Free Access No Registration Updated: 2026-06-01

Research Assistant Career Market Report 2026

895 active jobs. 104 companies. Median salary $45K. Data from Greenhouse, Lever, Workday, Ashby, SmartRecruiters, Workable, and 14 additional ATS sources. Last computed: 2026-06-01.

895
Active Job Openings
104
Companies Hiring
$45K
Median Salary (US)
70%
With Salary Data

About This Report

The Research Assistant market data on this page is updated daily from 800,000+ active job postings across 20 ATS platforms.

Greenhouse Lever Workday Ashby SmartRecruiters Workable + 14 more ATS sources

Salary: Extracted via NLP. Only USD $5K-$3M included. Skills: Named entity recognition, noise-filtered (generic soft skills excluded). Experience: Inferred from title + description. Coverage: 70% of positions include salary data.

Key Findings

Median salary: $45K in the US

Middle 50% of salaries range from $40K to $75K.

Data Analysis is the most-demanded skill at 21%

MATLAB demand rose +8.6pp — fastest-growing skill

Ntu leads hiring with 322 open positions

Biggest salary jump: Entry-Level → Junior (+$4K, +11%)

Salary increase: +$4K · Sample: Entry-Level → Junior

AI automation risk: medium-high (score 70/100)

Score: 70/100 · AI/LLM demand: 33% of postings

Salary by Experience Level

LevelJobsP25MedianP90
Junior16$42K$46K$53K
Entry-Level13$40K$42K$42K
Senior5$45K$45K$62K

What jumps out

Entry-Level → Junior: +$4K (11%) — the biggest single-step increase. The salary curve is back-loaded: the largest raises come at transitions where scope changes from executing tasks to owning outcomes, or from owning outcomes to shaping architecture across teams.

Salary by Country

CountryJobsMedianCurrency
United States33$42KUSD
Israel4$45KUSD
United Kingdom3$46KUSD

Work Mode

ModeShare
On-Site0.8%
Remote1.5%
Hybrid0.2%

~80% of postings do not specify work mode. Figures show only positions where it is explicitly stated.

Top Skills in Demand

Data Analysis
21%
AI/LLM
17%
Python
16%
MATLAB
9%
MATLAB / Simulink
9%
Project Management
7%
Robotics
4%
R
3%
Grant Writing
3%

Skills on the Rise

MATLAB ↑+8.6ppMATLAB / Simulink ↑+8.6ppProject Management ↑+7.1ppPython ↑+6.9ppAI/LLM ↑+6.6pp

Declining in Demand

Journalism ↓-31.9ppLabor Law ↓-29.5ppSustainability ↓-23.1ppAttention to Detail ↓-17.4ppPatient Care ↓-13.7pp

Top Companies Hiring

CompanyOpeningsShare
Ntu32236.0%
Psu869.6%
Harvarduniversity262.9%
Cincinnatichildrens151.7%
Bilh151.7%
Mass General Brigham151.7%
Ubc151.7%
Umiami111.2%

Top Countries by Job Volume

CountryJobs
Singapore313
United States170
Israel15
Canada15
United Kingdom14
India7
Australia7
France4

Education Requirements

LevelSharePositions
PhD / Doctorate41.5%262
Associate Degree31.5%199
Bachelor's Degree14.6%92
Master's Degree7.4%47
High School / GED0.2%1
MBA0.2%1

Certifications

All certifications below 1% threshold. Certifications carry minimal weight in this profession's hiring decisions.

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