Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

Full Topic List

Regions & Countries

  • Publications
  • Our Methods
  • Short Reads
  • Tools & Resources

Read Our Research On:

As the need for highly trained scientists grows, a look at why people choose these careers

why become a research scientist

What leads people to a career in science?

It’s an important question because the road to a successful career in science – as with technology, engineering and mathematics, the other STEM fields – can be challenging, often requiring a Ph.D. or other postgraduate training. And once in their fields, there can be political and economic pressures with which to contend. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects workforce shortfalls for many science fields, though the projected needs differ across the life, physical and natural sciences.

why become a research scientist

Some 55% of working Ph.D. scientists belonging to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) who we surveyed in 2014 said this was generally a good time for their scientific specialty, while 44% said it was a bad time. And while nearly half (47%) said it was a good or very good time to begin a career in their field, 53% said it was a bad time to start out in their field.

So, what draws people into these careers? Roughly one-third (32%) of working Ph.D. scientists said a main motivator for their career path was a lifelong interest in science and desire for intellectual challenge, according to the 2014 survey . 

Many of these scientists reported an interest and curiosity in science or the natural world starting in early childhood. For some 12% their curiosity was fostered by parents and other family members who brought them in contact with scientists and science labs, nature or science and technology museums. Others (27%) remembered effective mentoring and encouragement from teachers whether in elementary school, graduate school or somewhere in between. And some 17% talked about the importance of lab and field work, often at the high school and college levels, which spurred their interest in a science career.

why become a research scientist

Men and women in this group of working Ph.D. scientists mentioned similar kinds of influences on their career choice. Women were slightly more likely than men to say that lab and internship experiences played a significant part in guiding their career path (23% of women scientists vs. 14% of men scientists). And scientists of all ages tend to cite similar kinds of influences.

Here are some of their stories:

In second grade, I read a scientific explanation of something I experienced every day. That flash of insight stimulated an intense curiosity of how things work. I knew from then on that I would be a scientist. – Molecular biologist, man, age 60

[Meseleson-Stahl]

I found science interesting. Growing up, I had a chemistry set and telescope (later building my own), and because of these, read a lot about chemistry and astronomy. My father took me rock collecting and brought chemicals home for me to analyze. Those experiences led to a degree (BS and MS) in Physics and a Ph.D. and career in Geophysics . – Geophysicist, man, age 65

[vacuum flask]

My interest in science was first piqued as a seven-year-old observing a full moon through the telescope of a friend. A couple of years later, my interest in space and the possibility of space exploration was promoted by the start of the manned launches into space in the early 1960s, and in a written essay in fourth or fifth grade I even expressed interest in science as one of three possible career paths …. – Medical Physicist, man, age 63

My entire childhood was steeped in experiences in the natural world and in scientific observation/experimentation. Both my parents are scientists. One memory that stands out in particular is of a canoe trip to the boundary waters in northern Minnesota when I was about 12, where I saw carnivorous plants in the wild for the first time – beautiful, huge, floating mats of pitcher plants …. – Ecologist, woman, age 35

While many scientists mentioned childhood experiences facilitated by their families, some 6% said science media was particularly influential in their career path. These scientists mentioned a range of media including books such as Microbe Hunters; magazines such as National Geographic and Scientific American; TV programming on PBS and commercial stations such as NOVA, Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye the Science Guy.

One scientist noted:

When I was a child, my exposure through media of what science was and what scientists did influenced my career decisions. My grade school education in science was very poor, which increased the importance of the media exposure. – Biotechnologist, woman, age 54

Scientists’ reflections often touched on multiple themes; some emphasized their curiosity about the world and others emphasized the role of people in their lives who fostered their interests. As one scientist put it: “I love puzzles and to me, science is the ultimate puzzle.”

  • Business & Workplace
  • Higher Education
  • STEM Education & Workforce

Download Cary Funk's photo

Cary Funk is director of science and society research at Pew Research Center .

Download Meg Hefferon's photo

Meg Hefferon is a former research analyst focusing on science and society research at the Pew Research Center .

Is College Worth It?

Half of latinas say hispanic women’s situation has improved in the past decade and expect more gains, a majority of latinas feel pressure to support their families or to succeed at work, a look at small businesses in the u.s., majorities of adults see decline of union membership as bad for the u.s. and working people, most popular.

1615 L St. NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 USA (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax (+1) 202-419-4372 |  Media Inquiries

Research Topics

  • Email Newsletters

ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER  Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of  The Pew Charitable Trusts .

© 2024 Pew Research Center

Girl looking through telescope

We asked 6 scientists what inspired them to pursue a career in science. Here’s what they said

why become a research scientist

Deputy Chief of Staff, The Conversation

why become a research scientist

Science Editor

why become a research scientist

Digital Culture Editor

View all partners

As you read this, scientists the world over are rushing to find out more about the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

Indeed, if there’s anything the pandemic has made clear, it’s that the importance of scientific research can’t be understated in today’s world.

As we embark on a new year, hopefully with more progress on the COVID-19 front, we asked six authors of The Conversation to reflect on what first sparked their interest in science.

Read more: Hit hard by the pandemic, researchers expect its impacts to linger for years

Cathy Foley

Australia’s Chief Scientist

It was my brothers’ high-school textbooks, I kid you not! I loved poring over the Harry Messel textbooks as a 10- or 11-year-old. They were beautifully illustrated, with nature drawings and detailed experiments set out in a visual format. And I’ll never forget the photo of a dissected rat.

Then when I got to years 11 and 12 at school, the six-volume Harvard Project Physics sold me completely. It has a strong historical narrative, which is unusual in a science textbook and really worked for me.

I still have both sets of textbooks on the bookshelf in my home office. But even though I wanted to be a scientist from a young age, I didn’t know it was open to me so I didn’t dare express it. That final step only came in third-year experimental physics, when I discovered new properties of liquid crystals no one had found before. There was no going back.

Frog life cycle illustration

Bronwyn Carlson

Professor of Indigenous Studies and Director of The Centre for Global Indigenous Futures, Macquarie University

In 2008 I made my first Facebook post. I was in the middle of a PhD, conducting interviews with Aboriginal people about their identity and involvement in the Aboriginal community. Several spoke about how they expressed their Aboriginality on Facebook, by sharing images and forming connections.

This piqued my interest; Facebook was still new, having opened to the public just two years prior. I hadn’t considered issues of identity or community in these still-novel digital settings. Back then, people tended to separate life into the offline “real” world and the online “virtual” world – which by implication was not “real”.

I became interested in whether being Aboriginal online attracted the same sort of scrutiny as Aboriginal people regularly experienced offline. It turned out those with Facebook profiles experienced high levels of surveillance around their identity. I guess regardless of being online or offline, being Indigenous can attract violent behaviour from settlers.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology

I have always been curious about the world and universe we live in. As a child I remember catching my poor mum off-guard, at 7.30am mind you, with the questions: “why do we exist?” and “What was there before the universe?”

It was a lot for 8-year-old me to be contemplating. But after watching all the Discovery Channel, National Geographic and History Channel documentaries I could possibly get my hands on, my mind was constantly in awe of such questions.

I genuinely can’t remember a time I haven’t been fascinated with the wonders of life. Learning physics in high school was the pinnacle of me beginning to understand why the universe is the way it is. This passion led me to where I am today – an astrophysicist and data scientist trying to make sense of the universe (and other things) via observations and data analysis.

Russell D.C. Bicknell

Postdoctoral Researcher in Palaeobiology, University of New England

When I was about five years old, my father showed me the fossil of an extinct animal called a trilobite: ancient organisms that lived within even older oceans. They evolved long before the dinosaurs, and had gone extinct just before the first of the giant vertebrates (animals that have a backbone).

In doing so, my father had introduced me to the record of organisms that were no longer alive – and furthermore, that people who studied these animals are called palaeontologists. From this point on, I was motivated to understand more about these extinct groups.

This led me down the road of studying evolution, ultimately resulting in me becoming an evolutionary palaeontologist. Now, rather true to my childhood origins, I regularly study trilobites and am interested in documenting many different aspects of arthropod evolution.

Trilobite fossil

Jenny Graves

Distinguished Professor of Genetics and Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University

I was a scientist for 20 years before I defined myself as “a scientist”. I was many things: harried lecturer, canny grant-seeker, cynical academic, chameleon mother and wife of shire president.

The event that stopped everything, and focused my attention on science, was a near-fatal brain bleed when I was 50 – followed by life-saving neurosurgery and an 18-month recuperation. During my rehabilitation, a kind visitor remarked comfortingly, “Now you have the space to decide what you really want to do with your life!”

I was overwhelmed by the realisation that what I really wanted to do was at the core of what I had been doing for 20 years: science! Just more, and better, with commitment and immersion.

Yvonne Wong

Associate Professor of Physics, University of New South Wales

The American physicist Sidney Coleman once said:

The career of a young theoretical physicist consists of treating the harmonic oscillator in ever-increasing levels of abstraction.

My journey into theoretical physics indeed began with a harmonic oscillator: the pendulum. Specifically, the formula relating the period of a pendulum’s swing ( T ) to its length ( l ) and gravity ( g ), which I found in a textbook at the age of about 15:

T  = 2π√( l / g )

I was always good at maths. I also liked the idea that a set of universal principles governs all natural phenomena. But to see the latter expressed in terms of the former so cleanly was an epiphany.

I spent many hours pondering the 2π and the square root. More obsessions followed, from plucked violin strings to nuclear fission.

But what sealed it in the end was Douglas Giancoli’s textbook Physics: Principles with Applications , which I came across at about age 16. The last two chapters were on “Elementary Particles” and “Astrophysics and Cosmology”. The rest is history.

Read more: There are 10 catastrophic threats facing humans right now, and coronavirus is only one of them

  • women in academia

why become a research scientist

Head of School, School of Arts & Social Sciences, Monash University Malaysia

why become a research scientist

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

why become a research scientist

Clinical Teaching Fellow

why become a research scientist

Data Manager

why become a research scientist

Director, Social Policy

Northeastern University Graduate Programs

How to Become a Research Scientist

How to Become a Research Scientist

Industry Advice Science & Mathematics

Professionals with a background in biotechnology can choose to pursue many lucrative careers . One of the most common choices is to become a research scientist. These individuals work in drug and process development, consistently conducting research and performing experiments to help move the biotechnology industry forward. 

“At the highest level, a research scientist is somebody who can design and execute experiments to prove or disprove a hypothesis,” says Jared Auclair , director of the biotechnology and bioinformatics programs at Northeastern. “Within the world of biotechnology, that can mean a number of different things, from creating new drugs to improving the process of how we make a drug.”

Professionals in this industry are often drawn to the wide array of applications of this work, as well as the consistently positive career outlook. The average salary of a biotechnology research scientist is $85,907 per year, with plenty of opportunities for increased salary potential depending on specializations, location, and years of experience. 

These factors—alongside the growing demand for advancement in biotechnology over the last few decades—have led many aspiring biotechnologists to consider a career in research science. Below we offer five steps professionals can take to kick-start a career in this field.

Download Our Free Guide to Advancing Your Biotechnology Career

Learn how to transform your career in an industry that’s transforming the world.

DOWNLOAD NOW

5 Steps to Become a Research Scientist

1. acquire the necessary technical skills..

According to Auclair, there are four main applications of research science within the biotechnology field:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Process Science
  • Biochemistry
  • Analytical Biotechnology

Professionals hoping to pursue a career in research science must begin by deciding which of these four areas is the best fit for their interests and backgrounds. They must then acquire the specific skill sets they need to excel in that area. 

Below, Auclair breaks down some of the key skills and knowledge required within each of these specializations:

  • Molecular biologists should focus on developing a complex understanding of DNA and learn how to do a Polymerase Chain Reaction alongside other DNA-related experiments. 
  • Process scientists must understand cell biology and how to work with living mammalian cells, as well as how to perform analytical experiments using mass spectrometry and other analytical tools.
  • Biochemists should focus on obtaining the skills necessary to make a protein drug, including the expression and purification of proteins.
  • Analytical biotechnicians must become comfortable with techniques like mass spectrometry—a process that uncovers what drug products are at a molecular level.

One efficient way aspiring research scientists can obtain these specific skill sets is to pursue a master’s degree in biotechnology at a top university like Northeastern. 

“The biotech program is designed in collaboration with industry so that we’re meeting their needs,” Auclair says. “This includes training students with the skills they need to be a successful research scientist.”

The curriculum of Northeastern’s program explores the core competencies required to excel in the general biotechnology field and provides students with the unique subsets of skills they need to specialize in a specific area of research science. Students can even declare one of 10 industry-aligned concentrations, including options that directly relate with these common research science roles.

“Especially in industry, most people who are doing research science—who are actually doing the experiments and helping think about experiments with some of the senior leaders in the company—are people with a master’s degree,” Auclair says.

2. Become a critical thinker.

Alongside honing technical skills, Auclair says that critical thinking abilities are key for aspiring research scientists. 

“It’s important to become a critical thinker and a problem solver, and to challenge yourself wherever you can to step outside of your comfort zone,” Auclair says. 

Though critical thinking is a common requirement among most professional career paths, it is especially important for research scientists, who are constantly tasked with innovating and thinking creatively to solve problems.

Northeastern’s master’s in biotechnology program is designed to help students grow in this regard. “Everything we do within the program is geared [toward] making you a critical thinker and a problem solver,” Auclair says. “We try to define classes and assessments to make you think, [and] we also hire most of the faculty in our program directly from the industry, so they bring with them real-world experience that they can talk about with the students.”

These real-world case studies are a core component of Northeastern’s approach to learning, and they help prepare students to think critically about their work. By bringing this exposure into the classroom, students also graduate better prepared to tackle current industry challenges and adapt to evolving trends .

3. Hone your “power skills.”

It’s no longer enough for research scientists in biotechnology to have obtained the technical skills needed to complete their work. Today, many employers require an array of industry-specific “power skills”—previously known as “soft skills”—among candidates for research science roles.

Below we explore the top three “power skills” for biotechnology research scientists:

  • Communication: As a research scientist, “you must be able to communicate scientific information to both technical and non-technical people,” Auclair says. For this reason, professionals should work to hone their verbal and written communication styles, focusing specifically on the variances in each depending on which audience they’re interacting with.
  • Presentation Ability: Research scientists must be able to present their findings clearly and concisely to a variety of different audiences, ranging from fellow scientists to investors to C-suite executives. Research scientists must be comfortable in front of a group and know how to speak about their experiments and conclusions in an engaging and informative way.
  • Teamwork: Although one might think a research scientist’s work is very siloed, today’s professionals must be very comfortable working with others in a lab environment. They must become comfortable sharing ideas, providing feedback to others in their cohort, and tweaking their experiments based on contributed findings.

Northeastern offers students the chance to explore each of these core “power skills” during their time within the master’s in biotechnology program. For example, the university offers countless opportunities for students to collaborate with and present to classmates, instructors, and even industry-leading organizations through Northeastern’s experiential learning opportunities, giving them the chance to apply these skills in both classroom and real-world situations early on.

Learn More: How to Become a Biotechnologist: Build Your Soft Skills

4. Obtain hands-on experience.

One of the most effective ways an aspiring research scientist can prepare for a career in this field is to obtain experiences working in a real lab. While finding these kinds of opportunities can be difficult for those just breaking into the field, programs like Northeastern’s MS in biotechnology bake hands-on learning directly into the curriculum. 

“Students do essentially four to six months [working in the] industry, and put what they learn in the classroom…into practice,” Auclair says.

These opportunities, known as co-ops , provide students with the chance to work within top organizations in the industry and explore the real-world challenges of the field from inside a functioning lab.

Did You Know: Northeastern’s program provides students with exposure to the tools and equipment used within labs in the industry. This access to cutting-edge technology reduces the learning curve and allows students to dive into their work as soon as they graduate.

Another unique way Northeastern provides hands-on experience is through Experiential Network (XN) Projects . Students who participate in these projects are typically paired with a sponsor from an active biotech company that has a real-world problem they need to solve. Then, “under the guidance of a faculty member, students spend the semester trying to come up with solutions to that problem,” Auclair says. “It’s all student-driven.”

Hands-on learning opportunities like these give students a competitive advantage when it comes to applying for jobs. “The experiential learning piece [of our program] is what has our students actually stand out above others in the field,” Auclair says, because employers like to see that their candidates are capable of applying their skills in a real-world environment. 

5. Grow your network.

Research shows that 85 percent of all jobs today are filled through networking, making it more important than ever for professionals across industries to invest time and energy into building these vital relationships.

Professionals hoping to establish a career as a research scientist are no exception. These individuals should aim to develop connections with organizations and individuals within the greater biotech industry early on in their careers, and use those relationships to help carve their path forward.

Northeastern’s master’s in biotechnology program has strategically created many great opportunities for students to network throughout their time in the program. They are encouraged to build relationships with their classmates, guest speakers, faculty, and even the industry leaders they meet through co-ops and XN projects. As a result, they establish various impactful connections with individuals at different stages in their careers, all before they graduate.

Learn More: Networking Tips for Scientists

Another way Northeastern’s program supports networking is through opportunities for student/faculty collaboration. “We encourage our students to interact with our own faculty who are research scientists as much as possible, whether that’s volunteering in their lab or finding a half an hour to talk to them about what they’re doing,” Auclair says. “We want our students to be exposed to as many research scientists as possible while they’re in the program.”

Take the Next Step

Pursuing a master’s degree in biotechnology from a top university like Northeastern is a great way for aspiring research scientists to break into the field. Students in these programs can hone related skill sets, grow their professional networks, and experience hands-on learning, all while pursuing graduate-level education. 

Learn more about how a master’s in biotechnology can set you up for success as a research scientist on our program page , then get in touch with our enrollment coaches who can help you take the first step.

Download Our Free Guide to Advancing Your Career in the Biotechnology Industry“ width=

Subscribe below to receive future content from the Graduate Programs Blog.

About shayna joubert, related articles.

Compliance Specialists: Who They Are and What They Earn

Compliance Specialists: Who They Are and What They Earn

Science or science fiction the future of personalized medicine.

In-Demand Biotechnology Careers Shaping Our Future

In-Demand Biotechnology Careers Shaping Our Future

Did you know.

The average U.S. bioscience worker earned nearly $99,000 in 2016, 85% greater than the average for the overall private sector. (BIO, 2018)

Master of Science in Biotechnology

An innovative degree for a dynamic industry.

Most Popular:

Tips for taking online classes: 8 strategies for success, public health careers: what can you do with an mph, 7 international business careers that are in high demand, edd vs. phd in education: what’s the difference, 7 must-have skills for data analysts, the benefits of online learning: 8 advantages of online degrees, how to write a statement of purpose for graduate school, the best of our graduate blog—right to your inbox.

Stay up to date on our latest posts and university events. Plus receive relevant career tips and grad school advice.

By providing us with your email, you agree to the terms of our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Keep Reading:

why become a research scientist

5 Homeland Security Careers for the Future

why become a research scientist

The Top 3 Job Requirements For a Homeland Security Career

why become a research scientist

What Are Security Studies?

why become a research scientist

Should I Go To Grad School: 4 Questions to Consider

  • Skip to main menu
  • Skip to user menu

How To Become A Scientist: A New Scientist Careers Guide

  • Finding a job
  • Career guides

What does a scientist do?

What does a scientist do?

Scientists are, by definition, individuals who study and gain expertise in one of the natural sciences: biology , chemistry , physics , astronomy and earth sciences . Each of these five main natural sciences has its own subdivisions, and the scope of work will vary for each subdivision. 

As a scientist, you will study and research a topic within one of these fields, often in great detail. Research scientists are essentially experts in specific topics within their fields.

However, even though there are many different types of scientists, the responsibilities of all research scientists are very similar.

Most scientists will need to propose their own research and gain funding for it from relevant organisations. As a scientist, you will therefore need to write up research proposals and funding applications. 

Once you start your research, you may conduct it in a lab, out in the field, or in a specialised facility, depending on the research topic. When you obtain results, you will then need to analyse them and present them to other scientists, as well as write up research papers to publish in journals or books. 

Being a scientist can be a very gratifying job, as you will often help in the development of new products. For instance, you might develop new tests as a biomedical scientist , advance technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) or work with machine learning as a computer scientist, or produce new medical guidelines as a clinical scientist .

You will also support scientists and workers in other disciplines. For example, as a data scientist you will analyse large sets of data to produce insights into datasets that may then be used in further scientific research.

How to become a scientist

Becoming a scientist requires a lot of studying and researching. Y ou wi ll need to complete an undergraduate degree in the field you woul d like to work in. F or example, if you woul d like to become a forensic scientist you should study forensic science or a related subject such as criminology. 

To obtain an undergraduate degree in a specific science, you will often need to have A levels or equivalent in particular subjects. For example, if you want to apply for a degree in biology, you will need A level biology. 

However, if you only decide what you would like to do after your secondary education, some universities offer foundation year degrees, aimed at those who don’t have a relevant A level or equivalent qualification.

After completing a bachelor’s degree, many aspiring scientists choose to do a master’s degree, and many scientists eventually also obtain a doctorate, but how common this is depends on the field.

It is important to gain some hands-on experience during your studies to become a scientist, regardless of the speciality you choose. This is because in addition to knowledge and qualifications, scientists also need to develop skills such as problem-solving, effective communication and teamwork.

Some industries, such as data science or computer science , offer postgraduate job posts for people straight out of university. These are often designed as training posts, where you will complete a training programme rotating between different teams in the company before becoming a permanent employee.

Additionally, some companies offer their employees the opportunity to undertake a fully- or partially-funded masters or even a PhD while working.  

How long does it take to become a scientist?

The exact duration of training depends on the field of study you choose. However, for most scientist jobs , it will take at least three to four years to complete the required undergraduate degree. 

It is common to then take a year to complete a master’s degree, and many scientists also undertake a PhD which can last around three to five years.

So, depending on the route you choose, you could spend between three and 10 years in education. But, for example, if you do a PhD, you will be working independently as a research scientist during that time, and will be paid for your research.  

A day in the life of a scientist

Different scientists will spend their days in different work environments and may carry out a variety of different specific tasks. Nevertheless, the broad responsibilities are often similar for many scientists across different fields of study.

For example, most research scientists will need to do tasks like proposing projects, designing and carrying out experiments in a lab or out in the field, and writing up and presenting the findings.

Other types of scientists, like engineers or computer scientists, will also need to propose projects, but they will focus less on data collection and interpretation, and more on developing new technology .  

Scientist: Career options

S cientist s work around 40 hours a week. Depending on which field they work in and what kind of role they take on , they may need to work some evenings, weekends or bank holidays, and some might even work unsocial hours. For example, research scientists will often need to spend weekends doing administrative work , forensic scientists may be called out on weekends or during the night, and computer scientists may need to work out of hours to finish projects on time.

There are many directions your science career can take. These narrow down as you choose your scientific field and subspeciality.

