What Is a Research Analyst?

The definition of a research analyst is a person who uses data in a particular field to make deductions, find solutions or create statistics with information based on the collected data. It's logical to become a research analyst if you're continuing on to a graduate program and you've got the opportunity. But you can also decide to become a research analyst as an occupation or a career choice.

Types

Research analysts can be in education, under a professor; in medicine or science; psychology; or legal research.

Educational Requirements

Requirements vary, depending on the field. Science requires both a bachelor's degree and laboratory experience. In education, you need a bachelor's with an intention to master in whichever branch of education you're working. For legal research, a paralegal associate's degree or a bachelor of arts are both possible (see Resources below).

Considerations

The normal 40-hour work week could go higher for more specialized research jobs, such as legal. Research analysts are important because they take over the paperwork and organization, leaving the employer to focus on other work.

Potential

Research assistants to professors are hired on a temporary basis, and typically only stay in the job for the time needed to complete the master's degree. Other research assistants can work toward becoming a professional research analyst in their field or a biostatistician (see Resources below).

Fun Fact

During law school, President Obama was a research assistant to Lawrence Tribe, one of the best scholars of U.S. constitutional law.

Resources

• Research assistant jobs
• Medical research assistants