About Research and Development

Research and development (R&D) of new products is of vital importance to a company's long term viability. This is why the majority of medium to large businesses employ specialists in research and development. The need for skilled research technicians and managers continues to grow steadily, creating excellent opportunities for science and business minded individuals.

Significance

Virtually every industry is dependent upon the development of new products and the continual refinement of current products for its survival. This is particularly true in certain industries such as the pharmaceutical trade, where companies are constantly competing to come up with generic equivalents of brand name medications in order to stay competitive. In every industry, research is the beginning stage of most industrial production.

Types

Research and development groups generally fall into one of two groups: new product development and innovation groups. R&D teams that work on new products spend time generating ideas, developing models or prototypes to test the new products or methods and refining production processes. In contrast, innovation groups work on the development of technologies that will propel new product development further, but not the actual product itself. For example, a product development group might work on a lighter portable DVD player, whereas an innovation group may work on a machine that would speed up the production of future DVD players.

Function

Research and Development scientists, managers and techs have widely varying job duties, dependent upon the industry and individual company. Some R&D jobs are primarily lab-based, and will involve mainly generating and testing new products and methods. However, there are many companies that send R&D technicians to manufacturing facilities to test products there and assist with process optimization. Still other R&D jobs are more business-oriented and may involve frequent meetings with sales and management staff to explain new product features and benefits and assist with budgeting for product development projects.

Benefits

Research and development is a growing job sector in the economy, and job security in this field is good. Working in R&D can be a challenging job, and is an excellent choice for individuals who are interested in science, business and marketing. Because so many industries employ workers in research capacities, there are opportunities to work in a variety of industries and geographic regions.

Considerations

There is no specific educational requirement for a career in research and development, although companies will certainly give preference to a Bachelors degree. If you are interested in an R&D career, it is best to choose a major in research or one that is closely related to the field that you are interested in. careers in pharmaceutical research and development will require, minimally, a degree in chemistry and/or bio-sciences; and, preferably, an advanced degree.

History

Although companies have always relied upon innovation and the invention of new products or ways of doing things, research and development as a standard of business has only existed since the mid-1950s. The U.S. government was one of the first organizations to establish organized research and development departments, as it set out to create new weapons.