CCollegeMatcher

Social Science Research Assistants

US occupation · SOC 19-4061

Job titles people report: Clinical Research Assistant, Graduate Assistant, Graduate Research Assistant, Research Aide, Research Assistant, Research Associate, Research Technician, Social Research Assistant

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$61,990
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$48,620 – $77,760
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
30,640
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
+5%
At or above the all-jobs rate (3.5% to under 7%)
Openings a year (projected)
4,900
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
Bachelor's degree
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

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.

Main tasks

  • 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.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
Bachelor's degree
O*NET Job Zone 4
Considerable preparation
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas
  • Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
  • Social: helping, teaching and caring for people

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 19 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Psychology

  • Psychology, General
  • Psychometrics and Quantitative Psychology

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Psychology at the Major step.

Where many students take psychology

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Social Sciences

  • Social Sciences, General
  • Survey Research/Methodology
  • Economics, General
  • Applied Economics
  • Econometrics and Quantitative Economics
  • Development Economics and International Development
  • Political Science and Government, General
  • Political Economy
2 more programmes
  • Sociology, General
  • Applied/Public Sociology

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Social Sciences at the Major step.

Where many students take social sciences

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Environmental Studies

  • Environmental/Natural Resource Economics

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Environmental Studies at the Major step.

Where many students take environmental studies

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Other fields

Our college matcher doesn't offer these fields as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for them here.

Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies

  • Behavioral Sciences
  • History and Political Science

Public Administration and Social Service Professions

  • Public Policy Analysis, General
  • Education Policy Analysis
  • Health Policy Analysis
  • International Policy Analysis

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk