachelor's

61.7 %

Associate

14.9 %

Master's

12.8 %

Start to develop specific research assistant lead skills

Skills	Percentages
DR	50.57%
Data Entry	49.43%

Complete relevant research assistant lead training and internships

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

Research research assistant lead duties and responsibilities

Evaluate patients' study eligibility via medical history, obtain informed consent, enroll patients, and achieve enrollment quotas.
Synthesize and characterize colloidal room-temperature ferromagnetic CoFe2O4 nanoparticles.
Synthesize and characterize colloidal room-temperature ferromagnetic CoFe2O4 nanoparticles.

Apply for research assistant lead jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a research assistant lead job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do research assistant leads rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Research Assistant Lead reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2019

Cons

None

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019