For example, if you know you want to study life sciences, or more specifically be a scientist in a biology-related field, you could become anything from a molecular biologist , a zoologist or a wildlife biologist to a climate change scientist.

Similarly, if you would like to study physics or maths, you might become an astrophysicist, an applied mathematician , a statistician or even an engineer.

Within most academic-oriented science careers, the natural career progression is from academic research scientist to senior research fellow, and eventually professor. This progression will require an increasing level of independence and you will need to publish original research and lead research teams to become a professor. 

As a scientist, you may also work in a more industrial setting. For example, pharmacologists often work in large pharmaceutical companies, where they help to design and research new medication, or produce already established pharmaceuticals .

Other fields, such as physics, computer science or even medical science, may have less of a research focus as you progress, and more of an applied component. For instance, as a geneticist you might progress from researching molecular genetics to a career in medical genetics and advising on genetic conditions. 

Or, as a computer scientist, you might take on managerial roles as you become more senior and lead a team of junior computer scientists to develop new software or systems.

In summary, a career in science is broad and offers many opportunities, whichever field you choose.  

How much does a scientist earn in the UK and the US?

As a research scientist in the UK, you might earn between £17,688 and £43,000 depending on your level of expertise. However, this will vary between different scientific fields. 

In the US, the salary range for a scientist is large, starting from around $50,700 to $132,100 for the best paid roles. This will, as in the UK, vary depending on your expertise, specialisation and workplace.  

References:

  • National Careers Service. Research Scientist. Available from: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/research-scientist 
  • Get Educated. How to become a scientist. Available from: https://www.geteducated.com/careers/how-to-become-a-scientist/#/ 
  • Career explorer. Comprehensive list of science related careers and degrees. Available from: https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/scientist/#comprehensive-list-of-science-related-careers-and-degrees 
  • Careers Wales. Scientist: How to become. Available from: https://careerswales.gov.wales/job-information/scientist/how-to-become 
  • Career explorer. Scientist salary. Available from: https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/scientist/salary/

Share this article

Related articles

why become a research scientist

What Does A Global Head of R&D Do?

why become a research scientist

How to become a biomedical engineer  - A New Scientist Careers Guide

why become a research scientist

What jobs can you get with a biomedical science degree - A New Scientist Careers Guide

Latest articles.

Job Seekers

Business Solutions

  • Contractors

Meet the team

Refer A Friend

What does a research scientist do and how do I become one?

Share Our Blog

What does a research scientist do and how do I become one?

As a research scientist, you’ll plan and conduct experiments to help expand the canon of scientific knowledge. With limitless opportunities for discovery across a range of high-growth sectors and industries, being a research scientist is one of the most exciting career paths in STEM. 

What does a research scientist do, exactly.

The purpose of a research scientist role is to conduct lab-based trials and experiments.

Work is often divided between pure research, which advances our understanding of basic processes, and applied research, which uses the information gathered to meet targets such as creating new products, processes, or commercial applications.

Of course, your targets will depend on the specialism of your employer. Research scientists work across a variety of different fields, including biology, chemistry, medicine, computer science, environmental science, and even political science.

Responsibilities

Typical day-to-day responsibilities of a research scientist include:

  • Creating research proposals
  • Planning and conducting experiments
  • Collecting samples
  • Monitoring experiments
  • Recording and analysing data
  • Collaborating with other researchers and academia to develop new techniques and products
  • Supervising junior staff
  • Carrying out fieldwork and monitoring environmental factors
  • Researching and writing published papers
  • Staying up-to-date with the latest scientific developments

Work environment

As a research scientist, you’ll spend most of your week in a laboratory. These environments can vary depending on your specialism. For example, biology labs are designed to safely house and contain living specimens, while psychology labs may simply consist of a bank of computers.

Aside from lab work, certain aspects of your role (including writing up results or research papers) will be undertaken in an office environment. You may also be required to visit the labs or offices of other researchers or companies, especially if you are collaborating on the same project.

Working hours

Research scientists typically work 35 to 40 hours a week on a 9-to-5, full-time basis. On occasion, you may be required to work overtime or visit the laboratory on weekends to complete certain tasks. That said, most organisations offer flexible working arrangements. 

What skills are needed to be a research scientist?

Though research scientists come in all personality types, you’ll need to have an academic mindset and be naturally inquisitive. Research scientist skills include:

  • A methodical approach to gathering and analysing data
  • Meticulous attention to detail
  • Critical thinking
  • Advanced research skills
  • Time management
  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills
  • The ability to work independently
  • A collaborative mindset
  • Stakeholder management
  • Patience and tenacity

How to become a research scientist

As a minimum requirement, you’ll need to obtain a 2:1 bachelor’s degree or higher in a relevant field of science. Most research scientists also have a postgraduate qualification, such as an MSc, an MSci or MBiol. Relevant qualifications include:

  • Biochemistry
  • Biomedical science
  • Environmental science
  • Microbiology
  • Natural science
  • Pharmacology

While a PhD isn’t necessarily required, some employers prefer candidates that either have or are working towards a doctorate. Demonstrable experience of working in a laboratory environment will also improve your employment chances.

Tip: If you’re currently studying or have already attained a relevant degree, try to gain research experience in a lab environment. The best place to start is by expressing your interest to your university department, who may have some voluntary positions available. Alternatively, sending your CV/resume to hospitals and STEM companies will also increase your chances of gaining that vital experience.

How much do research scientists earn?

Like many roles in science, salaries for research scientists depend on your level of experience, your specialism, the employer, and, to a lesser extent, the location. It’s also worth bearing in mind that private-sector salaries tend to be higher than those in the public sector or academia.

In the UK, research scientist salaries range from £20,000 at the entry-level to over £70,000 for university professor senior research fellow roles. The average research scientist salary is £32,330. Most research assistants earn between £26,000 and £35,000.

According to Indeed, the average salary for a research scientist in the US is $111,444.

Please note that income figures are subject to economic conditions and are only intended as a guide.

Is research scientist a good career?

With science constantly opening up exciting new avenues of research, working as a research scientist provides secure employment and gives you the chance to make a real difference within STEM.

Indeed, the outlook for the role is positive: in the US alone, the vocation is expected to grow by 8% and produce over 10,000 job opportunities across the country by 2028 (Zippia). As one of the least likely jobs to be automated in the coming years, the role also offers stability in these turbulent times. 

Offering a strong earning potential and the opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research in a range of industries and locations, research scientist represents one of the most fulfilling career paths around.

Latest News, Events & Insights

Pay for life science workers rises fastest in the UK but still lags behind North America and Europe

Pay for life science workers rises fastest in the UK but still lags behind North America and Europe

A new report by SRG and New Scientist Jobs reveals that UK life sciences salaries have risen rapidly but still lag behind North America and Europe. The report highlights key trends in job mobility, remote work preferences and workforce diversity.

HeadFirst Group and Impellam Group join forces

HeadFirst Group and Impellam Group join forces

HEADFIRST GROUP AND IMPELLAM GROUP JOIN FORCES TO BECOME A GLOBAL LEADER IN STEM, DIGITAL AND IT TALENT, MANAGED SERVICES AND HR TECH

How to develop a successful employer branding strategy to attract and retain top talent

How to develop a successful employer branding strategy to attract and retain top talent

In this guide, we’ll show you how to build an employer branding strategy that’s aligned with wider business needs and geared towards achieving your recruitment goals.

4 Famous LGBTQ+ Scientists Who Are Changing the World Today

4 Famous LGBTQ+ Scientists Who Are Changing the World Today

Want to know which LGBTQ+ scientists are pioneering the future of STEM? In this blog, SRG celebrate famous LGBTQ+ scientists from across the STEM industry, read more...

How to Upskill Digital at Pace in STEM

How to Upskill Digital at Pace in STEM

Learn how to upskill digital with actionable solutions to keep your workforce ahead of the curve and your talent pipeline evergreen.

International Women's Day : Meet the female STEM leaders who are forging tomorrow’s world

International Women's Day : Meet the female STEM leaders who are forging tomorrow’s world

Happy International Women’s Day. We are dedicating this blog post to some of the brilliant women who are making a difference across our sectors.

MedTech Trends : What Does the Future Hold?

MedTech Trends : What Does the Future Hold?

Find out how the latest medtech industry trends are continuing to influence, and forge the future of the industry.

Trends in Biopharma: How and Why the Industry is Changing

Trends in Biopharma: How and Why the Industry is Changing

As demand for medicine continues to rise, we explore wider biopharma trends set to help the industry evolve to meet the future of drug discovery.

Want to Know More?

Subscribe to our newsletter.

Stay up to date with SRG

Latest Salary Survey

SRG are industry leaders and work with 3rd party vendors for market intelligence

Get in Touch

[email protected]

For Job Seekers

  • Contract Recruitment
  • Direct Hire
  • Executive Search
  • Project-Based Recruitment/Statement of Work
  • Recruitment Process Outsourcing and Permanent Workforce Solutions
  • Managed Service Provider & Contingent Workforce Solutions
  • Meet the Team
  • News & Insights
  • Guides & Reports
  • Podcasts & Webinars
  • Career Advice
  • Case Studies
  • Whistleblowing policy
  • Accessibility
  • Carbon Reduction Plan
  • ED&I statement
  • Gender Pay Gap Report
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Modern Slavery Statement
  • Terms and conditions
  • Complaints Procedure

© 2024 SRG.

  • Gender pay gap report

why become a research scientist

Logo for University of Southern Queensland

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

9 Your Life and Career as a Scientist

So far, you learned ‘how to do science’. But what now? Being a scientist means that science will be a part of your life for years to come.

The way a scientist thinks and behaves informs how they carry out scientific tasks. Alongside developing your scientific knowledge and skills throughout your science degree, you will be given the opportunity to develop the personal and professional responsibility that will guide you throughout your life – professionally and personally.

This chapter explains what it means to be a scientist, which is more than just ‘doing science’. You’ll also learn about careers options, and how to use your skills once you enter the workforce.

A group of science academics, science students, employment groups and professional societies.  identified three things that a science graduate should know and be able to do regarding accountability for their own learning and scientific work by the time they graduate (Yucel, 2013). This includes:

  • Being independent and self-directed learners
  • Working effectively, responsibly and safely as an individual or a team
  • Demonstrating knowledge of the guidelines and laws relevant to their disciplinary areas, and personally practising ethical conduct

9.1 Being independent and self-directed learners

Triangular diagram with self-motivator, self-manager and self-appraisers

Employers of science graduates often try to find candidates with a variety of skills such as having the ability to make decisions, being project management-minded, being resourceful and having good problem-solving abilities (Yucel, 2013).

In the workforce, science graduates often find themselves in an environment that has little direction from management, and they may need to develop or adapt new skills and understandings. Therefore, as a student scientist, learn to take responsibility for your success during your studies, so you will be prepared to continue doing so after you graduate.

To succeed in your chosen career, you will need to develop autonomy as a learner and be able to judge your own performance – Figure 9.1  shows the characteristics you will need to become an independent and self-directed learner.

Cognitive skills you need to be a good scientist

To be able to think like a scientist and conduct all of the tasks required of a scientist, you need to develop the cognitive skills lying along a continuum – from simple to complex – as shown in Bloom’s taxonomy of learning ( Figure 9.2).

Diagram of bloom's taxonomy with create at the top and remember at the bottom

Capabilities and attributes required to be a scientist

Capabilities and attributes are skills that you can demonstrate and are highly valued by employers.

Most universities have a set of skills that are referred to as ‘graduate capabilities’ and these are usually focused around similar skillsets. Sometimes graduate capabilities are referred to as ‘generic skills’ or ‘transferable skills’ – but most of all they can be thought of as ‘interdisciplinary skills’ that are important in science as well as a range of other disciplines.

Interdisciplinary skills are the foundation skills that graduates will use in their everyday work to communicate effectively, professionally, ethically, and with understanding for the diversity of the population in all occupations and disciplines (La Trobe University, 2016).

9.2 Working effectively, responsibly and safely as an individual or a team

Scientists will work both independently and in teams, and will practise working in both contexts during their undergraduate degree – see below (Whatley, 2009).

As a student scientist, it is essential that you adopt a professional approach to your scientific learning and work because this will ultimately help you to make important contributions to science and society.

Ways in which you can adopt a professional approach include:

  • demonstrate the use of appropriate techniques and equipment in projects
  • be organised, on time and respectful to colleagues
  • demonstrate an awareness of relevant issues such as environmental, safety, community or political issues
  • seek a range of information to develop and strengthen projects that you are part of
  • interact with appropriate specialists to achieve agreed outcomes and develop broader knowledge
  • adapt positively to change and take initiative
  • complete tasks in a safe, competent and timely manner
  • demonstrate professional ethics

A group of scientists

Student scientists should conduct scientific enquiry in a manner that falls within the codes of practice for workplace health and safety. This includes considering the following when relevant:

  • basic workplace health and safety
  • biological safety
  • chemical safety
  • electrical safety
  • laboratory equipment safety
  • personal protective equipment
  • radiation and laser safety

Team context

All scientists work in teams, and student scientists will get to practise their team work skills during their undergraduate degree. Some features of successful teams are shown in Figure 9.4.

Diagram of what makes a team - including mission, leadership and established roles

Teams are formed when people come together to work towards a common goal

Read about how you can be an effective and efficient team member in this Good Practice Guide [PDF].

Team projects

There are several things you should consider when starting a team project:

  • Get to know the rest of your team. Think of your team as puzzle pieces that can be placed together in a variety of ways (Llopis, 2012) .
  • Establish team work agreements. Newly established teams should consider completing a team work agreement. It has been shown that team cohesion, trust, and awareness of members’ obligations, expectations of others and working relationships are improved when teams establish ground rules at the beginning of a project (Whatley, 2009).
  • Create team goals. Decide on the big-picture goals of the team and record these (perhaps in your team agreement).
  • Create task lists, and clearly define roles and responsibilities. A team should operate as a mosaic whose unique strengths and differences convert into a powerful united force (Llopis, 2012). Create a detailed task list and a time line for completion of these tasks.
  • Decide on a team communication process. This includes the preferred method, frequency and nature of team communication, and ensure relevant contact details are shared. Consider making use of tools that let you communicate and collaborate with your team mates online. For example, use Zoom software for online video meetings when you can’t meet in person. Office365 and Google software allow multiple people to work together on one document, spreadsheet or presentation.
  • Establish proper team dynamics. Decide on acceptable and unacceptable team dynamics, and record how unacceptable team dynamics will be dealt with should they arise (perhaps in your team agreement).

Box 9.1: Effective ways to communicate with your team

Here some effective ways to communicate with your team – compiled from past student scientists.

  • Share phone numbers and email addresses
  • Reply to team members in a timely fashion
  • Arrive at team meetings and class on time
  • Use social media to communicate
  • Complete necessary and appropriate prereading
  • Set small, achievable deadlines frequently
  • Have a team brief at the beginning of team sessions
  • Use time wisely

9.3 Guidelines, laws and ethical conduct

High-quality science graduates have an understanding of their social, cultural and environmental responsibilities as they study the natural world.

As a student scientist, you should do your best to behave ethically throughout your undergraduate study, to prepare you to become an ethical professional. Examples of ethical conduct in action include:

  • accurate data recording and storage
  • proper referencing and avoiding plagiarism
  • intellectual integrity
  • safely disposing of biological and chemical waste
  • knowledge and application of the principles of animal ethics and/or human ethics.

Being an ethical scientist is more than just doing the right thing. It requires scientists to act in the right spirit, out of respect and concern for one’s fellow creatures (National Health and Medical Research Council et al., 2015).

How to be an ethical scientist – personal responsibility

Scientists and philosophers have spent their lives considering the aims of science and how scientific research should be conducted. Haque et al. summarised the most important principles displayed by an ethical scientist (Hasque et al., 2022).

How to be an ethical scientist – guidelines and laws

In many cases, the government may be involved in establishing guidelines or laws for safe and ethical behaviour.

Guidelines are sets of non-mandatory rules, principles or recommendations for procedures or practices in a particular field. Laws are rules that regulate the actions of people and may be enforced by applying penalties.

There are guidelines and laws relevant to scientists that cover experimentation and data collection, quality control procedures and appropriate safety procedures. There are also instances when you might need to obtain a government permit for a certain type of activity or research. For example, scientists and student scientists need to perform scientific work in accordance with the Workplace Health and Safety Act 2011 . This act provides a balanced and nationally consistent structure to help protect workers, including science students, against harm to their health, safety and welfare by eliminating or minimising work-related risks.

Human research

Scientists and science students involved in human research studies need to respect human research participants. They also need to comply with ethical principles of integrity, respect for persons, justice and goodness, as elaborated in the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research .

The statement is a series of guidelines developed by the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Research Council and Universities Australia. These guidelines were developed to promote ethically good human research, protect participants and foster research that will benefit the community.

Unfortunately, history shows us that human research participants have not always been treated with respect. Some research studies have been done in the past that humanity should not be proud of.

Video 9.1: The worst Nobel Prize ever awarded [9 mins, 26 secs]

Note: Closed captions are available by clicking on the CC button below.

Take a look at this comprehensive research ethics timeline from 1932 to the present.

Case study 9.1: Ethics of stem cell research

Most of us have heard of stem cell research, but what exactly is it?

Stem cell research involves using embryonic stem cells or adult stem cells to learn more about human health and disease. Embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos and are highly versatile –they can give rise to any type of cell in the fully developed body. Adult stem cells are more limited, because they can only give rise to certain cells types.

Australian scientists have been at the cutting edge of stem cell research since the discovery of the human embryonic stem cell line in the late 1990s. Despite the overwhelming potential of this research to progress human health, some individuals are highly opposed to the use of embryonic stem cells because of the associated ethical issues.

There has been much debate around the ethical issues associated with stem cell research. The following videos show both US President Bush’s and Obama’s view of this research.

As you will see, world leaders don’t always agree on the ethical issues surrounding modern day scientific research:

  • George W Bush on Stem Cell Research
  • President Obama on Stem Cell Research

Animal research

To learn more about human health and disease, many scientists use animal models. When doing so, the welfare of the animals must be respected.

The Australian Code of Practice for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes 8th edition (2013) provides principles for the guidance of teachers, investigators, and all people involved in the care and use of animals for scientific purposes. It provides guidelines for the humane conduct of scientific and teaching activities, and for accessing animals.

The code of practice states that animals should only be used for scientific purposes when the study:

  • has scientific or educational merit
  • aims to benefit humans, animals or the environment
  • is conducted with integrity.

In addition, the number of animals used should be minimised, the wellbeing of the animals must be supported, and harm (including pain and distress) in the animals must be avoided or minimised.

Nevertheless, the community still debates as to whether animals should be used to progress science. The following videos present both sides of this debate:

  • Animal Research Laboratory
  • Animal Testing Ethics
  • Taboos of Science

9.4 Careers for science graduates

The great physicist Edwin Hubble, speaking at Caltech’s commencement in 1938, said a scientist has ‘a healthy skepticism, suspended judgement, and disciplined imagination’ – not only about other people’s ideas but also about his or her own. The scientist has an experimental mind, not a litigious one (Gawande, 2016). ​​

Student scientists don’t necessarily go on to a career as a laboratory-based scientist. They do, however, take their scientific literacy and skills to whatever profession they enter. Trained scientists are valuable additions to teams and companies from a range of disciplines and fields.

Australia’s former Chief Scientist Professor Ian Chubb and his office prepared a report on the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates in Australia’s future, which stated:

An education in STEM … fosters a range of generic and quantitative skills and ways of thinking that enable individuals to see and grasp opportunities. These capabilities – including deep knowledge of a subject, creativity, problem solving, critical thinking and communication skills – are relevant to an increasingly wide range of occupations. They will be part of the foundation of adaptive and nimble workplaces of the future (Office of the Chief Scientist, 2014, p. 7)

Throughout your undergraduate degree, you will develop a range of practical skills that will be useful in whatever professional roles you take on in the future, including:

  • How to work in a laboratory
  • How to reference
  • How to do statistical analyses
  • How to search databases
  • How to talk and write about science and other topics
  • How to work as part of a team
  • How to present data in, for example, graphs or tables

The United Kingdom’s Science Council has identified 10 types of scientists working today (Science Council, 2016). This list highlights the fact that not all scientists end up working in laboratories – in fact, there are a wide variety of jobs that need the knowledge and skills developed during a science degree, as discussed earlier in this chapter.

Click the drop down below to review the terms learned from this chapter.

Copyright note:  Content from the following source is reproduced with permission from the copyright holder and is excluded from the Creative Commons Licence of this work. No further reproduction of this quotation is permitted without prior permission from the copyright holder.

  • Whatley, J 2009, ‘Ground rules in team projects: Findings from a prototype system to support students’, Journal of Information Technology Education, 8, 161–176.

Additionally content from:

  • Haque et al. (2022). A Commentary on the Importance of Ethics in Scientific Research . eScience is used under a CC-BY licence.
  • Office of the Chief Scientist. (2014). Science, technology, engineering and mathematics: Australia’s future is used under a CC-BY licence.

Bloom, B.S. (1984). Taxonomy of educational objectives book 1: Cognitive domain (2nd ed.). Addison-Wesley Longman Ltd.

​Gawande, A. (2016, June 10). The mistrust of science. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-mistrust-of-science

Hasque, M., Parvin, M., Akhter, F., & Safin, M. (2022). A commentary on the importance of ethics in scientific research. Journal of Agriculture and Aquaculture, 4 (1). https://escientificpublishers.com/importance-of-ethics-in-scientific-research-JAA-04-0037 .

La Trobe University. (2016). La Trobe essentials: Sustainability thinking. Retrieved August 12, 2016, from https://web.archive.org/web/20160801205113/www.latrobe.edu.au/essentials/sustainability-thinking

Llopis, G. (2012, October). 6 ways successful teams are built to last. Forbes. www.forbes.com/sites/ glennllopis/2012/10/01/6-ways-successfulteams-are-built-to-last/

National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council, & Australian Vice Chancellors’ Committee. (2015). National statement on ethical conduct in human research 2007, updated May 2015 (NHMRC Publication reference E72). National Health and Medical Research Council. https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/reports/national-statement-2015-e72.pdf

Office of the Chief Scientist. (2014). Science, technology, engineering and mathematics: Australia’s future. Australian Government. https://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/sites/default/files/STEM_AustraliasFuture_Sept2014_Web.pdf

Science Council. (2016). 10 types of scientist. Retrieved July 1, 2016, from http://sciencecouncil.org/about-us/10-types-of-scientist/

Whatley, J. (2009). Ground rules in team projects: Findings from a prototype system to support students. Journal of Information Technology Education, 8 , 161-176. https://doi.org/10.28945/165

Yucel, R. (2013). Good practice guide (Science): Threshold learning outcome 1 Understanding science. Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching. https://www.acds.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/Science-Good-Practice-Guide-2013-TLO1.pdf

How To Do Science Copyright © 2022 by University of Southern Queensland is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

The BMJ logo

Being a researcher: inspiration & curiosity to providing solutions

By Mohamed Boudjelal

The factors marking the similarities between a scientist, sportsperson and a politician are their ability to produce results, cut to the chase, lead and follow what inspired them the most. The characteristic that distinguishes the scientist from the rest, is the eagerness to discover how a certain phenomenon came about, and what is its purpose. The scientist aims to implement the gained knowledge to benefit humankind, living organisms and the universe in health, wealth, culture and sustainability. To reach this end, a scientist needs to acquire and possess certain qualities, skills and behavior regardless of his/her discipline. Based on my own experience working with successful scientists in the USA, Europe and Middle East, this short article summarizes what these qualities are.

1-        Working by inspiration not by the hours

The modern life has organized the human daily living ritual in such that most of us work very defined hours ranging from 32-40 hours a week. However, those who have left their marks in the history books, worked well beyond this schedule whether they were scientists, artists, sportspersons, politicians, writers and the like. They all shared one common quality: working by inspiration and not by the hours.  When working at or simply visiting research institutions around the world such as Harvard, MIT, MaxPlank, Karolinska, Imperial college, Welcome trust, SGC in UK and many others, one commonality that attracts your attention is this work ethic. Whether you show up during the day, the night, weekdays, weekends and holidays, there’s someone always there working to make their vision a reality. Adding to this is that there’s a noticeable level of satisfaction and enjoyment derived from such passion. The aspect that drives this motivation to work in the odd hours, is the discovery they are chasing. They get immersed in what they are doing and when a discovery is made, they don’t hesitate to call for a meeting at that exact moment whether it’s the night or a holiday to discuss it. True scientists simply enjoy working on something unique and undiscovered to make a difference in life. This does not mean, scientists do not have life beyond the lab walls. They share moments with their families and close friends. They strive to see their discoveries translated into practical changes in human development. In that regard, becoming a truly inspirational scientist, is to ignore the hours and work with inspiration. This lets you fall in love with your job, derive satisfaction and reward of what you are doing.

2-        Eagerness to be the first to know and discover

Curiosity is an intrinsic human feature; without it our life conditions would not develop and improve. It drives every person to work on the unknown, the hidden and undiscovered. The scientist uses the quality of curiosity to ask crucial questions; how a phenomenon came about and what is the benefit for mankind and how to replicate it for human use. They become satisfied when something new is discovered and no one has described it. This is in the same sense to when an athlete breaks a world record, or a politician when solving a complicated matter to stop a war. It is this unique point of being the first to the finish line that self-motivates scientists to keep going in comparison to other industries that rely on following patterns in the markets or repeating already known knowledge. It is the key characteristic the scientist must have and develop to become a true researcher who will be able discover and develop projects that impact lives positively.

3 – Thinkers out of the box

Dreaming is essential not only to human psychology, but also to humanity’s development. It can range from insignificant fragments of imagination, to concepts which alter the course of history. From a scientific perspective, such dreams often result from a drive, whether it is to understand how disease develops, or how to cure it. As scientists we have always dreamed, even speculative ideas, if at all feasible, must be explored. For example, the idea of one day having the ability to manufacture an organ in vitro to then be transplanted; or the concept of in vitro fertilization and birthing a child without a father, or even conquering space. All these aspects were no more than an impossibility for centuries, but through scientific curiosity, and abstract thinking, these dreams are now reality. Scientists must have the ability to imagine solutions beyond what is available. To enable such creativity and imagination, a scientist must keep updated on their specialty, and expose themselves to diverse thinking approaches by travelling and working worldwide. In this line, many of us have been educated in the West, and hence our way of thinking, tactic and approach to solve a scientific question is very similar. On the other hand, scientists and researchers from the East and Middle East, see through a different lens and approach problems from a different perspective. Having experience working with scientists from different cultures would challenge our methods of working and enforce new skills, providing new solutions to discover new matters. Moreover, especially in the age of information, we can easily translate non-English works to any language enabling us to further expose ourselves to other ways of thinking. Imagination and dreams are a key success of scientists, without it, we will not discover and develop new things.

4 –   Storyteller of real-life events, all are data based

Like writers and politicians, scientists tell stories based on facts and data. Unfortunately, on many occasions, the data obtained is often from experimental work, which may be surprising in such it is to the opposite of what was theorised. In such cases, most conclude that the data is negative and repeat experiments must be arranged. In other words, we avoid going deeper into those so-called negative data to understand the root cause; in reality, many times it is down to either having made a mistake in our experimental work or the data is pointing to different discovery. In this regard, no data can be deemed negative and as scientist we must ensure that what is obtained, either positive or negative, is reproducible, can be repeated, and then try to understand the message through it.

In most cases when we test a newly developed drug, it fails to show any efficacy in humans and we stop any further testing. We conclude that that drug does not work, while in vitro and even within animals it regularly produces the desired results. We halt at this stage and move on to other drugs to test.

As a scientific community, we did not come up with an approach to overcome this challenge as it is already very costly to bring a drug up to this point of testing. The negative data in this case is telling us that the disease we want to cure is different physiologically than we originally thought. One of the most important things a scientist never does, is to create or manipulate data that experiments never produce, otherwise called data fabrication to support the wanted conclusion. It is acceptable to not publish all generated data especially those that cannot yet be explained, but a true and trusted scientist never introduces data to the scientific community without guaranteeing its reproduction.  In sum a scientist must be a non-biased storyteller, based on real and reproducible data to keep their integrity and reputation.

5- Driven by the positive contribution to the whole humanity

Scientists are driven by humanity’s big picture in such that they want to contribute positively for the wellbeing of humankind and the universe. The hard work, ingenuity, curiosity and imagination must translate into the scientist’s self-satisfaction such as the discovery of chemotherapy, insulin, antibiotics, stem cells etc. Nowadays the tools available for us to try answering deeper questions and challenges are attracting the brilliant to consider science. All the impactful technology, processes and understanding began through individual discoveries in the laboratory with its application only starting after. A scientist’s role within society can often be underappreciated, but without them, humanity cannot challenge themselves to progress.

Through these 5 pillars, a scientist can achieve a professional satisfaction with a balanced family life and above all being a positive contributor to human kind and universe.

why become a research scientist

Analysis and discussion of research | Updates on the latest issues | Open debate

All BMJ blog posts are published under a CC-BY-NC licence

BMJ Journals

Terms and Conditions Cookie Settings

How to Become a Research Scientist

Learn what it takes to become a Research Scientist in 2024, and how to start your journey.

  • What is a Research Scientist
  • How to Become
  • Certifications
  • Tools & Software
  • LinkedIn Guide
  • Interview Questions
  • Work-Life Balance
  • Professional Goals
  • Resume Examples
  • Cover Letter Examples

Land a Research Scientist role with Teal

How do I become a Research Scientist?

Gain a strong educational foundation, develop essential research skills, gain practical laboratory experience, build your professional network, create a portfolio of your research, stay informed and continue professional development, typical requirements to become a research scientist, educational requirements and academic pathways, building experience in scientific research, key skills for aspiring research scientists, additional qualifications for a competitive edge, alternative ways to start a research scientist career, transitioning from industry positions, building on domain expertise, leveraging open source contributions and self-directed projects, utilizing non-traditional education and training, how to break into the industry as a research scientist - next steps, faqs about becoming a research scientist, how long does it take to become a research scientist, do you need a degree to become a research scientist, can i become a research scientist with no experience.

Research Scientist Skills

why become a research scientist

Related Career Paths

Unearthing insights from data, driving strategic decisions with predictive analytics

Unlocking business insights through data, driving strategic decisions with numbers

Unearthing insights and data to drive decision-making, shaping the future of research

Driving innovation through data, transforming industries with machine learning insights

Transforming raw data into valuable insights, fueling business decisions and strategy

Transforming data into actionable insights, driving business decisions and growth

Start Your Research Scientist Career with Teal

Job Description Keywords for Resumes

We use cookies to collect information about how you use the National Careers Service. This information is used to make the website work as well as possible and improve our services.

You’ve accepted all cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

beta Complete an independent survey to give us feedback about our website.

There is a problem

  • Home: Explore careers

Research scientist

Alternative titles for this job include.

Research scientists plan and lead experiments and investigations on a range of scientific topics.

Average salary (a year)

£27,000 Starter

£48,000 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

39 to 41 a week

You could work

evenings / weekends / bank holidays on shifts

Jaz is a research scientist at the Natural History Museum.

A person wearing a white lab coat stood in a laboratory setting.

Their research involves studying cells and DNA, and has even included a trip to the Arctic.

How to become

How to become research scientist.

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role

You usually need a first or 2:1 (upper second class) degree in a science subject to become a research scientist. Most research scientists continue to study for a postgraduate qualification like a PhD.

You could study on an integrated postgraduate master's course. These courses include independent research and are designed to lead directly on to a PhD.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 or 3 A levels, or equivalent, including a science, for a degree
  • a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study

More Information

  • equivalent entry requirements
  • student finance for fees and living costs
  • university courses and entry requirements

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Research Scientist Level 7 Apprenticeship, which is equivalent to postgraduate study.

You could also join a degree apprenticeship if you want to work in a particular field of scientific research. 

Apprenticeships include:

  • Biomedical Scientist Level 6
  • Nuclear Scientist Level 6
  • Materials Science Technologist Level 6
  • Clinical Scientist Level 7

These apprenticeships can take around 3 years to complete.

To get onto an apprenticeship, you'll find it useful to have:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
  • guide to apprenticeships

It may be possible to start as a research assistant or graduate industrial scientist. You would usually need to study part time for a PhD while you work.

UK Research and Innovation and industrial companies sometimes offer studentships. This would give you the opportunity to do a PhD while getting practical research experience.

Career tips

It may improve your chances of finding work if you've got work experience in a research department, or your degree included a placement in a research environment.

As a graduate, you could look for postgraduate training opportunities offered through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) . In a KTP you would get the opportunity to run a research project together with an organisation and a university or research body.

Further information

You can get advice about research careers from the Science Council and professional bodies for particular scientific fields, such as:

  • Biochemical Society
  • Royal Society of Biology
  • Institute of Physics

What it takes

Skills and knowledge.

You'll need:

  • science skills
  • maths knowledge
  • complex problem-solving skills
  • thinking and reasoning skills
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • excellent written communication skills
  • the ability to work well with others
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently

What you’ll do

What you'll do, day-to-day tasks.

As a research scientist you could:

  • write research proposals and apply for funding
  • plan, design and do experiments
  • record and analyse results
  • present findings in journals and at conferences
  • develop new products and ways to apply new discoveries
  • teach and supervise students' research projects

Possible green job

This job could help the environment.

For a research scientist to be a green job, you could:

  • carry out research which supports the environment like turning waste products into fuel
  • work with reusable or recyclable equipment
  • use materials from local suppliers to reduce emissions from shipping

Find out more about green careers

Working environment

You could work in a laboratory or at a university.

Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time.

You may need to wear protective clothing.

Career path and progression

As a scientist with a research council or organisation, you could move into a senior research or laboratory management position.

In an academic post, once you've gained experience and published original research, you could progress to senior research fellow or professor and lead your own research team.

You could open up further opportunities for career development by gaining Chartered Scientist status .

You can get more details about career development options through Vitae .

Current opportunities

Apprenticeships in england, apprentice ceramic development technologist.

  • Wage: £11,980.80 a year Annually
  • Location: WILLINGTON QUAY, WALLSEND, TYNE AND WEAR

Materials Science Degree Apprenticeship

  • Wage: £16,000 a year Annually
  • Location: Halesowen

Courses In England

Access to he: science.

  • Provider: SUFFOLK NEW COLLEGE
  • Start date: 09 September 2024
  • Location: Ipswich

Access to HE (Science)

  • Provider: CAMBRIDGE REGIONAL COLLEGE
  • Start date: 02 September 2024
  • Location: Cambridge

Jobs In the United Kingdom

The Find a job service can help you with your search for jobs and send alerts when new jobs become available.

Not what you're looking for?

Search further careers, related careers.

  • Clinical scientist
  • Seismologist

Skills assessment

Take an assessment to learn more about your skills and the careers that might suit you.

Speak to an adviser

You can call 0800 100 900 or use webchat to speak to an adviser.

We're open:

  • 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday
  • 10am to 5pm Saturdays and bank holidays

We're closed on Sundays, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Is this page useful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Thank you for your feedback. Click here if you'd like to let us know how we can improve the service.

Rate your experience

How satisfied are you with the website?

What Is Research, and Why Do People Do It?

  • Open Access
  • First Online: 03 December 2022

Cite this chapter

You have full access to this open access chapter

why become a research scientist

  • James Hiebert 6 ,
  • Jinfa Cai 7 ,
  • Stephen Hwang 7 ,
  • Anne K Morris 6 &
  • Charles Hohensee 6  

Part of the book series: Research in Mathematics Education ((RME))

18k Accesses

Abstractspiepr Abs1

Every day people do research as they gather information to learn about something of interest. In the scientific world, however, research means something different than simply gathering information. Scientific research is characterized by its careful planning and observing, by its relentless efforts to understand and explain, and by its commitment to learn from everyone else seriously engaged in research. We call this kind of research scientific inquiry and define it as “formulating, testing, and revising hypotheses.” By “hypotheses” we do not mean the hypotheses you encounter in statistics courses. We mean predictions about what you expect to find and rationales for why you made these predictions. Throughout this and the remaining chapters we make clear that the process of scientific inquiry applies to all kinds of research studies and data, both qualitative and quantitative.

You have full access to this open access chapter,  Download chapter PDF

Part I. What Is Research?

Have you ever studied something carefully because you wanted to know more about it? Maybe you wanted to know more about your grandmother’s life when she was younger so you asked her to tell you stories from her childhood, or maybe you wanted to know more about a fertilizer you were about to use in your garden so you read the ingredients on the package and looked them up online. According to the dictionary definition, you were doing research.

Recall your high school assignments asking you to “research” a topic. The assignment likely included consulting a variety of sources that discussed the topic, perhaps including some “original” sources. Often, the teacher referred to your product as a “research paper.”

Were you conducting research when you interviewed your grandmother or wrote high school papers reviewing a particular topic? Our view is that you were engaged in part of the research process, but only a small part. In this book, we reserve the word “research” for what it means in the scientific world, that is, for scientific research or, more pointedly, for scientific inquiry .

Exercise 1.1

Before you read any further, write a definition of what you think scientific inquiry is. Keep it short—Two to three sentences. You will periodically update this definition as you read this chapter and the remainder of the book.

This book is about scientific inquiry—what it is and how to do it. For starters, scientific inquiry is a process, a particular way of finding out about something that involves a number of phases. Each phase of the process constitutes one aspect of scientific inquiry. You are doing scientific inquiry as you engage in each phase, but you have not done scientific inquiry until you complete the full process. Each phase is necessary but not sufficient.

In this chapter, we set the stage by defining scientific inquiry—describing what it is and what it is not—and by discussing what it is good for and why people do it. The remaining chapters build directly on the ideas presented in this chapter.

A first thing to know is that scientific inquiry is not all or nothing. “Scientificness” is a continuum. Inquiries can be more scientific or less scientific. What makes an inquiry more scientific? You might be surprised there is no universally agreed upon answer to this question. None of the descriptors we know of are sufficient by themselves to define scientific inquiry. But all of them give you a way of thinking about some aspects of the process of scientific inquiry. Each one gives you different insights.

An image of the book's description with the words like research, science, and inquiry and what the word research meant in the scientific world.

Exercise 1.2

As you read about each descriptor below, think about what would make an inquiry more or less scientific. If you think a descriptor is important, use it to revise your definition of scientific inquiry.

Creating an Image of Scientific Inquiry

We will present three descriptors of scientific inquiry. Each provides a different perspective and emphasizes a different aspect of scientific inquiry. We will draw on all three descriptors to compose our definition of scientific inquiry.

Descriptor 1. Experience Carefully Planned in Advance

Sir Ronald Fisher, often called the father of modern statistical design, once referred to research as “experience carefully planned in advance” (1935, p. 8). He said that humans are always learning from experience, from interacting with the world around them. Usually, this learning is haphazard rather than the result of a deliberate process carried out over an extended period of time. Research, Fisher said, was learning from experience, but experience carefully planned in advance.

This phrase can be fully appreciated by looking at each word. The fact that scientific inquiry is based on experience means that it is based on interacting with the world. These interactions could be thought of as the stuff of scientific inquiry. In addition, it is not just any experience that counts. The experience must be carefully planned . The interactions with the world must be conducted with an explicit, describable purpose, and steps must be taken to make the intended learning as likely as possible. This planning is an integral part of scientific inquiry; it is not just a preparation phase. It is one of the things that distinguishes scientific inquiry from many everyday learning experiences. Finally, these steps must be taken beforehand and the purpose of the inquiry must be articulated in advance of the experience. Clearly, scientific inquiry does not happen by accident, by just stumbling into something. Stumbling into something unexpected and interesting can happen while engaged in scientific inquiry, but learning does not depend on it and serendipity does not make the inquiry scientific.

Descriptor 2. Observing Something and Trying to Explain Why It Is the Way It Is

When we were writing this chapter and googled “scientific inquiry,” the first entry was: “Scientific inquiry refers to the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on the evidence derived from their work.” The emphasis is on studying, or observing, and then explaining . This descriptor takes the image of scientific inquiry beyond carefully planned experience and includes explaining what was experienced.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “explain” means “(a) to make known, (b) to make plain or understandable, (c) to give the reason or cause of, and (d) to show the logical development or relations of” (Merriam-Webster, n.d. ). We will use all these definitions. Taken together, they suggest that to explain an observation means to understand it by finding reasons (or causes) for why it is as it is. In this sense of scientific inquiry, the following are synonyms: explaining why, understanding why, and reasoning about causes and effects. Our image of scientific inquiry now includes planning, observing, and explaining why.

An image represents the observation required in the scientific inquiry including planning and explaining.

We need to add a final note about this descriptor. We have phrased it in a way that suggests “observing something” means you are observing something in real time—observing the way things are or the way things are changing. This is often true. But, observing could mean observing data that already have been collected, maybe by someone else making the original observations (e.g., secondary analysis of NAEP data or analysis of existing video recordings of classroom instruction). We will address secondary analyses more fully in Chap. 4 . For now, what is important is that the process requires explaining why the data look like they do.

We must note that for us, the term “data” is not limited to numerical or quantitative data such as test scores. Data can also take many nonquantitative forms, including written survey responses, interview transcripts, journal entries, video recordings of students, teachers, and classrooms, text messages, and so forth.

An image represents the data explanation as it is not limited and takes numerous non-quantitative forms including an interview, journal entries, etc.

Exercise 1.3

What are the implications of the statement that just “observing” is not enough to count as scientific inquiry? Does this mean that a detailed description of a phenomenon is not scientific inquiry?

Find sources that define research in education that differ with our position, that say description alone, without explanation, counts as scientific research. Identify the precise points where the opinions differ. What are the best arguments for each of the positions? Which do you prefer? Why?

Descriptor 3. Updating Everyone’s Thinking in Response to More and Better Information

This descriptor focuses on a third aspect of scientific inquiry: updating and advancing the field’s understanding of phenomena that are investigated. This descriptor foregrounds a powerful characteristic of scientific inquiry: the reliability (or trustworthiness) of what is learned and the ultimate inevitability of this learning to advance human understanding of phenomena. Humans might choose not to learn from scientific inquiry, but history suggests that scientific inquiry always has the potential to advance understanding and that, eventually, humans take advantage of these new understandings.

Before exploring these bold claims a bit further, note that this descriptor uses “information” in the same way the previous two descriptors used “experience” and “observations.” These are the stuff of scientific inquiry and we will use them often, sometimes interchangeably. Frequently, we will use the term “data” to stand for all these terms.

An overriding goal of scientific inquiry is for everyone to learn from what one scientist does. Much of this book is about the methods you need to use so others have faith in what you report and can learn the same things you learned. This aspect of scientific inquiry has many implications.

One implication is that scientific inquiry is not a private practice. It is a public practice available for others to see and learn from. Notice how different this is from everyday learning. When you happen to learn something from your everyday experience, often only you gain from the experience. The fact that research is a public practice means it is also a social one. It is best conducted by interacting with others along the way: soliciting feedback at each phase, taking opportunities to present work-in-progress, and benefitting from the advice of others.

A second implication is that you, as the researcher, must be committed to sharing what you are doing and what you are learning in an open and transparent way. This allows all phases of your work to be scrutinized and critiqued. This is what gives your work credibility. The reliability or trustworthiness of your findings depends on your colleagues recognizing that you have used all appropriate methods to maximize the chances that your claims are justified by the data.

A third implication of viewing scientific inquiry as a collective enterprise is the reverse of the second—you must be committed to receiving comments from others. You must treat your colleagues as fair and honest critics even though it might sometimes feel otherwise. You must appreciate their job, which is to remain skeptical while scrutinizing what you have done in considerable detail. To provide the best help to you, they must remain skeptical about your conclusions (when, for example, the data are difficult for them to interpret) until you offer a convincing logical argument based on the information you share. A rather harsh but good-to-remember statement of the role of your friendly critics was voiced by Karl Popper, a well-known twentieth century philosopher of science: “. . . if you are interested in the problem which I tried to solve by my tentative assertion, you may help me by criticizing it as severely as you can” (Popper, 1968, p. 27).

A final implication of this third descriptor is that, as someone engaged in scientific inquiry, you have no choice but to update your thinking when the data support a different conclusion. This applies to your own data as well as to those of others. When data clearly point to a specific claim, even one that is quite different than you expected, you must reconsider your position. If the outcome is replicated multiple times, you need to adjust your thinking accordingly. Scientific inquiry does not let you pick and choose which data to believe; it mandates that everyone update their thinking when the data warrant an update.

Doing Scientific Inquiry

We define scientific inquiry in an operational sense—what does it mean to do scientific inquiry? What kind of process would satisfy all three descriptors: carefully planning an experience in advance; observing and trying to explain what you see; and, contributing to updating everyone’s thinking about an important phenomenon?

We define scientific inquiry as formulating , testing , and revising hypotheses about phenomena of interest.

Of course, we are not the only ones who define it in this way. The definition for the scientific method posted by the editors of Britannica is: “a researcher develops a hypothesis, tests it through various means, and then modifies the hypothesis on the basis of the outcome of the tests and experiments” (Britannica, n.d. ).

An image represents the scientific inquiry definition given by the editors of Britannica and also defines the hypothesis on the basis of the experiments.

Notice how defining scientific inquiry this way satisfies each of the descriptors. “Carefully planning an experience in advance” is exactly what happens when formulating a hypothesis about a phenomenon of interest and thinking about how to test it. “ Observing a phenomenon” occurs when testing a hypothesis, and “ explaining ” what is found is required when revising a hypothesis based on the data. Finally, “updating everyone’s thinking” comes from comparing publicly the original with the revised hypothesis.

Doing scientific inquiry, as we have defined it, underscores the value of accumulating knowledge rather than generating random bits of knowledge. Formulating, testing, and revising hypotheses is an ongoing process, with each revised hypothesis begging for another test, whether by the same researcher or by new researchers. The editors of Britannica signaled this cyclic process by adding the following phrase to their definition of the scientific method: “The modified hypothesis is then retested, further modified, and tested again.” Scientific inquiry creates a process that encourages each study to build on the studies that have gone before. Through collective engagement in this process of building study on top of study, the scientific community works together to update its thinking.

Before exploring more fully the meaning of “formulating, testing, and revising hypotheses,” we need to acknowledge that this is not the only way researchers define research. Some researchers prefer a less formal definition, one that includes more serendipity, less planning, less explanation. You might have come across more open definitions such as “research is finding out about something.” We prefer the tighter hypothesis formulation, testing, and revision definition because we believe it provides a single, coherent map for conducting research that addresses many of the thorny problems educational researchers encounter. We believe it is the most useful orientation toward research and the most helpful to learn as a beginning researcher.

A final clarification of our definition is that it applies equally to qualitative and quantitative research. This is a familiar distinction in education that has generated much discussion. You might think our definition favors quantitative methods over qualitative methods because the language of hypothesis formulation and testing is often associated with quantitative methods. In fact, we do not favor one method over another. In Chap. 4 , we will illustrate how our definition fits research using a range of quantitative and qualitative methods.

Exercise 1.4

Look for ways to extend what the field knows in an area that has already received attention by other researchers. Specifically, you can search for a program of research carried out by more experienced researchers that has some revised hypotheses that remain untested. Identify a revised hypothesis that you might like to test.

Unpacking the Terms Formulating, Testing, and Revising Hypotheses

To get a full sense of the definition of scientific inquiry we will use throughout this book, it is helpful to spend a little time with each of the key terms.

We first want to make clear that we use the term “hypothesis” as it is defined in most dictionaries and as it used in many scientific fields rather than as it is usually defined in educational statistics courses. By “hypothesis,” we do not mean a null hypothesis that is accepted or rejected by statistical analysis. Rather, we use “hypothesis” in the sense conveyed by the following definitions: “An idea or explanation for something that is based on known facts but has not yet been proved” (Cambridge University Press, n.d. ), and “An unproved theory, proposition, or supposition, tentatively accepted to explain certain facts and to provide a basis for further investigation or argument” (Agnes & Guralnik, 2008 ).

We distinguish two parts to “hypotheses.” Hypotheses consist of predictions and rationales . Predictions are statements about what you expect to find when you inquire about something. Rationales are explanations for why you made the predictions you did, why you believe your predictions are correct. So, for us “formulating hypotheses” means making explicit predictions and developing rationales for the predictions.

“Testing hypotheses” means making observations that allow you to assess in what ways your predictions were correct and in what ways they were incorrect. In education research, it is rarely useful to think of your predictions as either right or wrong. Because of the complexity of most issues you will investigate, most predictions will be right in some ways and wrong in others.

By studying the observations you make (data you collect) to test your hypotheses, you can revise your hypotheses to better align with the observations. This means revising your predictions plus revising your rationales to justify your adjusted predictions. Even though you might not run another test, formulating revised hypotheses is an essential part of conducting a research study. Comparing your original and revised hypotheses informs everyone of what you learned by conducting your study. In addition, a revised hypothesis sets the stage for you or someone else to extend your study and accumulate more knowledge of the phenomenon.

We should note that not everyone makes a clear distinction between predictions and rationales as two aspects of hypotheses. In fact, common, non-scientific uses of the word “hypothesis” may limit it to only a prediction or only an explanation (or rationale). We choose to explicitly include both prediction and rationale in our definition of hypothesis, not because we assert this should be the universal definition, but because we want to foreground the importance of both parts acting in concert. Using “hypothesis” to represent both prediction and rationale could hide the two aspects, but we make them explicit because they provide different kinds of information. It is usually easier to make predictions than develop rationales because predictions can be guesses, hunches, or gut feelings about which you have little confidence. Developing a compelling rationale requires careful thought plus reading what other researchers have found plus talking with your colleagues. Often, while you are developing your rationale you will find good reasons to change your predictions. Developing good rationales is the engine that drives scientific inquiry. Rationales are essentially descriptions of how much you know about the phenomenon you are studying. Throughout this guide, we will elaborate on how developing good rationales drives scientific inquiry. For now, we simply note that it can sharpen your predictions and help you to interpret your data as you test your hypotheses.

An image represents the rationale and the prediction for the scientific inquiry and different types of information provided by the terms.

Hypotheses in education research take a variety of forms or types. This is because there are a variety of phenomena that can be investigated. Investigating educational phenomena is sometimes best done using qualitative methods, sometimes using quantitative methods, and most often using mixed methods (e.g., Hay, 2016 ; Weis et al. 2019a ; Weisner, 2005 ). This means that, given our definition, hypotheses are equally applicable to qualitative and quantitative investigations.

Hypotheses take different forms when they are used to investigate different kinds of phenomena. Two very different activities in education could be labeled conducting experiments and descriptions. In an experiment, a hypothesis makes a prediction about anticipated changes, say the changes that occur when a treatment or intervention is applied. You might investigate how students’ thinking changes during a particular kind of instruction.

A second type of hypothesis, relevant for descriptive research, makes a prediction about what you will find when you investigate and describe the nature of a situation. The goal is to understand a situation as it exists rather than to understand a change from one situation to another. In this case, your prediction is what you expect to observe. Your rationale is the set of reasons for making this prediction; it is your current explanation for why the situation will look like it does.

You will probably read, if you have not already, that some researchers say you do not need a prediction to conduct a descriptive study. We will discuss this point of view in Chap. 2 . For now, we simply claim that scientific inquiry, as we have defined it, applies to all kinds of research studies. Descriptive studies, like others, not only benefit from formulating, testing, and revising hypotheses, but also need hypothesis formulating, testing, and revising.

One reason we define research as formulating, testing, and revising hypotheses is that if you think of research in this way you are less likely to go wrong. It is a useful guide for the entire process, as we will describe in detail in the chapters ahead. For example, as you build the rationale for your predictions, you are constructing the theoretical framework for your study (Chap. 3 ). As you work out the methods you will use to test your hypothesis, every decision you make will be based on asking, “Will this help me formulate or test or revise my hypothesis?” (Chap. 4 ). As you interpret the results of testing your predictions, you will compare them to what you predicted and examine the differences, focusing on how you must revise your hypotheses (Chap. 5 ). By anchoring the process to formulating, testing, and revising hypotheses, you will make smart decisions that yield a coherent and well-designed study.

Exercise 1.5

Compare the concept of formulating, testing, and revising hypotheses with the descriptions of scientific inquiry contained in Scientific Research in Education (NRC, 2002 ). How are they similar or different?

Exercise 1.6

Provide an example to illustrate and emphasize the differences between everyday learning/thinking and scientific inquiry.

Learning from Doing Scientific Inquiry

We noted earlier that a measure of what you have learned by conducting a research study is found in the differences between your original hypothesis and your revised hypothesis based on the data you collected to test your hypothesis. We will elaborate this statement in later chapters, but we preview our argument here.

Even before collecting data, scientific inquiry requires cycles of making a prediction, developing a rationale, refining your predictions, reading and studying more to strengthen your rationale, refining your predictions again, and so forth. And, even if you have run through several such cycles, you still will likely find that when you test your prediction you will be partly right and partly wrong. The results will support some parts of your predictions but not others, or the results will “kind of” support your predictions. A critical part of scientific inquiry is making sense of your results by interpreting them against your predictions. Carefully describing what aspects of your data supported your predictions, what aspects did not, and what data fell outside of any predictions is not an easy task, but you cannot learn from your study without doing this analysis.

An image represents the cycle of events that take place before making predictions, developing the rationale, and studying the prediction and rationale multiple times.

Analyzing the matches and mismatches between your predictions and your data allows you to formulate different rationales that would have accounted for more of the data. The best revised rationale is the one that accounts for the most data. Once you have revised your rationales, you can think about the predictions they best justify or explain. It is by comparing your original rationales to your new rationales that you can sort out what you learned from your study.

Suppose your study was an experiment. Maybe you were investigating the effects of a new instructional intervention on students’ learning. Your original rationale was your explanation for why the intervention would change the learning outcomes in a particular way. Your revised rationale explained why the changes that you observed occurred like they did and why your revised predictions are better. Maybe your original rationale focused on the potential of the activities if they were implemented in ideal ways and your revised rationale included the factors that are likely to affect how teachers implement them. By comparing the before and after rationales, you are describing what you learned—what you can explain now that you could not before. Another way of saying this is that you are describing how much more you understand now than before you conducted your study.

Revised predictions based on carefully planned and collected data usually exhibit some of the following features compared with the originals: more precision, more completeness, and broader scope. Revised rationales have more explanatory power and become more complete, more aligned with the new predictions, sharper, and overall more convincing.

Part II. Why Do Educators Do Research?

Doing scientific inquiry is a lot of work. Each phase of the process takes time, and you will often cycle back to improve earlier phases as you engage in later phases. Because of the significant effort required, you should make sure your study is worth it. So, from the beginning, you should think about the purpose of your study. Why do you want to do it? And, because research is a social practice, you should also think about whether the results of your study are likely to be important and significant to the education community.

If you are doing research in the way we have described—as scientific inquiry—then one purpose of your study is to understand , not just to describe or evaluate or report. As we noted earlier, when you formulate hypotheses, you are developing rationales that explain why things might be like they are. In our view, trying to understand and explain is what separates research from other kinds of activities, like evaluating or describing.

One reason understanding is so important is that it allows researchers to see how or why something works like it does. When you see how something works, you are better able to predict how it might work in other contexts, under other conditions. And, because conditions, or contextual factors, matter a lot in education, gaining insights into applying your findings to other contexts increases the contributions of your work and its importance to the broader education community.

Consequently, the purposes of research studies in education often include the more specific aim of identifying and understanding the conditions under which the phenomena being studied work like the observations suggest. A classic example of this kind of study in mathematics education was reported by William Brownell and Harold Moser in 1949 . They were trying to establish which method of subtracting whole numbers could be taught most effectively—the regrouping method or the equal additions method. However, they realized that effectiveness might depend on the conditions under which the methods were taught—“meaningfully” versus “mechanically.” So, they designed a study that crossed the two instructional approaches with the two different methods (regrouping and equal additions). Among other results, they found that these conditions did matter. The regrouping method was more effective under the meaningful condition than the mechanical condition, but the same was not true for the equal additions algorithm.

What do education researchers want to understand? In our view, the ultimate goal of education is to offer all students the best possible learning opportunities. So, we believe the ultimate purpose of scientific inquiry in education is to develop understanding that supports the improvement of learning opportunities for all students. We say “ultimate” because there are lots of issues that must be understood to improve learning opportunities for all students. Hypotheses about many aspects of education are connected, ultimately, to students’ learning. For example, formulating and testing a hypothesis that preservice teachers need to engage in particular kinds of activities in their coursework in order to teach particular topics well is, ultimately, connected to improving students’ learning opportunities. So is hypothesizing that school districts often devote relatively few resources to instructional leadership training or hypothesizing that positioning mathematics as a tool students can use to combat social injustice can help students see the relevance of mathematics to their lives.

We do not exclude the importance of research on educational issues more removed from improving students’ learning opportunities, but we do think the argument for their importance will be more difficult to make. If there is no way to imagine a connection between your hypothesis and improving learning opportunities for students, even a distant connection, we recommend you reconsider whether it is an important hypothesis within the education community.

Notice that we said the ultimate goal of education is to offer all students the best possible learning opportunities. For too long, educators have been satisfied with a goal of offering rich learning opportunities for lots of students, sometimes even for just the majority of students, but not necessarily for all students. Evaluations of success often are based on outcomes that show high averages. In other words, if many students have learned something, or even a smaller number have learned a lot, educators may have been satisfied. The problem is that there is usually a pattern in the groups of students who receive lower quality opportunities—students of color and students who live in poor areas, urban and rural. This is not acceptable. Consequently, we emphasize the premise that the purpose of education research is to offer rich learning opportunities to all students.

One way to make sure you will be able to convince others of the importance of your study is to consider investigating some aspect of teachers’ shared instructional problems. Historically, researchers in education have set their own research agendas, regardless of the problems teachers are facing in schools. It is increasingly recognized that teachers have had trouble applying to their own classrooms what researchers find. To address this problem, a researcher could partner with a teacher—better yet, a small group of teachers—and talk with them about instructional problems they all share. These discussions can create a rich pool of problems researchers can consider. If researchers pursued one of these problems (preferably alongside teachers), the connection to improving learning opportunities for all students could be direct and immediate. “Grounding a research question in instructional problems that are experienced across multiple teachers’ classrooms helps to ensure that the answer to the question will be of sufficient scope to be relevant and significant beyond the local context” (Cai et al., 2019b , p. 115).

As a beginning researcher, determining the relevance and importance of a research problem is especially challenging. We recommend talking with advisors, other experienced researchers, and peers to test the educational importance of possible research problems and topics of study. You will also learn much more about the issue of research importance when you read Chap. 5 .

Exercise 1.7

Identify a problem in education that is closely connected to improving learning opportunities and a problem that has a less close connection. For each problem, write a brief argument (like a logical sequence of if-then statements) that connects the problem to all students’ learning opportunities.

Part III. Conducting Research as a Practice of Failing Productively

Scientific inquiry involves formulating hypotheses about phenomena that are not fully understood—by you or anyone else. Even if you are able to inform your hypotheses with lots of knowledge that has already been accumulated, you are likely to find that your prediction is not entirely accurate. This is normal. Remember, scientific inquiry is a process of constantly updating your thinking. More and better information means revising your thinking, again, and again, and again. Because you never fully understand a complicated phenomenon and your hypotheses never produce completely accurate predictions, it is easy to believe you are somehow failing.

The trick is to fail upward, to fail to predict accurately in ways that inform your next hypothesis so you can make a better prediction. Some of the best-known researchers in education have been open and honest about the many times their predictions were wrong and, based on the results of their studies and those of others, they continuously updated their thinking and changed their hypotheses.

A striking example of publicly revising (actually reversing) hypotheses due to incorrect predictions is found in the work of Lee J. Cronbach, one of the most distinguished educational psychologists of the twentieth century. In 1955, Cronbach delivered his presidential address to the American Psychological Association. Titling it “Two Disciplines of Scientific Psychology,” Cronbach proposed a rapprochement between two research approaches—correlational studies that focused on individual differences and experimental studies that focused on instructional treatments controlling for individual differences. (We will examine different research approaches in Chap. 4 ). If these approaches could be brought together, reasoned Cronbach ( 1957 ), researchers could find interactions between individual characteristics and treatments (aptitude-treatment interactions or ATIs), fitting the best treatments to different individuals.

In 1975, after years of research by many researchers looking for ATIs, Cronbach acknowledged the evidence for simple, useful ATIs had not been found. Even when trying to find interactions between a few variables that could provide instructional guidance, the analysis, said Cronbach, creates “a hall of mirrors that extends to infinity, tormenting even the boldest investigators and defeating even ambitious designs” (Cronbach, 1975 , p. 119).

As he was reflecting back on his work, Cronbach ( 1986 ) recommended moving away from documenting instructional effects through statistical inference (an approach he had championed for much of his career) and toward approaches that probe the reasons for these effects, approaches that provide a “full account of events in a time, place, and context” (Cronbach, 1986 , p. 104). This is a remarkable change in hypotheses, a change based on data and made fully transparent. Cronbach understood the value of failing productively.

Closer to home, in a less dramatic example, one of us began a line of scientific inquiry into how to prepare elementary preservice teachers to teach early algebra. Teaching early algebra meant engaging elementary students in early forms of algebraic reasoning. Such reasoning should help them transition from arithmetic to algebra. To begin this line of inquiry, a set of activities for preservice teachers were developed. Even though the activities were based on well-supported hypotheses, they largely failed to engage preservice teachers as predicted because of unanticipated challenges the preservice teachers faced. To capitalize on this failure, follow-up studies were conducted, first to better understand elementary preservice teachers’ challenges with preparing to teach early algebra, and then to better support preservice teachers in navigating these challenges. In this example, the initial failure was a necessary step in the researchers’ scientific inquiry and furthered the researchers’ understanding of this issue.

We present another example of failing productively in Chap. 2 . That example emerges from recounting the history of a well-known research program in mathematics education.

Making mistakes is an inherent part of doing scientific research. Conducting a study is rarely a smooth path from beginning to end. We recommend that you keep the following things in mind as you begin a career of conducting research in education.

First, do not get discouraged when you make mistakes; do not fall into the trap of feeling like you are not capable of doing research because you make too many errors.

Second, learn from your mistakes. Do not ignore your mistakes or treat them as errors that you simply need to forget and move past. Mistakes are rich sites for learning—in research just as in other fields of study.

Third, by reflecting on your mistakes, you can learn to make better mistakes, mistakes that inform you about a productive next step. You will not be able to eliminate your mistakes, but you can set a goal of making better and better mistakes.

Exercise 1.8

How does scientific inquiry differ from everyday learning in giving you the tools to fail upward? You may find helpful perspectives on this question in other resources on science and scientific inquiry (e.g., Failure: Why Science is So Successful by Firestein, 2015).

Exercise 1.9

Use what you have learned in this chapter to write a new definition of scientific inquiry. Compare this definition with the one you wrote before reading this chapter. If you are reading this book as part of a course, compare your definition with your colleagues’ definitions. Develop a consensus definition with everyone in the course.

Part IV. Preview of Chap. 2

Now that you have a good idea of what research is, at least of what we believe research is, the next step is to think about how to actually begin doing research. This means how to begin formulating, testing, and revising hypotheses. As for all phases of scientific inquiry, there are lots of things to think about. Because it is critical to start well, we devote Chap. 2 to getting started with formulating hypotheses.

Agnes, M., & Guralnik, D. B. (Eds.). (2008). Hypothesis. In Webster’s new world college dictionary (4th ed.). Wiley.

Google Scholar  

Britannica. (n.d.). Scientific method. In Encyclopaedia Britannica . Retrieved July 15, 2022 from https://www.britannica.com/science/scientific-method

Brownell, W. A., & Moser, H. E. (1949). Meaningful vs. mechanical learning: A study in grade III subtraction . Duke University Press..

Cai, J., Morris, A., Hohensee, C., Hwang, S., Robison, V., Cirillo, M., Kramer, S. L., & Hiebert, J. (2019b). Posing significant research questions. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 50 (2), 114–120. https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.50.2.0114

Article   Google Scholar  

Cambridge University Press. (n.d.). Hypothesis. In Cambridge dictionary . Retrieved July 15, 2022 from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/hypothesis

Cronbach, J. L. (1957). The two disciplines of scientific psychology. American Psychologist, 12 , 671–684.

Cronbach, L. J. (1975). Beyond the two disciplines of scientific psychology. American Psychologist, 30 , 116–127.

Cronbach, L. J. (1986). Social inquiry by and for earthlings. In D. W. Fiske & R. A. Shweder (Eds.), Metatheory in social science: Pluralisms and subjectivities (pp. 83–107). University of Chicago Press.

Hay, C. M. (Ed.). (2016). Methods that matter: Integrating mixed methods for more effective social science research . University of Chicago Press.

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Explain. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary . Retrieved July 15, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/explain

National Research Council. (2002). Scientific research in education . National Academy Press.

Weis, L., Eisenhart, M., Duncan, G. J., Albro, E., Bueschel, A. C., Cobb, P., Eccles, J., Mendenhall, R., Moss, P., Penuel, W., Ream, R. K., Rumbaut, R. G., Sloane, F., Weisner, T. S., & Wilson, J. (2019a). Mixed methods for studies that address broad and enduring issues in education research. Teachers College Record, 121 , 100307.

Weisner, T. S. (Ed.). (2005). Discovering successful pathways in children’s development: Mixed methods in the study of childhood and family life . University of Chicago Press.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

School of Education, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA

James Hiebert, Anne K Morris & Charles Hohensee

Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA

Jinfa Cai & Stephen Hwang

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Hiebert, J., Cai, J., Hwang, S., Morris, A.K., Hohensee, C. (2023). What Is Research, and Why Do People Do It?. In: Doing Research: A New Researcher’s Guide. Research in Mathematics Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19078-0_1

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19078-0_1

Published : 03 December 2022

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-031-19077-3

Online ISBN : 978-3-031-19078-0

eBook Packages : Education Education (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

  • Publish with us

Policies and ethics

  • Find a journal
  • Track your research
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Therapy Center
  • When To See a Therapist
  • Types of Therapy
  • Best Online Therapy
  • Best Couples Therapy
  • Best Family Therapy
  • Managing Stress
  • Sleep and Dreaming
  • Understanding Emotions
  • Self-Improvement
  • Healthy Relationships
  • Student Resources
  • Personality Types
  • Guided Meditations
  • Verywell Mind Insights
  • 2024 Verywell Mind 25
  • Mental Health in the Classroom
  • Editorial Process
  • Meet Our Review Board
  • Crisis Support

How to Become a Research Psychologist

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

why become a research scientist

Emily is a board-certified science editor who has worked with top digital publishing brands like Voices for Biodiversity, Study.com, GoodTherapy, Vox, and Verywell.

why become a research scientist

Why Become a Research Psychologist

What do research psychologists do, where do research psychologists work, research psychology careers.

What do you do if you love psychology but have no interest in working in mental health? Fortunately, psychology is a very diverse field, and there are plenty of opportunities. One that you might consider is becoming a research psychologist.

Consider the following question from a reader:

" I love psychology, which is why I'm currently working on my bachelor's degree in psychology. I don't want to work in mental health, so my ultimate plan is to become a researcher. While I know that this means I will probably need to go to graduate school, I'm not quite sure exactly where to begin. What type of psychology degree do I need if I want to work in research?"

At a Glance

What do you do if you love psychology but don't want to become a therapist or work in mental health? You might consider becoming a research psychologist. These professionals conduct research and may work in various settings, including universities, research labs, the military, government agencies, and private businesses.

This scenario is not at all uncommon in psychology. Many students love the subject, yet are not at all interested in working in mental health settings. Experimental fields are great options for people who are fascinated by psychology and enjoy performing research.

As a psychology student , you've probably already gotten a taste of just how diverse the field can be. This can be a great thing because it allows for so many different career paths and options, but it can also be confusing for students as they struggle to select an educational path.

Just like many other areas of psychology , becoming a research psychologist is not a "one size fits all" career. There are actually many different degrees that you could potentially pursue.

Start by taking into account what type of research you want to perform and what specific topics interest you the most.

In order to decide if this field is right for you, it is important to first understand exactly what these professionals do:

  • Also known as experimental psychologists , research psychologists study a broad range of human and animal behavior.
  • They design and conduct experiments exploring how people act, think, behave, interact, learn, feel, and perform under different conditions.
  • They also design studies and evaluate research for flaws and bias.
  • This can encompass an enormous range of topics, including memory , attention, cognition, decision-making, perception, and just about any psychological topic you can think of!

If you enjoy research and still want to work in mental health, there are also mental health professionals who perform research and conduct studies in clinical settings.

Educational backgrounds and requirements for experimental psychologists can vary depending upon where you want to work.

In most cases, you will start by earning a bachelor's degree in psychology. Some students may then choose to earn a master's, but many will go on to receive a doctorate degree.

Bachelor's Degree

Many students interested in becoming research psychologists begin with a bachelor's in psychology . However, some come from a background in a related area such as social work or even from an entirely unrelated degree area altogether.

Remember, it is possible to switch to psychology for graduate school , even if your undergraduate degree is in an unrelated subject.

Master's Degree

In some cases, students might then choose to pursue a master's degree in experimental psychology. However, it is important to note that job opportunities are generally more limited with a master's degree, which is why many opt to instead go on to earn a doctorate degree in psychology .

Doctorate Degree

While you might think you are limited to earning a PhD in experimental psychology, there are actually many different options that you might opt to pursue.

For example, if you are interested in studying the human brain, you might earn a degree focused on neuropsychology. Have an active interest in social behavior? Then, you might want to consider a doctorate in social psychology .

How to Get Started

While you might not be exactly sure about what specialty you want to pursue, you can now do plenty of things to prepare for your future as a research psychologist . Start by taking as many undergraduate courses in research methods , statistics , and experimental design as possible.

Sign up for research opportunities through your school's psychology department and consider signing up as a research assistant. It's a great way to gain valuable experience while earning college credits.

As you can see, research is something that plays a significant role in virtually every field of psychology . Your goal now is to determine which particular specialty area interests you the most and exactly where you might want to work someday.

Research psychologists are employed in a wide range of sectors, including private research firms, universities, corporations, the military, and government agencies.

So what kind of jobs will you be able to get as a research psychologist? While there are many different options, a few that you might consider include:

College Professor

Many research psychologists work at colleges and universities, teaching undergraduate and graduate students and conducting research.

Research Analyst

A research analyst evaluates data that has been collected. This career involves performing statistical analyses and managing data to ensure it is collected, recorded, and analyzed properly.

Research Scientist

A research scientist conducted grant-funded research. They are often the lead investigators of a study and are responsible for hiring assistants, managing projects, designing experiments, writing journal articles, and sharing the results of their experiments.

If you enjoy research and aren't interested in working in the field of mental health, a career as a research psychologist might be a great choice for you. To enter this field, you should focus on earning an undergraduate degree in psychology before going to graduate school to get your doctorate. Taking coursework in statistics and research methodology can help, but you should also take advantage of any opportunity to participate in research.

Bishop DV. The psychology of experimental psychologists: Overcoming cognitive constraints to improve research: The 47th Sir Frederic Bartlett Lecture .  Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) . 2020;73(1):1-19. doi:10.1177/1747021819886519

Smith KV, Thew GR. Conducting research in clinical psychology practice: Barriers, facilitators, and recommendations .  Br J Clin Psychol . 2017;56(3):347-356. doi:10.1111/bjc.12142

Scholtz SE, de Klerk W, de Beer LT. The use of research methods in psychological research: A systematised review .  Front Res Metr Anal . 2020;5:1. doi:10.3389/frma.2020.00001

American Psychological Association.  Pursuing a Career in Experimental Psychology . Updated March 2014.

The Princeton Review.  Experimental Psychology .

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

  • MyAucklandUni
  • Student Services Online
  • Class search
  • Student email
  • Change my password
  • MyCDES+ (job board)
  • Course outlines
  • Learning essentials
  • Libraries and Learning Services
  • Forms, policies and guidelines
  • Campus Card
  • Enrol in courses
  • Postgraduate students
  • Summer school
  • AskAuckland
  • Student Hubs
  • Student IT Hub
  • Student Health and Counselling
  • Harassment, bullying, sexual assault and other violence
  • Complaints and incidents
  • Career Development and Employability Services (CDES)
  • Ratonga Hauātanga Tauira | Student Disability Services (SDS)
  • Rainbow support
  • Covid-19 information for our community
  • Emergency information
  • Report concerns, incidents and hazards
  • Health and safety topics
  • Staff email
  • Staff intranet
  • ResearchHub
  • PeopleSoft HR
  • Forms register
  • Careers at the University
  • Education Office
  • Early childhood centres
  • University Calendar
  • Opportunities
  • Update your details
  • Make a donation
  • Publications
  • Photo galleries
  • Video and audio
  • Career services
  • Virtual Book Club
  • Library services
  • Alumni benefits
  • Office contact details
  • Alumni and friends on social media
  • No events scheduled for today You have no more events scheduled for today
  • Next event:
  • Show {0} earlier events Show {0} earlier event
  • Event_Time Event_Name Event_Description
  • My Library Account
  • Change Password
  • Edit Profile
  • My GPA Grade Point Average About your GPA GPA not available Why can't I see my GPA?
  • My Progress
  • Points Required Completed points My Progress Progress not available All done!
  • Student hubs
  • Health and counselling
  • All support
  • Health, safety and well-being

Breadcrumbs List.

  • Business, schools and community
  • Science for schools
  • You are currently on: Why become a scientist?

Why become a scientist?

Are you interested in the world around you? Do you want to make a difference in people's lives? Then a career in science might be right for you.

Two female students doing their lab experiment on a beach

Science is everywhere

Science affects almost every aspect of our lives, from the food we eat to the technology we use and the natural world that surrounds us.

With a career in science, you can explore the world, make fascinating discoveries and help improve the lives of others.

Scientific progress is crucial to our future

Our world is continually changing and evolving. Some changes make our lives easier. But others make our lives more difficult.

Science can help find new solutions for almost everything humans do, from energy and food production to waste disposal and clean water supply.

With a science degree you could:

  • Design green energy sources
  • Develop new modes of communication
  • Help people live more sustainably
  • Produce safe, eco-friendly and healthy products
  • Work with farmers to improve crop production
  • Work to protect the environment and the diversity of living things
  • Combat the effects of climate change 
  • Find alternative methods for supplying clean water
  • Discover new medicines and vaccines for treating diseases

And so much more...

Science is not all white coats and lab work

Being a scientist doesn't necessarily mean working in a lab for the rest of your life. If research is not for you, there are many other science-related career paths that you can try.

For example, you could:

  • Write about science as a science journalist or broadcaster
  • Protect scientific innovations as a patent agent
  • Work with governments to create public policy
  • Market or sell scientific services for labs and science organisations
  • Use science to develop products and applications for industry

To keep your options open, consider combining your BSc with a degree in business or arts as part of a conjoint programme.

Want to know more?

Check out our study options or visit your Student Hub s to find more about the science subjects you can study at the University of Auckland.

Related links

  • Undergraduate Science Prospectus
  • Planning your Science degree
  • Graduate stories
  • JEE Main 2024
  • MHT CET 2024
  • JEE Advanced 2024
  • BITSAT 2024
  • View All Engineering Exams
  • Colleges Accepting B.Tech Applications
  • Top Engineering Colleges in India
  • Engineering Colleges in India
  • Engineering Colleges in Tamil Nadu
  • Engineering Colleges Accepting JEE Main
  • Top IITs in India
  • Top NITs in India
  • Top IIITs in India
  • JEE Main College Predictor
  • JEE Main Rank Predictor
  • MHT CET College Predictor
  • AP EAMCET College Predictor
  • GATE College Predictor
  • KCET College Predictor
  • JEE Advanced College Predictor
  • View All College Predictors
  • JEE Advanced Cutoff
  • JEE Main Cutoff
  • JEE Advanced Answer Key
  • JEE Advanced Result
  • Download E-Books and Sample Papers
  • Compare Colleges
  • B.Tech College Applications
  • KCET Result

Quick links

  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Aeronautical Engineering
  • Information Technology
  • Electronic Engineering

B.Tech Companion Use Now Your one-stop Counselling package for JEE Main, JEE Advanced and BITSAT

  • MAH MBA CET Exam
  • View All Management Exams

Colleges & Courses

  • MBA College Admissions
  • MBA Colleges in India
  • Top IIMs Colleges in India
  • Top Online MBA Colleges in India
  • MBA Colleges Accepting XAT Score
  • BBA Colleges in India
  • XAT College Predictor 2024
  • SNAP College Predictor
  • NMAT College Predictor
  • MAT College Predictor 2024
  • CMAT College Predictor 2024
  • CAT Percentile Predictor 2024
  • CAT 2024 College Predictor
  • TS ICET 2024 Results
  • AP ICET Counselling 2024
  • CMAT Result 2024
  • MAH MBA CET Cutoff 2024
  • Download Helpful Ebooks
  • List of Popular Branches
  • QnA - Get answers to your doubts
  • IIM Fees Structure
  • Colleges Accepting Admissions
  • Top Law Colleges in India
  • Law College Accepting CLAT Score
  • List of Law Colleges in India
  • Top Law Colleges in Delhi
  • Top NLUs Colleges in India
  • Top Law Colleges in Chandigarh
  • Top Law Collages in Lucknow

Predictors & E-Books

  • CLAT College Predictor
  • MHCET Law ( 5 Year L.L.B) College Predictor
  • AILET College Predictor
  • Sample Papers
  • Compare Law Collages
  • Careers360 Youtube Channel
  • CLAT Syllabus 2025
  • CLAT Previous Year Question Paper

Engineering Preparation

  • Knockout JEE Main 2024
  • Test Series JEE Main 2024
  • JEE Main 2024 Rank Booster

Medical Preparation

  • Knockout NEET 2024
  • Test Series NEET 2024
  • Rank Booster NEET 2024

Online Courses

  • JEE Main One Month Course
  • NEET One Month Course
  • IBSAT Free Mock Tests
  • IIT JEE Foundation Course
  • Knockout BITSAT 2024
  • Career Guidance Tool
  • IPU CET BJMC
  • JMI Mass Communication Entrance Exam
  • IIMC Entrance Exam
  • Media & Journalism colleges in Delhi
  • Media & Journalism colleges in Bangalore
  • Media & Journalism colleges in Mumbai
  • List of Media & Journalism Colleges in India
  • Free Ebooks
  • Free Sample Papers
  • NID DAT Exam
  • Pearl Academy Exam
  • Design Colleges in India
  • Top NIFT Colleges in India
  • Fashion Design Colleges in India
  • Top Interior Design Colleges in India
  • Top Graphic Designing Colleges in India
  • Fashion Design Colleges in Delhi
  • Fashion Design Colleges in Mumbai
  • Top Interior Design Colleges in Bangalore

Predictors & Articles

  • NIFT College Predictor
  • UCEED College Predictor
  • NID DAT College Predictor
  • NID DAT Syllabus 2025
  • NID DAT 2025
  • NIFT Result 2024
  • NIFT Fees Structure
  • NIFT Syllabus 2025
  • Free Design E-books
  • List of Branches
  • Careers360 Youtube channel
  • AIIMS Nursing
  • Top Medical Colleges in India
  • Top Medical Colleges in India accepting NEET Score
  • Medical Colleges accepting NEET
  • List of Medical Colleges in India
  • List of AIIMS Colleges In India
  • Medical Colleges in Maharashtra
  • Medical Colleges in India Accepting NEET PG
  • NEET College Predictor
  • NEET PG College Predictor
  • NEET MDS College Predictor
  • NEET Rank Predictor
  • DNB PDCET College Predictor
  • NEET Result 2024
  • NEET Asnwer Key 2024
  • NEET Cut off
  • NEET Online Preparation
  • Download Helpful E-books

NEET Companion Use Now Your one-stop Counselling package for NEET, AIIMS and JIPMER

  • CUET PG 2024
  • IGNOU B.Ed Admission 2024
  • DU Admission 2024
  • UP B.Ed JEE 2024
  • LPU NEST 2024
  • IIT JAM 2024
  • IGNOU Online Admission 2024
  • Universities in India
  • Top Universities in India 2024
  • Top Colleges in India
  • Top Universities in Uttar Pradesh 2024
  • Top Universities in Bihar
  • Top Universities in Madhya Pradesh 2024
  • Top Universities in Tamil Nadu 2024
  • Central Universities in India

Upcoming Events

  • CUET DU Cut off 2024
  • IGNOU Date Sheet
  • CUET DU CSAS Portal 2024
  • CUET Response Sheet 2024
  • CUET Result 2024
  • CUET Participating Universities 2024
  • CUET Previous Year Question Paper
  • CUET Syllabus 2024 for Science Students
  • E-Books and Sample Papers
  • CUET Exam Pattern 2024
  • CUET Exam Date 2024
  • CUET Cut Off 2024
  • CUET Exam Analysis 2024
  • IGNOU Exam Form 2024
  • CUET PG Counselling 2024
  • CUET Answer Key 2024
  • IT Colleges in Tamil Nadu
  • IT Colleges in Uttar Pradesh
  • MCA Colleges in India
  • BCA Colleges in India

Quick Links

  • Information Technology Courses
  • Programming Courses
  • Web Development Courses
  • Data Analytics Courses
  • Big Data Analytics Courses

Top Streams

  • IT & Software Certification Courses
  • Engineering and Architecture Certification Courses
  • Programming And Development Certification Courses
  • Business and Management Certification Courses
  • Marketing Certification Courses
  • Health and Fitness Certification Courses
  • Design Certification Courses

Specializations

  • Digital Marketing Certification Courses
  • Cyber Security Certification Courses
  • Artificial Intelligence Certification Courses
  • Business Analytics Certification Courses
  • Data Science Certification Courses
  • Cloud Computing Certification Courses
  • Machine Learning Certification Courses
  • View All Certification Courses
  • UG Degree Courses
  • PG Degree Courses
  • Short Term Courses
  • Free Courses
  • Online Degrees and Diplomas
  • Compare Courses

Top Providers

  • Coursera Courses
  • Udemy Courses
  • Edx Courses
  • Swayam Courses
  • upGrad Courses
  • Simplilearn Courses
  • Great Learning Courses
  • NCHMCT JEE 2024
  • Mah BHMCT CET
  • Top Hotel Management Colleges in Delhi
  • Top Hotel Management Colleges in Hyderabad
  • Top Hotel Management Colleges in Mumbai
  • Top Hotel Management Colleges in Tamil Nadu
  • Top Hotel Management Colleges in Maharashtra
  • B.Sc Hotel Management
  • Hotel Management
  • Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology

Diploma Colleges

  • Top Diploma Colleges in Maharashtra
  • RUHS Pharmacy Admission Test
  • Top Pharmacy Colleges in India
  • Pharmacy Colleges in Pune
  • Pharmacy Colleges in Mumbai
  • Colleges Accepting GPAT Score
  • Pharmacy Colleges in Lucknow
  • List of Pharmacy Colleges in Nagpur
  • GPAT Result
  • GPAT 2024 Admit Card
  • GPAT Question Papers
  • CA Intermediate
  • CA Foundation
  • CS Executive
  • CS Professional
  • Difference between CA and CS
  • Difference between CA and CMA
  • CA Full form
  • CMA Full form
  • CS Full form
  • CA Salary In India

Top Courses & Careers

  • Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com)
  • Master of Commerce (M.Com)
  • Company Secretary
  • Cost Accountant
  • Charted Accountant
  • Credit Manager
  • Financial Advisor
  • Top Commerce Colleges in India
  • Top Government Commerce Colleges in India
  • Top Private Commerce Colleges in India
  • Top M.Com Colleges in Mumbai
  • Top B.Com Colleges in India
  • UPSC IAS 2024
  • SSC CGL 2024
  • IBPS RRB 2024
  • NDA Application Form 2024
  • UPSC IAS Application Form 2024
  • CDS Application Form 2024
  • CTET Admit card 2024
  • HP TET Result 2023
  • SSC GD Constable Admit Card 2024
  • UPTET Notification 2024
  • SBI Clerk Result 2024
  • Previous Year Sample Papers
  • Free Competition E-books
  • Sarkari Result
  • QnA- Get your doubts answered
  • UPSC Previous Year Sample Papers
  • CTET Previous Year Sample Papers
  • SBI Clerk Previous Year Sample Papers
  • NDA Previous Year Sample Papers

Other Exams

  • SSC CHSL 2024
  • UP PCS 2024
  • UGC NET 2024
  • RRB NTPC 2024
  • IBPS PO 2024
  • IBPS Clerk 2024
  • IBPS SO 2024
  • Top University in USA
  • Top University in Canada
  • Top University in Ireland
  • Top Universities in UK
  • Top Universities in Australia
  • Best MBA Colleges in Abroad
  • Business Management Studies Colleges

Top Countries

  • Study in USA
  • Study in UK
  • Study in Canada
  • Study in Australia
  • Study in Ireland
  • Study in Germany
  • Study in China
  • Study in Europe

Student Visas

  • Student Visa Canada
  • Student Visa UK
  • Student Visa USA
  • Student Visa Australia
  • Student Visa Germany
  • Student Visa New Zealand
  • Student Visa Ireland
  • CBSE Class 10th
  • CBSE Class 12th
  • UP Board 10th
  • UP Board 12th
  • Bihar Board 10th
  • Bihar Board 12th
  • Top Schools in India
  • Top Schools in Delhi
  • Top Schools in Mumbai
  • Top Schools in Chennai
  • Top Schools in Hyderabad
  • Top Schools in Kolkata
  • Top Schools in Pune
  • Top Schools in Bangalore

Products & Resources

  • JEE Main Knockout April
  • NCERT Notes
  • NCERT Syllabus
  • NCERT Books
  • RD Sharma Solutions
  • Navodaya Vidyalaya Admission 2024-25
  • NCERT Solutions
  • NCERT Solutions for Class 12
  • NCERT Solutions for Class 11
  • NCERT solutions for Class 10
  • NCERT solutions for Class 9
  • NCERT solutions for Class 8
  • NCERT Solutions for Class 7
  • NCHMCT JEE 2022
  • Christ University BHM
  • Top Hotel Management Colleges in India
  • Top Hospitality & Tourism Colleges in Delhi
  • Top Government Hospitality & Tourism Colleges in Hyderabad
  • Top Hospitality & Tourism Colleges in Mumbai
  • NCHM JEE College Predictor
  • NEET Companion Buy Now
  • B.Tech Companion Buy Now

why become a research scientist

Popular Searches

  • CAT Percentile Predictor
  • JEE Main Question Paper
  • CAT Score Vs Percentile

Research Scientist

  • Research Scientist

How to Become a Research Scientist

  • Career Types
  • Work Environment
  • How to become
  • Skills and Traits
  • Certifications/Internship
  • Career Progression

Who is a Research Scientist?

Everything that you see around you has been invented or discovered by the work of some extraordinary individuals who are known as research scientists. These individuals are responsible for carrying out scientific activities and are involved in the study of the world around them. They are also dedicated to improving the quality of life on the planet by developing new scientific methods and techniques.

If you are a science enthusiast who has a passion for the subject and is interested in learning more about the world around you, then you should consider becoming a research scientist. In addition to being involved in scientific activities, research scientists also have the opportunity to earn a living. In this article, we will be discussing how to become research scientist after 12th or how to become a research scientist in India. 

Research Scientist

Research Scientist in a Nutshell

The passion for finding answers and the excitement of working on projects are some of the factors that make a fascinating research scientist career. However, working on a project can also expose them to various challenges and failures. A research scientist's job involves a wide variety of subjects and tasks.

Quick Facts for Research Scientist

Male, Female

Research scientist jobs are suitable for individuals who are interested in becoming a part of the technology and science industry. Both men and women can pursue this research scientist career. The right attitude and skills are some of the factors that a person should consider when it comes to choosing a research scientist career in this field.

Individuals with strong analytical and critical thinking skills can become a research scientist. There are no restrictions to this type of job, and it can be done remotely. In addition, there are various fields of science that can be done without any external efforts or physical movement. This is a perfect job for people with special needs.

Table of Contents for Research Scientist

What is the role of research scientist.

A research scientist is a person who is responsible for managing various tasks and projects, such as teams, documents, and projects. Some of them are from scratch, while others require some form of intermediary involvement. As a research scientist, you will be categorised into two categories: experimental and theoretical.

An experimental research scientist is a scientist who carries out the experiments and test results of a project. On the other hand, a theoretical research scientist is a scientist who works on the concepts and equations of a project.

The duties of a research scientist include overseeing the availability of the necessary services and equipment within the company at all times. He or she is also responsible for ensuring that the organization's policies and procedures are followed. The ideal candidate for this job would have the necessary skills and knowledge to maximize the efficiency of the company's resources.

Supervision

The duties of a research scientist include ensuring that the needs of the studies and trials are met at the centre of the care delivery process. He or she is also responsible for ensuring that the environment is safe and that the equipment used for the studies is working properly.

Team management

As a research scientist, he or she is responsible for ensuring that the various tasks and projects are carried out in a way that is consistent with the goals and objectives of the project. He or she is also expected to ensure that the team members come up with the best possible approach to the project.

Leadership Skills

Research scientists are expected to provide effective leadership and promote sound scientific practices. They are also responsible for developing support mechanisms that encourage and guide innovation in the field.

Maintenance work

As a research scientist, you will be responsible for disseminating knowledge and skills to other disciplines within the company. You will also be expected to deal with government officials and other organizations in stressful situations.

Research work

In certain situations, a research scientist's job involves carrying out a local audit and conducting research to ensure that the findings are properly disseminated. This type of work is usually carried out in order to obtain approval from the ethical council.

Types of a Research Scientist

There are various types of research scientists working in different scientific fields. These associates are responsible for analysing and disseminating scientific information.

Astronomer :  Astronomers are responsible for studying stars, galaxies, and planets. They also track the non-celestial objects in outer space. This field involves working closely with other scientists to study planetary movements.

Botanist :  As a botanist, one of the main roles of this field is to study the various aspects of the plants that are commonly found in the environment. They analyse the plant's structure, development, and uses.

Geologist :  As a Geologist, one of the most important roles in this field is to study the various elements of the Earth, including its solid, liquid, and gaseous state. He or she also studies the history and evolution of the planet.

Marine Biologist:  As a marine biologist, one of the main areas of specialisation is the study of the various marine organisms that live in the environment. This field involves analysing the interactions between plants and animals. After gaining a broad understanding of oceanography and biological oceanography, marine biologists conduct close research on different aquatic species.

What is the workplace/work environment of Research Scientist like?

As a research scientist, you will be part of a team working in different areas of the research, such as medical centres and laboratories. You will be expected to keep up with the latest developments in the field and the theoretical and experimental history of the project.

Does Research Scientist require travelling?

One of the main advantages of being a research scientist is that you will be working in a single research area, and you will typically spend about 90 per cent of your time in the OR suite. In other cases, you will be expected to work in different areas of the research, such as laboratories and experimental fields.

Employment Shifts

Full time, part time.

Research scientists are typically expected to work up to 60 hours per week, and they may also be required to be present on call during certain hours of the day. In certain facilities, where there are numerous trials, research scientists may be required to work in shifts to ensure that there are trained staff members available 24 hours a day.

Employment Nature

The nature of a research scientist's work is that it is a permanent position, which means that employers can hire them on a permanent basis. Medical centres and other third-party companies often hire research scientists.

As a research scientist, you will be expected to work in different areas of research, such as medical centres and laboratories. You will be expected to keep up with the latest developments in the field and the theoretical and experimental history of the project.

Presence in Geographical Area

Semi-urban, urban.

Tier-1 cities such as New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Kolkata are known for their healthcare facilities and are known to be great places for research workers. In Tamil Nadu, the average research scientist salary is 10.6 per cent higher than the national average. In Bangalore and Karnataka, the research scientists earn more than the national average, while in Mumbai, the lowest pay is around 11.5 per cent.

Time Pressure

As a research scientist, you will be expected to work from 9 am to 5 pm, and you may be required to perform various shifts depending on the schedule.

Overtime Details

Research scientists are expected to work overtime, and this is typically done under certain circumstances. Apart from working long hours, they are also expected to perform other tasks that involve weekends and long days.

Weekly Hours of Work

Min 45 hours.

In certain facilities, where there are numerous trials, research scientists may be required to work in shifts to ensure that there are trained staff members available 24 hours a day.

How to become a Research Scientist?

Steps to become a research scientist.

If you are someone who enjoys doing research or want to know things in-depth then a career as a Research Scientist is the most suitable career for you. If you are looking for the details of how to become a research scientist in India or how to become a research scientist after 12th then you have come to the right place. We have mentioned below the steps for how to become a Research Scientist in India. 

Identify Skills

Enrol in formal training/course, pursue a specialised certification, build an attractive resume, gain experience, find a suitable job, begin a career.

To become a Research Scientist you are required to know what skills are required for a career as a Research Scientist. We have mentioned below some of the soft skills and hard skills.

Some of the soft skills for how to become a Research Scientist in India are attention to detail, communication skills, analytical skills, time management, collaboration and creativity. 

Creativity 

Curiosity 

Communication

Productivity

Formulaic Thinking 

Apart from that, you must also have some of the hard skills that are required to become a Research Scientist in India are cell culture, biochemistry, and data analysis. 

Data Analysis

Data Collection

Research Projects

Molecular Biology

Python and Java 

Cell Culture 

Experimental Design

If you are still looking for how to become a Research Scientist in India, then the most essential step for you to take is that you must opt for a formal training programme to gain knowledge in the subject and to opt for a career as a Research Scientist. You are required to complete 10+2 in Biology , Chemistry , Physics , and Mathematics from a recognised board in India. 

After you have completed your 10+2, you must opt for a bachelor’s degree by appearing for the entrance examination and then opt for a master’s degree in MSc Clinical Research or any other related degree. Below, We have mentioned the Research Scientist entrance examination, bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Entrance Examinations

Bachelor’s Degree Programmes

Master’s Degree Programmes

If you are looking for how to become a Research Scientist in India, then you can also opt for a specialised certification. If you pursue a certification course you will gain more knowledge and skills. Below we have given some of the specialised certifications. 

Once you have completed your formal degree and certifications, you are required to create an attractive resume with all of your details such as subject knowledge and skills, your interest in the research field, and your educational background. Your resume must be in a formal and professional tone.

If you want to develop your skills and knowledge practically and gain industry experience then you must pursue an internship. Before you pursue your Ph.D. program it is better that you work for one to two years. You can upload your resume to various internship platforms, or connect directly to popular laboratories and research centers where you can work under the supervision of experienced professionals.

Once you have completed your training or internship, you can now apply for full-time job opportunities. You can apply on various job offering platforms such as Naukri, Linkedin, Monster and Indeed. Apart from that you can also approach directly to some of the laboratories or research institutes or universities. 

This is the final step in how to become a Research Scientist in India. After attending some of the related interviews you can select the best and the right offer and accept it and join the company and begin your career. 

What are the skills and qualities required to become a/an Research Scientist?

  • Communication skills
  • Critical thinking
  • Learning Skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Physical strength
  • Science skills

Patience:  As a research scientist, one has to remain calm and make the right decisions in order to carry out their duties. This is very important in order to maintain the continued success of the research project. The work that the associate does helps in developing new methodologies for human life.

Physical Strength: Having the proper physical strength and mental focus is very important for a research scientist to be successful in their job. Besides being physically fit, research scientist also needs to stay focused and alert during their trials, which can last for up to 8 hours.

Communication Skills:  One of the most critical skills that research scientists need to develop is communication skills. This is because, in a high-stakes environment, communicating effectively is very important.

Science Skills: People should have a deep understanding of science in order to excel in their field. This is very important for them to become a research scientist. Besides being able to excel in the field, it is also very important that they have a passion for technology.

Attention to Detail: One of the most important factors that a research scientist should consider when it comes to becoming a research scientist is the importance of paying attention to detail. This is because, in order to produce the best possible work, one must always be able to make the necessary decisions.

Critical Thinking:  As a research scientist, you must have the necessary skills to analyse and interpret data in order to make informed decisions. This discipline involves identifying the weaknesses and strengths of various solutions. Besides being able to analyse and interpret data, a research scientist also needs to have the necessary analytical skills to deal with difficult situations.

Learning Skills: In addition to being able to analyse and interpret data, a research scientist also needs to have the necessary analytical skills to deal with difficult situations. Learning skills are very important in a career as a research scientist. This discipline involves conducting various tasks such as inspecting and testing equipment.

Which certifications and internships can be helpful in becoming Research Scientist?

Individuals aspiring to become research scientist can upgrade their skills by taking various certification courses. These courses can help them perform at their best.

Internship Availability

Several organisations in the science and technology industry provide internships to students. These are designed to provide them with an opportunity to enhance their technical skills and experience, as well as learn more about becoming a research scientist. To apply, students must go through the website portals of their choice. They are also required to provide their CV and meet the requirements of the internship. Shortlisted candidates will be given various opportunities throughout the year.

Career Path Progression for Research Scientist

Junior Research Scientist:  Junior research scientists are responsible for providing technical guidance to the technicians and interns working in other fields who are under their expertise. These individuals use their knowledge in the areas they work in to improve their efficiency.

Senior Research Scientist:  A senior research scientist is a person who focuses on the principles of various engineering disciplines such as electrical, chemical, and physics. They supervise the technicians and technologists who are involved in the production or research of the project. They also prepare reports and perform other tasks to communicate engineering recommendations.

Research Scientist Jobs and Salaries

Junior research scientist.

  • Average Salary 39000

Job Description

The Junior Research Scientist job description includes planning and conducting experiments, and formulating and executing investigative protocols. A Junior Research Scientist does data collection and analysis. 

Salary Description

An entry-level Junior Research Scientist salary in India ranges between Rs 2.0 Lakhs to Rs 9.8 Lakhs with an average annual salary of Rs 5.0 Lakhs per annum. Junior Research Scientist in India may vary depending on the various job factors like the skills and experience of the candidates, job location, and others.

Salary Source: AmbitionBox

Senior Research Scientist

  • Average Salary 70000

The Senior Research Scientist job description includes securing the funding, publishing the findings and conducting in-house research presentations. A Senior Research Scientist promotes beneficence, minimises risks, and collects and analyses data.

The estimated Senior Research Scientist salary in India ranges from Rs 5.6 Lakhs to Rs 20.0 Lakhs with an average annual salary of Rs 10.0 Lakhs per annum. Senior Research Scientist salary may vary depending on the various job factors.

What is the job outlook for Research Scientist?

There are numerous growth opportunities in a research scientist career. You can choose to specialise in one of the areas of corporate social responsibility or develop new skills in areas such as research and development.

One of the oldest research scientist career in the industry, research scientist has plenty of scope and potential. In addition to being in the medical and biological sectors, research scientist jobs are also available in engineering technology fields. This field is heavily influenced by the discoveries made in the field of engineering, which involves the study of particulate matter.

Frequently Asked Questions for Research Scientist

Que. how to become a research scientist in biotechnology.

You must pursue a bachelor's degree by giving an entrance exam like ARS NET, JRF,  ICMR, and DBT NET and opt for a master's degree in MSc Biotechnology and must opt for an internship for atleast one to two years.  

Que. How to become a research scientist in physics?

You must pursue a bachelor's degree by giving an entrance exam like JEST, or UGC-NET and opt for a master's degree in biochemistry, biology, or pharmacology and must opt for an internship for atleast one to two years.  

Que. How to become a research scientist in biology?

You must pursue a bachelor's degree in biology by giving an entrance exam and opt for a master's degree in biochemistry, biology, or pharmacology and must opt for an internship for atleast one to two years. After that, you can opt for a PhD.

You might also be interested in

Career options for maths students: ug & pg degree co....

Check out the best Career Options for Maths Students. The article majorly describes the...

Career Opportunities After Pursuing Liberal Arts

Know the career opportunities after pursuing liberal arts, and choose a career based on...

Marketing Manager Job Description & Roles and Respon...

The article gives information on key details on Marketing Manager Job Responsibilities,...

Cloud Engineer Job Description & Roles and Responsib...

The article gives information on Cloud Engineer Job Description, roles, and responsibil...

Account Manager Job Description & Roles and Responsi...

The article gives information on the account manager job description, roles and respons...

Social Media Manager Job Description & Roles and Res...

The article gives information on Social Media Manager job description, roles and respon...

Sales Manager Job Description & Roles and Responsibi...

This article gives information on Sales Manager Job Description, roles and responsibili...

Marketing Executive Job Description & Roles and Resp...

The article gives information on Marketing executive duties, job description, roles, an...

Data Scientist Job Description & Roles and Responsib...

The article gives information about Data Scientist job description, roles and responsib...

आईएएस वेतन 2024 (IAS Salary 2024 in Hindi) - पोस्ट वा...

आईएएस वेतन 2024 (IAS Salary 2024) - आईएएस का वेतन, पद के अनुसार वेतनमान, मूल वेतन, ग्रेड...

Software Developer Job Description & Roles and Respo...

The article gives key details on Software Developer job description, roles and responsi...

Web Developer Job Description & Roles and Responsibi...

The article gives information on the Job Description, roles and responsibilities along ...

Product Manager Job Description & Roles and Responsi...

The article gives information on Product Manager Job Description, roles and responsibil...

Human Resource Manager Job Description & Roles and R...

The article gives information on the job description, roles and responsibilities of hum...

Graphic Designer Job Description & Roles and Respons...

The article gives information on key details about the job description, roles and respo...

Operations Manager Job Description & Roles and Respo...

The article gives information on the job description, roles and responsibilities of ope...

Business Development Executive (BDE) & Roles and Res...

The article gives information on Business Development Executive Job Role, along with th...

Accountant Job Description & Roles and Responsibilities

The article gives information on the job description, roles and responsibilities of an ...

Business Analyst Job Description & Roles and Respons...

The article gives information on job description, roles and responsibilities of busines...

Financial Analyst Job Description & Roles and Respon...

The article gives information on Financial analyst job description, roles and responsib...

Content Writer Job Description & Roles and Responsib...

The article gives detailed information of a content writer job description and other ke...

Data Analyst Job Description & Roles and Responsibil...

The article gives information on Data Analyst Job Description, roles, and responsibilit...

Teacher Job Description & Roles and Responsibilities

The article gives information on Teacher Job Description, roles and responsibilities, s...

Business Development Manager Job Description & Roles...

The article gives information on the job description, roles and responsibilities of bus...

Retail Manager Job Description & Roles and Responsib...

The article gives information on various details of Retail Manager such as salary, elig...

Production Manager Job Description & Roles and Respo...

The article gives information on important details on production manager such as job de...

Recruiter Job Description & Roles and Responsibilities

The article gives information on the job description, roles and responsibilities of rec...

Project Manager Job Description & Roles and Responsi...

The article gives information on job description, roles and responsibilities of project...

High Salary Government Jobs After 12th - Check Eligi...

The following article will give you insights into some of the best high salary governme...

Loco Pilot Salary in India - Per Month, After 10 Yea...

Learn about Loco Pilot Salary in India. Know more details like loco pilot salary per mo...

Merchant Navy Salary in India - After 12th, Per Mont...

Learn about Merchant Navy Salary in India - Check the Salary of Merchant navy after 12t...

Top 10 Highest Paid Jobs in India in Commerce Field ...

Find out the Top 10 Highest Paid Jobs in India in Commerce Field. Check what are the sk...

Best Career Options After 12th PCM For Girl - Eligib...

Career options after 12th PCM - this article gives an insight into what are the best ca...

Part time Jobs After 12th Commerce - Expected Salary...

Get information on Part-time Jobs After 12th Commerce. The article also gives informati...

Career Options After 12th Commerce with Maths

Career options after 12th Commerce with Maths - This article will discuss the best care...

How to become a Medical Representative

Know How to become a Medical Representative. Check what are the skills, educational qua...

Career Options After BTech - Under Private Sector & ...

Check out the best Career Options After BTech. Find what are the skills, job roles, edu...

Top 6 Highest Paying Jobs in Commerce Without Math

Find out the Top 6 Highest Paying Jobs in Commerce Without Math. Read complete article ...

Engineer Salary in India - Per Month, Top Cities, Co...

Learn about Engineer Salary in India. The article also gives information on salary base...

How to Become an IT Consultant - Courses, Jobs, Aver...

Learn How to Become an IT Consultant. Check IT courses, Job, Salary and more details here.

How to Work in Information Technology

Learn How to Work in Information Technology. What are the education qualification skill...

Software Developer Salary in India - Per Month, Base...

Software Developer Salary in India - Check the salary of a software developer per month...

Career Scope After B.Pharma and M.Pharma

The article gives information on Career scope After B Pharma & M Pharma including avera...

How To Study Pharmacy Abroad

Learn How To Study Pharmacy Abroad. Check what are educational qualification, skills re...

​​Career Options After 12th Arts - Courses With High...

Check out the best ​​career options after 12th arts with highest salary.

Career Options in Law in India - Average Salary, Edu...

Learn about some of the best careers option after law and average salary. see what educ...

Different Types of Jobs in Information Technology

Check out the Different Types of Jobs in Information Technology including skills, quali...

HR Salary in India (Fresher & Experienced) - How to ...

Check out the HR salary in India. Know what are the skills, education qualification req...

Low Risk Careers in Engineering Domain in the Age of...

Check the careers that are low risk careers in automation or what can be the benefits o...

Top Highest Paying Engineering Jobs - Skills, Educat...

Find out the Top Highest Paying Engineering Jobs. Check what are the skills, educationa...

MBA in Pharmaceutical Management

Do MBA in Pharmaceutical Management? Know the educational qualification, skills, roles ...

How to become an Information Technology Manager: Ski...

Know How to become an Information Technology Manager. Check out the skills, education q...

Low Risk Careers in Hospitality, Travel and Tourism ...

Check the Low risk Careers list in Hospitality, Travel and Tourism industry in the Age ...

Types of Pharmacy Courses After 12th

Check what are the types of Pharmacy Courses After 12th. Know the educational qualifica...

Best Career Option In Pharma Industry For Life Science

Learn about the best Career Options In Pharma Industry For Life Science. Check out the ...

Web Designer Salary in India (For Freshers & Experie...

Learn about the web designer average salary, job profiles, skills required, education q...

Career Options After MBA in Marketing: Highest Payin...

Find out the best Career Options After MBA in Marketing. Check what are the education q...

Top Highest Paying Tech Jobs: Skills, Average Salary

Find out the Top Highest Paying Tech Jobs in India for fresher and experience. Check wh...

SEO Salary in India: SEO Manager, SEO Executive, SEO...

Learn about the SEO Salary in India. Find what are the skills, educational qualificatio...

IoT Engineer Salary in India

Check out the IoT Engineer Salary in India. Find what is role and responsibilities, sal...

Data Analyst Salary in India for Fresher & Experienced

The article gives insights on Data Analyst Salary in India. The article also gives inf...

Business Analyst Salary in India for Fresher & Exper...

Learn about the Business Analyst Salary in India for Fresher and Experienced. Find out ...

Career Options in Sociology: 9 Top Career Opportunit...

Find out the Career Options in Sociology. Check what are the educational qualification,...

Career Options After MBA: Qualification, Jobs, Avg. ...

Learn about the various Career Options After MBA. The article also gives information on...

Top 10 Engineering Jobs - Highest Paying Jobs In India

Check out some of the most popular engineering jobs in India. Check what are the qualif...

Career Outlook for Full Stack Developers

The article gives a brief Career Outlook for Full Stack Developers. The article also li...

5 Steps To Finding The Right Career For You

Learn all about useful tips to help you identify the skills you have and the training y...

Low Risk Career in Medical Domain in the Era of Arti...

The article gives information on some of the low-risk career options in the medicine fi...

Demanding Careers in Construction Industry - Jobs, S...

Learn all about some of the demanding careers in the construction Industry. The article...

What can I do with a Pharmacy Degree

Know what to do after getting a degree in pharmacy. The article gives information on jo...

Top Remote Jobs - List of Best Work From Home Companies

Check out the best remote jobs available in India. The article also gives information o...

Popular Careers in Management in India - Average Salary

Learn all about various types of managers that come under management , their salaries a...

Big Data Engineer Salary - How Much Can You Expect A...

The article gives information on salaries of Big Data Engineers in India. The article a...

Social Media Marketing Salary in India

Learn about Social Media Marketing Salary in India. The article also gives information ...

Reasons to Pursue Information Technology Careers

Check out some reasons why you should pursue careers in information technology. Know the

Average Business Management Salary in India [For Fre...

Find out the Average Business Management Salary in India for Fresher and Experienced. C...

Best Paying Jobs in Information Technology

Get brief information on some of the best paying Jobs in IT. The article also gives inf...

Product Designer Salary in India [For Freshers & Exp...

Find out the Product Designer Salary in India for Fresher and Experienced. Check what a...

Doctor Salary in India - Per Month, Specialisation, ...

Air hostess salary in india - based on company & roles.

Air Hostess Salary In India - Air hostesses are also known as flight attendants or stew...

Aeronautical Engineer Salary in India - Per Month, E...

Aeronautical Engineer Salary in India - Aeronautical engineers design and construct aer...

Top 5 Tech Careers Of The Future

Check out the Top 5 Tech Careers Of The Future. Know the careers options, skills, educa...

Top 5 Highest Paid Freelancing Jobs in India

The article gives information on 5 Highest Paid Freelancing Jobs in India. Check out th...

Site Reliability Engineer: Job Responsibilities, Sal...

Learn all about Site Reliability Engineer's job roles and responsibilities. The article...

How to Become Frontend Developer - Skills, Education...

Find How to become Frontend Developer in India. Check what are the skills, educational ...

Management Consultant Salary in India

Check out the Management Consultant Salary in India. Check education qualification, ski...

Top 7 Career Options in Law In India: Job Opportunit...

Find out the Top 7 Career Options in Law In India. Check out the job opportunities, ski...

Top Career Options in Law in India

Find out the Top Career Options in Law including job roles and their salary in India, R...

How to Become Freelance Designer

Check How to become Freelance Designer. Check out the steps to become freelance designer.

Popular IT Careers in India - Highest Paying Jobs

Check out the Popular IT Careers in India. See what are the highest paying jobs, educat...

What Can You Do with an IT Degree

What Can You Do with an IT Degree? Know what are the skills, education qualification re...

Python Developer Salary in India: Skills, Job Roles

Find out the Python Developer Salary in India. Check what are the educational qualifica...

How to Become a PHP Developer - Skills, Education, S...

Know How to become a PHP Developer in India. See what are the skills, educational quali...

Average Product Manager Salary in India for Fresher ...

Learn all about the Average Product Manager Salary in India for fresher and experience....

Project Manager Salary in India - Average Salary for...

Learn about the Project Manager Salary in India. Check what are the skills, educational...

Cloud Architect Salary in India - Skills, Qualificat...

Learn all about Cloud Architect Salary in India. Learn what are the skills required, qu...

Career Options After Computer Engineering: Courses, ...

Learn all about Career Options After Computer Engineering. Check what are the skills, e...

Supply Chain Manager Salary in India - Skills, Quali...

Learn about the Supply Chain Manager Salary in India. The article also gives informatio...

Top Highest Paying Science Jobs in India

Find out the Top Highest Paying Science Jobs in India. Check what are the education qua...

React JS Developer Salary in India: Types, Job Marke...

Learn all about the salary of a React JS Developer. The article also gives information ...

Android Developer Salary in India : Based on Locatio...

The article gives information on Android Developer Salary. Additionally, it also gives ...

How to Become an Animator After 12th

Learn how to become an animator. The article also gives information on skills, educatio...

How to become an RPA Developer: Skills, Salary, Job ...

Learn all about how to become an RPA Developer. The article also gives information on s...

Average Computer Science Salary in India - Job Role,...

Find the Average Computer Science Salary in India. Know the job role, skills, education...

Top 6 Interesting Career Options in Psychology in India

Check out the Top 6 Interesting Career Options in Psychology in India. Find what are th...

Javascript Developer Salary in India for Fresher & E...

Check out the Javascript Developer Salary in India for Fresher and Experienced. Read co...

AI Engineer Salary In US, India, Canada - Jobs, Resp...

Check out the AI Engineer Salary In US India Canada. Find roles and responsibilities, j...

DBA Salary in India - Skills, Qualification, Careers...

Find out the DBA Salary in India. Check what are the skills, qualification, careers pro...

AWS Salary in India [For Freshers & Experienced]

Learn all about AWS Salary in India For Freshers & Experienced. The article also gives ...

Cloud Engineer Salary in India - Skills, Qualificati...

Learn all about Cloud Engineer Salary in India. Check what are the skills, educational ...

Journalism and Mass Communication Salary in India

Check out Journalism and Mass Communication Salary in India. Find what are the skills, ...

Best IT Courses After 12th

Check out the Best IT Courses After 12th. Know the IT jobs, skills, education qualifica...

Top 5 Factors for Career Options in India

Carefully considering the following factors when weighing your career path options can ...

Full Stack Developer Salary in India : Skills, Caree...

Learn all about the Full Stack Developer Salary in India. The article also gives inform...

Salary for M.Sc IT Graduates: Highest Paying Job Rol...

Check out the Salary for M.Sc IT Graduates: Highest Paying Job Roles for M.Sc IT. Know ...

Software Architect Salary in India for Fresher & Exp...

Check out the Software Architect Salary in India. Know what are the skills required, qu...

Fun and Interesting Career Options in India

Check out the Fun and Interesting Career Options in India. Check out the diploma and qu...

How to Become a Marine Engineer After 12th

Check How to become a Marine Engineer after 12th. What are the skills, educational qual...

Career in Digital Marketing: Skills, Advantages & Di...

Check out the Career in Digital Marketing, Find What are the skills, advantages and dis...

Bank Jobs After 12th - Check Eligibility & Expected ...

Learn all about Bank Jobs after 12th. The article also gives information on some of the...

Best Government Jobs For Commerce Students - Salary,...

Learn all about some of the top Government Jobs that students who are from commerce bac...

SSC Jobs After 12th - Check Eligibility, Exams, Exp...

The following article will give you important information on SSC jobs after 12th

Top Govt Jobs After 12th - Check Post Name, Exam, El...

Top Govt Jobs After 12th - Check out the various government jobs available to students ...

Railway Jobs After 12th - Check Eligibility, Top Exa...

The following article will give you information about the Indian railway jobs after 12th.

Salesforce Developer Salary in India For Fresher & E...

Check out the Salesforce Developer Salary in India for Fresher and Experienced. Read co...

Salary of Pharmacist: Region Wise, Specialization Wi...

Check out the Salary of Pharmacist. Know what is the qualification, skills required and...

How to Become UI/UX Designer - Skills, Career Prospe...

Check how to become UI/UX Designer including skills, career prospects, average salary a...

Ethical Hacker Salary for Fresher & Experienced : In...

Check out the Ethical Hacker Salary in India, USA, Canada, UAE, Singapore, Australia. C...

Average Corporate Lawyer Salary in India

Learn about the average Corporate Lawyer Salary in India. The article also gives inform...

MBA Salary in USA (By Industry): Types of MBA, Fact...

Find out MBA Salary in USA by their industry. Check out the factors, types of MBA, qual...

Software Engineering Salary in India [Average & High...

Check out the average salary of software engineer in India. Check what are the educatio...

Cyber Security Salary in India For Freshers & Experi...

Learn all about Cyber Security Salary in India for fresher and experienced. Check what ...

What to do After MCA - Careers & Scope, Average Salary

Learn about the best careers option after MCA. See scope, job profile, average salary a...

Web Developer Salary in India [For Freshers & Experi...

Learn all about the Web Developer Salary in India For Freshers and Experienced. Know wh...

Salary of MCA Graduates: Based on Various Specialisa...

Check out the salary of MCA graduates based on the specialisation and job roles. know m...

Digital Marketing Salary in India – Average to Highest

Find out the Digital Marketing Salary in India. Check job profiles, skills, educational...

Java Developer Salary in India [For Freshers & Exper...

Check out the Java Developer Salary in India in 2022 For Freshers & Experienced. Read c...

What does an Engineer do? - Job Roles, Salary

Find out the What does an Engineer do. Check out the job roles and their average salary...

How do I get a job in the Pharmaceutical Industry?

Know How do I get a job in Pharmaceutical Industry. Read more details here.

Machine Learning Salary in India (Fresher & Experien...

Find out the Machine Learning Salary in India. Check what are the skills, education qua...

6 Top Career Options After BBA: What to do After BBA?

Learn about the best career option or job opportunities after BBA Course. The article a...

Service Delivery Manager: Job Description, Skills Re...

Learn all about Service Delivery Manager jobs in India. The article gives information o...

Career Opportunities in Artificial Intelligence

Find out the various Career Opportunities in Artificial Intelligence. Check out the ski...

DevOps Engineer Salary in India [For Fresher & Exper...

Learn all about the DevOps Engineer Salary in India for Freshers & Experienced. Find wh...

Which is the Best Career Option to Choose in Today T...

There are multiple factors that you need to consider while choosing your career options...

What to do After BMM - Best Careers Option After BMM

What to do After BMM? Here is the list of best career options available in BMM includin...

Career Options After MA: What To Do After MA

Check out the list of Career Options After MA. Here you can find what to do, how you ca...

Career after Polytechnic, Courses, Job Opportunities...

Get information on some of the Careers after Polytechnic. The articles gives informatio...

Which Are The Best Career Options In India

This article will give students an insight into the best career options for a future in...

Career Options After BMS: What to do After BMS

Learn all about Career Options After BMS. Check job opportunities, salary, educational ...

How to Become a Management Consultant - Jobs, Skills...

Learn How to Become a Management Consultant, Check what are the skills, educational qua...

Career Options in Commerce with Mathematics After 12...

Learn all about some of the best career options in Commerce with Maths after 12. The ar...

How to Become a Dentist After 12th

Learn how to become a dentist after 12th. The article also gives information on the ski...

Astronomy Courses After 12th - Check Eligibility, D...

The article talks about different astronomy courses after class 12th, eligibility, dura...

Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs in Psychology in India

Looking for Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs in Psychology in India? Find out the list of bes...

Types of Marketing Jobs and Salary

Find out types of Marketing Jobs and their average salary in India for fresher and expe...

Career Options After M.Sc: What To Do After M.Sc

Check out the best Career Options After MSc. Find the job role, responsibilities, salar...

Average Nursing Salary in India - Job Profile, Scope...

Check out the average Nursing salary in India. Here you can find what are the education...

How to become a Successful Vlogger

Learn how to become a successful Vlogger. The article also gives information on types ...

Investment Banker Salary in India {Beginners & Exper...

Learn all about Investment banker salary in India for beginners and experienced. See wh...

Scope Of DPharma In India and abroad

Check out the Scope Of Pharm. D In India and abroad including eligibility criteria, ski...

Career Path of IAS Officer - Training, Responsibilit...

Check out the career path of an IAS officer. Find what are the responsibilities, salary...

Jobs After 10th - Eligibility, Exam Names, Job Sector

Learn all about various jobs that students can pursue after completing their class 10th...

Top IT Jobs in Demand for Future

Learn all about the top IT Jobs in Demand for future. The article also gives informatio...

Is Marketing a Most Stressful Career?

Learn all about how to deal with stress, especially if you are working in the field of ...

Which Engineering Branch is Best For Future - Job Ro...

Learn all about which Engineering branch is best for future. The article also gives inf...

7 Best Career Options after BA: What to do After BA?

Check out the 7 Best Career Options after BA that you can opt for and pursue after your...

Artificial Intelligence Salary in India {Beginners &...

Find out the Artificial Intelligence Salary in India. What are the skills, education qu...

5 Career Options in Pharmaceutical Industry

Know the 5 Career Options in Pharmaceutical Industry including roles and responsibiliti...

How to Become a Salesforce Developer: Skills, Job Ro...

Learn about how to Become a Salesforce Developer? Also Find out the steps to become sal...

Unique Career Options After 12th - Check Eligibility...

Learn all about some unique career options after 12th. The article gives information on...

12 Best Career Options after M.Com in 2024 - What to...

Learn about 12 Best Career Options after MCom. Find what to do, education qualification...

Career after ITI, Courses, Job Opportunities

Career after ITI - Check out career options after engineering and non engineering ITI c...

Best Professions In The World

The following article gives an insight into the best professions in the world.

Top 15 Highest Paying Jobs in Finance in India

Find out the list of Top 15 Highest Paying Jobs in Finance in India. Check various job ...

BCA Salary In India: Top Job Roles & Career Opportun...

Check out the Salary of BCA Graduate. Find various job roles and careers opportunities,...

Career Options In Physical Education - Scope, Salary...

This article gives an insight into what physical education is and what are various care...

How to join Indian Navy after 12th - Check Eligibili...

How to join Indian Navy after 12th - Check out the intends to give you information on h...

10 Best Career Option for Science Students After 12th

Find out the 10 Best Career Option for Science Students After 12th. Check out the job r...

Most In Demand jobs for the Future : Best Future Car...

Find out the Most In Demand jobs for the Future. Here is list of best careers options i...

Commerce Scope After 12th - Check Career Options, Co...

The following article gives a perspective about the vast scope after studying Commerce ...

How To Live Alone: 9 Ways To Live Alone Happily

How To Live Alone - The article gives information on different ways one can learn how t...

How to Become a Judge in India After LLB

Find out How to become a Judge in India after LLB. what is procedure, skills required t...

Careers In Art And Design - Check Career Options, Sa...

Careers options in art and design - this article gives information on best and top care...

Career Planning - Check Effective Tips For Career Pl...

The following article gives an insight about what is career planning and how it differs...

Career Guidance After 12th: Check Popular Colleges, ...

Career Guidance After 12th - The following article gives an insight into career guidan...

Highest Paying Jobs In The World - Check Eligibility...

This article gives an overview of some of the highest paying jobs in the world.

Career Options After 12th Commerce - Eligibility & E...

Career Options After 12th Commerce - The following article gives a detailed analysis of...

Career Option After 10th - Eligibility, Salary, Govt...

Jobs after 10th - this article provides an insight into the best career options after 1...

Career Options After 12th Science - Eligibility & Ex...

Career Options After 12th Science- This article speaks about different career options a...

Career Options After 12th Science PCM - Check Educat...

This article will give you insights into the career options for class 12th PCM, eligibi...

Part Time Jobs After 10th - Data Entry, Content Writ...

Find here the list of top part time jobs after 10th pass that students can pursue and m...

Commerce with Maths Scope - Check List of Top Career...

Commerce with Maths Scope - The following article gives a perspective about the vast sc...

What Is A Career? - A Complete Guide

This article will give readers a detailed insight into what is a career and some of its...

How to Become a Pilot After 12th Commerce - Step By ...

The article explores ways on how those who are from commerce background can become pilo...

Career Options After 12th Commerce Without Maths

This article gives information on various career options after 12th Commerce without Ma...

PCMC Career Options - Expected Salary, Eligibility

This article gives an insight into the courses after 12th science pcmc that are offered...

Career Options After 12th Science PCB - Check Top Re...

This article gives information on career options after 12th Science PCB, for giving a b...

Career Options After 12th Science PCMB - Eligibility...

Career Options After 12th Science PCMB - The following article gives an insight into th...

How to Join ISRO after 12th - A Complete Guide

How to Join ISRO after 12th - This article presents you with a step-by-step guide on ho...

How To Join Indian Navy After 10th - Check Post, Eli...

Learn about how to join the Indian Navy after class 10th. The article gives information...

How to join Indian air force after 12th - Check Sele...

How to join Indian air force after 12th - The following article gives an insight into t...

Career Options After 12th Arts/Humanities - Check Ed...

Learn all about career options after class 12th. The article also gives information abo...

Highest Salary Jobs In India Per Month

Discover some of the highest paid jobs in India. The article has given average monthly ...

Career Opportunity After MBA - Scope, Specialisation...

Check out the list of Career Opportunity After MBA including job roles, skills required...

Diverse Career Paths You Can Pursue At The Indian Pa...

In this article, Careers360 discusses various job profiles available in the Indian Parl...

Why Are Soft Skills Important For Career Development?

Know what are soft skills and why they are important for career development.

NIRF Placement Report: Pharma Grads Prefer Higher Ed...

Do all pharma graduates take up placements? Or is there an equal percentage that pursue...

Search Engine Optimisation: Pursue These Internships...

Here is the list of top paid in-office and work-from-home SEO internships offered by va...

Navigating Career Options and Salaries For Artists W...

Know the best career options with salary for an artist who loves to paint and has a pas...

8 Non-Athletic Careers For Those Who Love Sports

Explores the top 8 lucrative career opportunities who love sports but not a sports person.

Top Careers That Have Withstood Complete Automation

Here, we explore a compilation of careers in various sectors that not only resist the a...

These 6 Careers In Law Can Never Be Automated

Despite being heavily reliant on artificial intelligence, these are the 6 law careers t...

Real Estate: These Are The Top 10 Diverse And Lucrat...

Here are some of the top 10 most diverse and lucrative careers available to people in r...

Careers In The Entertainment That Are Not Acting Yet...

Apart from acting, know what are the other promising career options that are available ...

Dos And Don’ts: How Can Fresh Recruits Make The Most...

Here are some important dos and don’ts that you should keep in mind in your first job.

Career Avenues For Those Who Have Good Conversationa...

Know what are the Careers options available for those who have good speaking skills.

Do’s And Don’ts To Follow During An Internship

Know what are the certain Do's and Don'ts that you should follow during an internship.

Careers Opportunities In Wildlife And Environment Co...

Know the scope and career opportunities and scope in wildlife and environment conservat...

Office Appraisals: Are 360 Degree Performance Assess...

In this article we discuss the 360-degree performance assessment. Read to know the adva...

What Are The Career Opportunities For Maths Enthusia...

In this article discussed career opportunities where you can leverage your mathematical...

Public and Private Sector Employment: Things You Sho...

Here are some things you should know about public and private sector employment.

Freelancing: Why Is It Popular In Certain Industries?

Know the reasons why people prefer freelancing over working for someone else.

Japanese Work Culture: Lessons You Must Adopt For Ca...

Japan, known for its unique approach to work and life, has a well-kept secret for profe...

Ghostwriting: A Good Career Option For Writers

Ghostwriting Jobs - this article explores valuable insights into ghostwriting and expla...

Psychologist vs Psychiatrist: What Is The Difference...

Know the differences in Psychologists and Psychiatrists and their roles, qualifications...

Discover The Scope And Career Opportunities In Radio...

Know the vast scope and career opportunities available in the field of radiology.

Career Transitions: How To Crossover From Being An E...

Know how you can transition from an employee to an entrepreneur using these essential t...

13 Highest Paying Jobs in Pharmaceutical Industry

Check out the list of Highest paying jobs in Pharmaceutical Industry. know the jobs and...

Sports Engineering: Where Technology Meets Passion F...

Know what Is the career path for a Sports Engineer? And what does it take to become one?

The Art Of Networking: How To Build A Professional N...

This article about the art of building professional relationships shortly after graduat...

Personality Assessments: Why Is It Crucial During Ca...

Why Personality Assessments Is Crucial During Career Counseling? - this article about t...

Here’s Why Careers In Anthropology Can Never Be Auto...

This article explains why careers in anthropology can never be automated, highlighting ...

What Do Students Learn In Industrial Visits?

Know why industrial visits are so important for students and how they can benefit from ...

How Networking Portals Can Land You Better Job Oppor...

In this article, we will discuss how online platforms like LinkedIn can prove to be hel...

Career Opportunities In Sustainable Agriculture

Check out the some of the promising career opportunities available in sustainable agric...

Career Opportunities For Those Pursuing MSc Statistics

Check out the lucrative and promising career opportunities available to those who are p...

Extroverts, Thrive In Your Element And Explore These...

In this article, we have discussed top seven careers perfectly suited for extroverts. F...

What Can A Senior Colleague Teach You At Your First ...

What Can a Senior Colleague Teach You at Your First Job? - In this article, Careers360 ...

Explore These Diverse Careers In Food Technology

Explore the opportunities that await aspiring professionals in the field of food techno...

Careers After Pursuing A Bachelor’s In Physical And ...

Check the various career options after pursuing a bachelor’s degree in physical and hea...

Here’s Why Careers In Psychology Can Never Be Fully ...

In this article, let’s understand why therapeutic relationships and empathy are irrepla...

Work Opportunities in Canada for International Students

Work opportunities in Canada for international students – Careers360 brings all detail ...

Entrepreneurship: This Is How You Start Your Own Bus...

Know how to succeed as an entrepreneur by navigating the complexities of starting your ...

5 Ted Talks To Watch Before Your Final Job Interview

Top 5 Ted Talks To Watch Before Your Final Job Interview - here are five TED talks to f...

Ethical Hacker: A Lucrative Career That Doesn’t Requ...

Read this article to find lucrative, unconventional career opportunities in freelance e...

Career Growth Of DRDO Scientists And Technical Staff

Know the career growth of DRDO scientists and technical staff in India's leading defenc...

Work opportunities in New Zealand for International ...

Work opportunities in New Zealand for International Students – Careers360 bring detail ...

Architecture And Automation: Why The Industry Can Ne...

Why the Field of Architecture Industry Never Be Automated? In this article, we will exp...

Why Is Automation Not A Threat To The Defence Sector?

AI in Defence: This article explores why the defence sector can never be fully automate...

Public and Private Sector Employment Opportunities f...

Explore the social work career opportunities in the public and private sectors for thos...

Why Complete Automation Won’t Work In Police Services

In this article, we will explore why the field of police service can’t be fully automat...

Essential Skills For Successful Entrepreneurs and Im...

Entrepreneurship Skills - in this article, careers360 listed essential skills for succe...

Non Technical Jobs You Can Look Forward To

Let's take a closer look at some of the top non-technical jobs in creative arts, design...

What Does A Career In Deep-Sea Exploration And Ocean...

Explore a career in Deep-Sea exploration and oceanography. Know various career options ...

Career Trends In The Field Of Social Anthropology In...

Anthropology Jobs - in this article, we have discussed how one can choose a career as s...

Choose Psychology-Sociology-Philosophy In Your BA Fo...

Psychology, Sociology, Philosophy are three subjects that study humans and human behavi...

Why Automation Is Not A Threat To Careers In Perform...

Will AI replace artists - in this article, Careers360 has listed six performing arts th...

Navigate A Career In Teaching While Embracing AI

Artificial Intelligence is almost all spheres of our life, and its implementation in th...

An Insight Into The Profession Of Child Psychology

Know the significance of child psychology in today's world, its industry trends, variou...

Why Must You Master Your Communication and Persuasio...

Know the importance of communication and persuasion skills for post-graduate students. ...

How To Make A Career In Corporate Banking: Skills, O...

Corporate Banking Careers Guide - Know the skills, opportunities, and challenges in th...

Explore Lucrative Careers In Disaster Management

Jobs in disaster management - read this article to know the scope of careers in disaste...

New Insights Into A Career In Product Management

Check the an insight of product management new insights and trends and see how it is on...

New And Traditional Career Opportunities In Aviation...

Job opportunities in aviation - in this article, Careers360 has listed some of the trad...

Explore The Dynamic Careers In The Booming Gaming In...

Explore dynamic gaming careers in the booming industry. Know the lifecycle of designing...

What Must You Know About Switching Career Paths?

All You Must Know About Switching Career Path - In this article, we discussed the key i...

Social Media Influencer - Is It A Viable Career Option?

In this article, Let’s find out how creating content and maintaining an audience is the...

Courses That Will Unlock Exciting Careers In Geophys...

Check the careers in geophysics and geology with specialized courses. Know in detail wh...

Scope, Current Trends And Challenges In Pursuing Der...

Exploring Scope, Trends, and Challenges in Dermatology As a Career. Find out how it has...

Naturopathy: A Career In Alternative Medical Science

In this article, naturopathy practitioner Dr. Kayelarasi shared some insightful informa...

Over 55% Graduates From Kerala’s Top Colleges Chose ...

Know how many graduates From Kerala’s top Colleges were placed? Check in details here.

How Does Networking Help Improve Your Career?

Know the importance of networking in career development and delve into the benefits it ...

5 Medical Jobs That Can Never Be Automated

Check the 5 medical professions that can not be replaced by the artificial intelligence.

Footwear Design: A Creative And Technical Career Choice

Explore the world of footwear design and know the creative processes, technical aspects...

Part Time Jobs After 12th

The following article is meant to give students an insight into the part time jobs afte...

Jobs After 12th Commerce - Know How to Get In, Roles...

Jobs After 12th Commerce - This following article will inform you about the various jo...

Jobs After 12th - Check Eligibility, Job Options

Jobs After 12th - Check out the overview of job options you can pursue directly after c...

Most Respected Jobs In India: Check Eligibility, Exa...

Most Respected Jobs In India - The following article will take you through the list of ...

What Can A Degree In Hotel Management Offer?

This article explores hotel management, scope, industry trends, and the jobs available ...

Anthropology - A Holistic Subject That Opens A Numbe...

Careers in Anthropology - Know the scope of anthropology as a career check more about t...

Cultivating A Green Career: Explore Careers In Envir...

Know the top 10 career opportunities that are there in the field of environmental scien...

How Can Pinterest Help You Plan Your Career Goals?

Know how Pinterest can help you to plan your career goals. Get ideas that can be your i...

A Career In Medicine: Who Should Consider Becoming A...

Career in Medicine - Know if it is right for you? Check who should consider becoming a ...

Questions related to Research Scientist

Which is the best msc in microbiology or msc in bio physicsin terms of jobs as a research scientist after completing my bsc degree in microbiology ....

Hello Aspirant,

There are numerous opportunities ahead for graduates of M.Sc Microbiology. The scope has risen for M.Sc. microbiology graduates with the emergence of COVID. The demand for researchers has constantly increased to determine whether its existence in the human ecosystem is natural or man-made.

An M.Sc. in microbiology provides numerous opportunities in various fields such as education, healthcare, pharmaceutical, and agriculture.

Graduates can find career opportunities in both the private as well as public sectors. The agriculture sector also demands skilled professionals for microbiological research on subjects like rhizosphere, nitrogen fixation, biogas production, soil enzymes, and anaerobic decomposition.

Further, you can know more about the top colleges, salary packages, etc at https://www.careers360.com/courses/msc-in-microbiology#:~:text=Benefits%20of%20Studying%20M.Sc%20Microbiology%20A%20M.Sc.%20in,both%20the%20private%20as%20well%20as%20public%20s

MSc Biophysics: Biophysics is an advanced field of science that uses the techniques of physical science to study biological systems.

Benefits of studying biophysics:

1. Biophysicists can also work in universities, industry, medical centers, research institutes, and government.

2. Candidates can find jobs as biophysics researchers or scientists with research institutes or government organizations in various academic grades for research-oriented programs.

3. The course is beneficial for those who are curious about biological processes and enjoy puzzle solving, designing experiments, or working with numbers and computers, there are many exciting opportunities for you in biophysics.

4. They can even find a job as a professor or member of faculty in a university, medical or dental college offering a program in biophysics.

Further, You can know about this course at https://www.careers360.com/courses/bio-physics-course

In the end, what matters the most is in which area your interest lies and the amount of hard work you put into it.

Best Wishes!

I wanted to ask that do research scientist ( I mean kvpy scholar) earn good amount of money in India ?

Dear aspirant,

Department of Science and Technology, Government of India has started Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana or Young Scientist Incentive Plan for encouraging young scientists in pursuing research career courses in basis sciences upto Pre-Ph.D level.

The KVPY students receive a amout of Rs. 5000 monthly fellowship from first year of degree to final year of degree in courses like Integrated M.S or M.Sc, B.Sc or B. Statistics or B. Mathematics or B.S Maths/ Integrated M.S./M.Sc. They receive amount of Rs. 20,000 per year as annual contingency grant. After 3 years the amount is increased to Rs. 7000 and annual grant of Rs. 28,000 is given.

Candidates can also get DST Inspire Scholarship with worth of Rs. 80,000 per annum. The scholarship is given on the basis of Skill test conducted every year.

I hope this information was useful to you.

Best of Luck!!

Knowledge / skills tested: For SA Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology; For ...

Developer / administrator: Indian Institute of Science (IISc)

Score / grade range: - 25 to +100 in SA; - 25 to 100 SB/SX

Select your reason of reporting

The Question containing Inaapropriate or Abusive Words

Question lacks the basic details making it difficult to answer

Topic Tagged to the Question are not relevant to Question

Question drives traffic to external sites for promotional or commercial purposes

The Question is not relevant to User

Explore Related Careers

Research Associate

The details of a career as Research Scientist has been sent to your registered email ID successfully.

