Social Science Research Assistants
Human ServicesO*NET 19-4061.00United States
Assist social scientists in laboratory, survey, and other social science research. May help prepare findings for publication and assist in laboratory analysis, quality control, or data management.
- Median annual earnings
- $61,582
- Projected change
- +7.6%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 38.33K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
54.3% of the workforce
Growing to 41.25K by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What social science research assistants do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Design and create special programs for tasks such as statistical analysis and data entry and cleaning.
- Provide assistance with the preparation of project-related reports, manuscripts, and presentations.
- Prepare tables, graphs, fact sheets, and written reports summarizing research results.
- Perform descriptive and multivariate statistical analyses of data, using computer software.
- Verify the accuracy and validity of data entered in databases, correcting any errors.
- Develop and implement research quality control procedures.
- Prepare, manipulate, and manage extensive databases.
- Perform data entry and other clerical work as required for project completion.
- Conduct internet-based and library research.
- Present research findings to groups of people.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $36,969
- 25th percentile
- $47,739
- 50th percentile
- $61,582
- 75th percentile
- $78,970
- 90th percentile
- $108,403
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $61,582 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+7.6%faster than average
202538,325 jobs
2035 projected41,246 jobs
2,921 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 54.3%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 36.7%
- Some college
- 8.6%
- Doctoral degree or more
- 0.4%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Research Assistants939 postings
- 02Research Associates712 postings
- 03Research Technicians457 postings
- 04Postdoctoral Research Associates332 postings
- 05Postdoctoral Fellows250 postings
- 06Psychometricians163 postings
- 07Political Affairs Interns156 postings
- 08Postdoctoral Associates143 postings
- 09Equity Research Associates142 postings
- 10Graduate Research Assistants117 postings
- 11Fellows104 postings
- 12Student Research Assistants103 postings
- 13Assistant Professors of Research65 postings
- 14Postdoctoral Scholars61 postings
- 15Postdoctoral Research Fellows56 postings
- 16Advanced Associates54 postings
- 17Quantitative Research Associates53 postings
- 18Associates51 postings
- 19Research Project Assistants48 postings
- 20Social Science Research Analysts48 postings
Top employers
- 01Herc196 postings
- 02Johns Hopkins University170 postings
- 03Pearson Education156 postings
- 04Harvard University108 postings
- 05Pennsylvania State University108 postings
- 06University of Minnesota107 postings
- 07American Institutes For Research95 postings
- 08The Borgen Project92 postings
- 09Colorado State University74 postings
- 10University Of Michigan72 postings
- 11University of Chicago72 postings
- 12New York University70 postings
- 13Carnegie Mellon University67 postings
- 14Rutgers University65 postings
- 15Princeton University60 postings
- 16Texas A&M University56 postings
- 17University of Hawaii System Office52 postings
- 18inVentiv Health51 postings
- 19UT Health48 postings
- 20Stanford University47 postings
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