Sign In/Sign Up

We endeavor to keep you informed and help you choose the right Career path. Sign in and access our resources on Exams, Study Material, Counseling, Colleges etc.

Help us to help you.

why become a research scientist

Download the Careers360 App on your Android phone

Regular exam updates, QnA, Predictors, College Applications & E-books now on your Mobile

Careers360 App

  • 150M + Students
  • 30,000 + Colleges
  • 500 + Exams
  • 1500 + E-books

why become a research scientist

  • Data Science
  • Data Analysis
  • Data Visualization
  • Machine Learning
  • Deep Learning
  • Computer Vision
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • AI ML DS Interview Series
  • AI ML DS Projects series
  • Data Engineering
  • Web Scrapping
  • How to Become an AI Product Manager?
  • How to Become a Data Scientist with No Experience
  • How to Become a Data Scientist in 2024: A Complete Guide
  • How To Become A Full Stack Data Scientist In 2024
  • How to Become a Machine Learning Engineer?
  • How to become data scienctist if you are non cs student?
  • How to Become a Robotics Engineer?
  • Difference Between Computer Scientist and Data Scientist
  • How to Become a Software Developer? A complete Guide
  • How to Become an NLP Engineer | Description, Skills, and Salary
  • Is Data Science Hard to Learn?
  • How Much Math Do You Need to Become a Data Scientist?
  • Top 7 Skills Required to Become a Data Scientist
  • How to Find an Internship as a College Student?
  • How to Get an Internship in Data Science?
  • How To Become A Software Engineer in 2024?
  • How to Become an RPA Developer?
  • How to Become a Cyber Security Consultant?
  • How to Crack a Data Science Job in Current Market Scenario?

How To Become an AI Research Scientist

As we know, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is really important. It helps businesses do things better and find new chances. That’s why there’s a big need for smart AI scientists. They make good money because they know a lot and help companies do cool things with AI. AI can do a lot of stuff, and it’s getting more popular. So, being an AI scientist is a big deal right now.

How-to-become-an-AI-Scientist

In this article, we will explore the Steps to becoming an AI Research Scientist including Educational Background, Experience, Skills Required, Practical Experience and other advanced career Steps.

Table of Content

Who are AI Research Scientists?

How to become an ai research scientist – roadmap 2024, 1. educational background, 2. gain practical experience, 3. develop technical skills, 4. specialize in key ai domains, 5. share your insights and research, 6. networking and collaboration, 7. continuous learning, 8. advanced career steps.

AI research scientists command substantial salaries, reflecting their expertise and the value they bring to organizations. However, beyond financial incentives, the opportunity to pioneer groundbreaking discoveries and contribute to the advancement of AI technology is a compelling draw for many aspiring scientists.

Embarking on the journey to become an AI research scientist requires a strategic approach and a commitment to continuous learning. Here’s a roadmap to guide aspiring scientists towards their goals:

  • Major: Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or related fields.
  • Key Courses: Machine Learning , Data Structures, Algorithms, Probability and Statistics, Linear Algebra, Calculus, Programming Languages.
  • Master’s Degree: A specialized Master’s program in AI, Machine Learning, or Data Science offers in-depth exploration of advanced concepts. Students delve into specialized topics such as Deep Learning , Reinforcement Learning , and Bayesian Methods. Practical projects and internships provide hands-on experience and networking opportunities.
  • PhD (optional but recommended): Conduct research in a specialized area of AI. This is crucial for a research career, particularly in academia or advanced industry roles.
  • Internship and Research Assistantships: Interning at tech companies or assisting in academic research projects offers invaluable hands-on experience. Interns work alongside seasoned professionals, gaining exposure to real-world challenges and industry best practices. Research assistantships provide opportunities to contribute to ongoing research projects, collaborate with faculty members, and publish papers.
  • Personal Projects and Kaggle Competitions: Engaging in personal AI projects allows for experimentation and skill development. Building AI models and applications from scratch fosters creativity and problem-solving abilities. Participating in competitions like Kaggle provides exposure to diverse datasets and challenges, encouraging collaboration and innovation within the AI community.
  • Programming Languages: Python is the de facto language for AI development due to its simplicity, versatility, and rich ecosystem of libraries. Proficiency in Python enables efficient implementation of AI algorithms and models. Additionally, knowledge of languages like R , C++ , or Java expands one’s toolkit for specific tasks or projects.
  • Tools and Frameworks: Familiarity with popular AI libraries such as TensorFlow , PyTorch, and Scikit-learn is essential for model development and experimentation. Proficiency in data manipulation libraries like Pandas and NumPy streamlines data preprocessing and analysis. Visualization tools like Matplotlib and Seaborn facilitate data exploration and presentation.
  • Machine Learning: Supervised and unsupervised learning, reinforcement learning.
  • Deep Learning: Neural networks, CNNs, RNNs, GANs.
  • Natural Language Processing (NLP): Text processing, transformers, language models.
  • Computer Vision: Image processing, object detection, segmentation.
  • Publish Research: Disseminating research findings through publications is essential for contributing to the collective knowledge of the AI community. Submitting papers to prestigious conferences and journals provides visibility and recognition within academic and industry circles. Additionally, sharing preprints on platforms like ArXiv allows for early feedback and collaboration opportunities.
  • Online Presence: Establishing an online presence through platforms like GitHub showcases your projects and contributions to the AI community. Maintaining a blog or personal website allows for sharing insights, tutorials, and research updates. Engaging with peers through forums and social media platforms fosters collaboration and knowledge exchange.
  • Professional Associations: Joining professional organizations like the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) connects you with like-minded professionals and provides access to conferences, workshops, and publications. Membership offers opportunities for networking, mentorship, and staying abreast of the latest developments in AI research and technology.
  • Conferences and Workshops: Attending and presenting at AI conferences and workshops is invaluable for networking and professional development. Interacting with researchers, practitioners, and industry experts allows for exchanging ideas, forming collaborations, and gaining insights into emerging trends and technologies.
  • Online Courses and Certifications: Lifelong learning is essential in the rapidly evolving field of AI. Online platforms like Coursera, edX, and Udacity offer a plethora of courses and certifications covering advanced machine learning techniques, specialized AI topics, and research methodologies. Engaging in continuous learning ensures that you stay updated on the latest advancements and maintain relevance in the competitive AI landscape.
  • Stay Updated: Keeping abreast of the latest research papers, books, and industry developments is crucial for staying ahead in AI. Regularly reading seminal papers, textbooks, and blogs by thought leaders provides insights into cutting-edge research, methodologies, and best practices. Actively participating in online forums and discussion groups allows for exchanging ideas, seeking advice, and contributing to the AI community.
  • Postdoctoral Fellowships: Postdoctoral research positions offer opportunities for deepening expertise, exploring new research directions, and building a strong research portfolio. Postdocs collaborate with leading researchers, publish high-impact papers, and prepare for academic or industry leadership roles.
  • Industry Roles: AI research scientists play pivotal roles in research labs of leading tech companies, driving innovation and developing cutting-edge AI solutions. They contribute to product development, collaborate with interdisciplinary teams, and push the boundaries of AI technology. Alternatively, AI consultants leverage their expertise to provide strategic guidance and solutions to organizations across various industries.
  • Academic Pursuits: Pursuing faculty positions in academia allows AI research scientists to lead research teams, mentor students, and shape the future of AI education and research. As professors or lecturers, they conduct groundbreaking research, secure funding, and disseminate knowledge through teaching and publication. Academic roles offer autonomy, intellectual freedom, and opportunities for long-term impact on the field of AI.

Becoming an AI Research Scientist is a challenging yet rewarding journey. It requires a strong educational foundation, practical experience, specialized skills, and continuous learning. By following this roadmap, you can systematically build your career and contribute to the exciting field of artificial intelligence

Please Login to comment...

Similar reads.

  • AI-ML-DS Blogs

Improve your Coding Skills with Practice

 alt=

What kind of Experience do you want to share?

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Welcome to the Purdue Online Writing Lab

OWL logo

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

The Online Writing Lab at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out-of-class instruction.

The Purdue On-Campus Writing Lab and Purdue Online Writing Lab assist clients in their development as writers—no matter what their skill level—with on-campus consultations, online participation, and community engagement. The Purdue Writing Lab serves the Purdue, West Lafayette, campus and coordinates with local literacy initiatives. The Purdue OWL offers global support through online reference materials and services.

A Message From the Assistant Director of Content Development 

The Purdue OWL® is committed to supporting  students, instructors, and writers by offering a wide range of resources that are developed and revised with them in mind. To do this, the OWL team is always exploring possibilties for a better design, allowing accessibility and user experience to guide our process. As the OWL undergoes some changes, we welcome your feedback and suggestions by email at any time.

Please don't hesitate to contact us via our contact page  if you have any questions or comments.

All the best,

Social Media

Facebook twitter.

TechRepublic

Male system administrator of big data center typing on laptop computer while working in server room. Programming digital operation. Man engineer working online in database center. Telecommunication.

8 Best Data Science Tools and Software

Apache Spark and Hadoop, Microsoft Power BI, Jupyter Notebook and Alteryx are among the top data science tools for finding business insights. Compare their features, pros and cons.

AI act trilogue press conference.

EU’s AI Act: Europe’s New Rules for Artificial Intelligence

Europe's AI legislation, adopted March 13, attempts to strike a tricky balance between promoting innovation and protecting citizens' rights.

Concept image of a woman analyzing data.

10 Best Predictive Analytics Tools and Software for 2024

Tableau, TIBCO Data Science, IBM and Sisense are among the best software for predictive analytics. Explore their features, pricing, pros and cons to find the best option for your organization.

Tableau logo.

Tableau Review: Features, Pricing, Pros and Cons

Tableau has three pricing tiers that cater to all kinds of data teams, with capabilities like accelerators and real-time analytics. And if Tableau doesn’t meet your needs, it has a few alternatives worth noting.

Futuristic concept art for big data solution for enterprises.

Top 6 Enterprise Data Storage Solutions for 2024

Amazon, IDrive, IBM, Google, NetApp and Wasabi offer some of the top enterprise data storage solutions. Explore their features and benefits, and find the right solution for your organization's needs.

Latest Articles

A computer screen with program code warning of a detected malware script program.

Cisco Talos: LilacSquid Threat Actor Targets Multiple Sectors Worldwide With PurpleInk Malware

Find out how the cyberespionage threat actor LilacSquid operates, and then learn how to protect your business from this security risk.

The IBM sign logo on Czech Republic Headquarter.

IBM’s Think 2024 News That Should Help Skills & Productivity Issues in Australia

TechRepublic interviewed IBM’s managing director for Australia about how announcements from the recent Think event could impact the tech industry in particular.

Cisco logo near Cisco headquarters campus in Silicon Valley.

Cisco Live 2024: New Unified Observability Experience Packages Cisco & Splunk Insight Tools

The observability suite is the first major overhaul for Splunk products since the Cisco acquisition. Plus, Mistral AI makes a deal with Cisco’s incubator.

Audience at conference hall.

Top Tech Conferences & Events to Add to Your Calendar in 2024

A great way to stay current with the latest technology trends and innovations is by attending conferences. Read and bookmark our 2024 tech events guide.

Intel logo is seen at Intel Corporation's headquarters in Santa Clara, California.

Intel Lunar Lake NPU Brings 48 TOPS of AI Acceleration

Competition for AI speed heats up. Plus, the first of the two new Xeon 6 processors is now available, and Gaudi 3 deals have been cinched with manufacturers.

Concept visualization of observing a blue cluster structure with magnifying glass.

Cisco Live 2024: Cisco Unveils AI Deployment Solution With NVIDIA

A $1 billion commitment will send Cisco money to Cohere, Mistral AI and Scale AI.

Splash graphic featuring the logo of Udemy.

The 5 Best Udemy Courses That Are Worth Taking in 2024

Udemy is an online platform for learning at your own pace. Boost your career with our picks for the best Udemy courses for learning tech skills online in 2024.

Check mark on shield on a background of binary values.

What Is Data Quality? Definition and Best Practices

Data quality refers to the degree to which data is accurate, complete, reliable and relevant for its intended use.

why become a research scientist

TechRepublic Premium Editorial Calendar: Policies, Checklists, Hiring Kits and Glossaries for Download

TechRepublic Premium content helps you solve your toughest IT issues and jump-start your career or next project.

European Union flag colors and symbols on a printed circuit board.

What is the EU’s AI Office? New Body Formed to Oversee the Rollout of General Purpose Models and AI Act

The AI Office will be responsible for enforcing the rules of the AI Act, ensuring its implementation across Member States, funding AI and robotics innovation and more.

Data science abstract vector background.

What is Data Science? Benefits, Techniques and Use Cases

Data science involves extracting valuable insights from complex datasets. While this process can be technically challenging and time-consuming, it can lead to better business decision-making.

Glowing circuit grid forming a cloud and trickling binary values on a dark background.

Gartner’s 7 Predictions for the Future of Australian & Global Cloud Computing

An explosion in AI computing, a big shift in workloads to the cloud, and difficulties in gaining value from hybrid cloud strategies are among the trends Australian cloud professionals will see to 2028.

why become a research scientist

OpenAI Adds PwC as Its First Resale Partner for the ChatGPT Enterprise Tier

PwC employees have 100,000 ChatGPT Enterprise seats. Plus, OpenAI forms a new safety and security committee in their quest for more powerful AI, and seals media deals.

Contact management vector illustration. 2 people managing their client's contact information.

What Is Contact Management? Importance, Benefits and Tools

Contact management ensures accurate, organized and accessible information for effective communication and relationship building.

Laptop computer displaying logo of Tableau Software.

How to Use Tableau: A Step-by-Step Tutorial for Beginners

Learn how to use Tableau with this guide. From creating visualizations to analyzing data, this guide will help you master the essentials of Tableau.

Create a TechRepublic Account

Get the web's best business technology news, tutorials, reviews, trends, and analysis—in your inbox. Let's start with the basics.

* - indicates required fields

Sign in to TechRepublic

Lost your password? Request a new password

Reset Password

Please enter your email adress. You will receive an email message with instructions on how to reset your password.

Check your email for a password reset link. If you didn't receive an email don't forgot to check your spam folder, otherwise contact support .

Welcome. Tell us a little bit about you.

This will help us provide you with customized content.

Want to receive more TechRepublic news?

You're all set.

Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye out for a confirmation email from our team. To ensure any newsletters you subscribed to hit your inbox, make sure to add [email protected] to your contacts list.

COMMENTS

  1. How To Become A Research Scientist: What To Know

    The typical duties of a research scientist, regardless of their industry and position, include: Identifying research needs. Collaborating with other professionals in a project. Conducting research ...

  2. Why do people become scientists? What scientists told us

    Roughly one-third (32%) of working Ph.D. scientists said a main motivator for their career path was a lifelong interest in science and desire for intellectual challenge, according to the 2014 survey . Many of these scientists reported an interest and curiosity in science or the natural world starting in early childhood.

  3. How To Become a Research Scientist (With Tips)

    Obtain a bachelor's degree. Complete a master's degree. Gain experience. Pursue certifications. Consider a doctorate. 1. Obtain a bachelor's degree. Aspiring research scientists should start by pursuing a bachelor's degree that's relevant to the field they're most interested in.

  4. We asked 6 scientists what inspired them to pursue a career in science

    The Conversation. Hit hard by the pandemic, researchers expect its impacts to linger for years. Harry Messel. The life cycle of a frog, as featured in Science for High School Students by Harry ...

  5. How to Become a Research Scientist

    5 Steps to Become a Research Scientist. 1. Acquire the necessary technical skills. According to Auclair, there are four main applications of research science within the biotechnology field: Molecular Biology. Process Science. Biochemistry. Analytical Biotechnology.

  6. How To Become A Scientist: A New Scientist Careers Guide

    Becoming a scientist requires a lot of studying and researching. You will need to complete an undergraduate degree in the field you would like to work in. For example, if you would like to become ...

  7. What does a research scientist do and how do I become one?

    In the UK, research scientist salaries range from £20,000 at the entry-level to over £70,000 for university professor senior research fellow roles. The average research scientist salary is £32,330. Most research assistants earn between £26,000 and £35,000. According to Indeed, the average salary for a research scientist in the US is $111,444.

  8. How to Become a Research Scientist: Complete Career Path

    This role may be right for you if you're willing to put in the hard work necessary to thrive in this outstanding career. From health care to big data, jobs are readily available in many industries. Start preparing now and follow these steps: Contents. 1. Review your personality traits. 2. Earn your graduate degree. 3.

  9. Your Life and Career as a Scientist

    To be able to think like a scientist and conduct all of the tasks required of a scientist, you need to develop the cognitive skills lying along a continuum - from simple to complex - as shown in Bloom's taxonomy of learning ( Figure 9.2). Figure 9.2: Bloom's taxonomy of learning (Bloom, 1984). Source: Image by Patricia Armstrong used ...

  10. What does a Research Scientist do? Role & Responsibilities

    Research scientists conduct laboratory-based experiments and trials and work in many fields including medicine, political science, computer science, and environmental science. They plan and conduct experiments that become topics of research papers and reports. They collect samples and carry out other types of field research and monitor their ...

  11. Being a researcher: inspiration & curiosity to ...

    In that regard, becoming a truly inspirational scientist, is to ignore the hours and work with inspiration. This lets you fall in love with your job, derive satisfaction and reward of what you are doing. 2- Eagerness to be the first to know and discover. Curiosity is an intrinsic human feature; without it our life conditions would not develop ...

  12. How to build a scientific career

    Early-career scientists face difficult decisions when building their career in research, and indeed about whether a career in research is right for them at all. To help with these decisions, the Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative gives young scientists the opportunity to question Nobel Laureates about career paths. The laureate's answers are varied, insightful, and sometimes unexpected. How ...

  13. How to Become a Research Scientist in 2024 (Next Steps + Requirements)

    A successful Research Scientist must possess a range of skills, including analytical thinking, problem-solving, and attention to detail. Develop your expertise in data analysis and familiarize yourself with the latest research tools and technologies. Strong communication skills are also crucial, as you will need to write grant proposals ...

  14. A brief guide on how to become a research scientist

    1. Obtain an honours degree. Prospective research scientists start their professional journey by obtaining a good degree, typically a 2:1 honours, in a discipline relevant to their interests. The degree can be a course in a science or a social science subject. Training usually includes laboratory work or field trials.

  15. How to Prepare for a Career as a Research Scientist

    Developing a research plan is a critical step in becoming a successful research scientist. A research plan is a roadmap that outlines the goals, objectives, methods, and timeline for your research project. It helps ensure that your research is focused, organized, and effective, and can help you stay on track and achieve your goals.

  16. How To Become a Scientist in 6 Steps (Plus Career Options)

    Here are some steps to take to become a scientist: 1. Choose your field. Becoming a scientist involves a fair amount of academic study. The first step is to choose your area of expertise. Choose a discipline you're passionate about since this is a subject you're going to study extensively.

  17. How to Become a Research Scientist: A Step-by-Step Guide

    Pursue a bachelor's degree. 3. Gain research experience. 4. Earn a master's or a doctoral degree. 5. Publish your research. 6. Find a research job.

  18. Research scientist

    You usually need a first or 2:1 (upper second class) degree in a science subject to become a research scientist. Most research scientists continue to study for a postgraduate qualification like a PhD. You could study on an integrated postgraduate master's course. These courses include independent research and are designed to lead directly on to ...

  19. Different Levels of Scientists (And How To Become One)

    Here are five different types of research scientists to consider on your journey of becoming a research scientist: 1. Level one research scientist These research scientist roles are often entry-level roles where professionals can gain hands-on experience with scientific testing methods. This can help a research facility improve its ability to ...

  20. What Is Research, and Why Do People Do It?

    Abstractspiepr Abs1. Every day people do research as they gather information to learn about something of interest. In the scientific world, however, research means something different than simply gathering information. Scientific research is characterized by its careful planning and observing, by its relentless efforts to understand and explain ...

  21. How to Become a Research Psychologist

    Many students interested in becoming research psychologists begin with a bachelor's in psychology. However, some come from a background in a related area such as social work or even from an entirely unrelated degree area altogether. Remember, it is possible to switch to psychology for graduate school, even if your undergraduate degree is in an ...

  22. Why become a scientist?

    Science can help find new solutions for almost everything humans do, from energy and food production to waste disposal and clean water supply. With a science degree you could: Design green energy sources. Develop new modes of communication. Help people live more sustainably. Produce safe, eco-friendly and healthy products.

  23. How to Become a Research Scientist

    Science skills. Patience: As a research scientist, one has to remain calm and make the right decisions in order to carry out their duties. This is very important in order to maintain the continued success of the research project. The work that the associate does helps in developing new methodologies for human life.

  24. How To Become an AI Research Scientist: A Step-by-Step Guide

    Below is a detailed list of the steps you can take to pursue a career as an AI research scientist. Understand the basics. Acquire the right education. Build a strong foundation. Develop technical and hands-on skills. Earn certifications and specializations. Explore career paths and opportunities. Build a portfolio.

  25. How To Become an AI Research Scientist

    Becoming an AI Research Scientist is a challenging yet rewarding journey. It requires a strong educational foundation, practical experience, specialized skills, and continuous learning. By following this roadmap, you can systematically build your career and contribute to the exciting field of artificial intelligence. S.

  26. Welcome to the Purdue Online Writing Lab

    Mission. The Purdue On-Campus Writing Lab and Purdue Online Writing Lab assist clients in their development as writers—no matter what their skill level—with on-campus consultations, online participation, and community engagement. The Purdue Writing Lab serves the Purdue, West Lafayette, campus and coordinates with local literacy initiatives.

  27. 10 Best Nationally Accredited Online Colleges ...

    Laurus College. Laurus College provides career-focused online degree programs in IT, business, and healthcare. Students can earn accredited associate's or bachelor's degrees 100% online. Laurus offers programs in areas such as cybersecurity, web development, medical billing, and healthcare administration.

  28. Data Science Degrees Online

    Data Science degree programs on Coursera feature hands-on learning, peer-to-peer support, and the same professors that teach degree courses on campus. Become a Data Science professional and earn your Master's degree online from top data science schools, like University of Illinois and University of Michigan.

  29. Big Data: Latest Articles, News & Trends

    8 Best Data Science Tools and Software. Apache Spark and Hadoop, Microsoft Power BI, Jupyter Notebook and Alteryx are among the top data science tools for finding business insights. Compare their ...

  30. Why and how to hire a generalist to edit your research paper (opinion)

    First and foremost: You do not need to hire an editor. Faculty members at all levels are under intense pressure, and feeling obligated to find and hire an editor, on top of everything else, can seem overwhelming. You can always edit your own work. That said, if you want additional resources, consider swapping research with someone you trust.