How To Become An PHD Researcher: What It Is and Career Path

What is an phd researcher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Sage Franetovich

Does the idea of spending your day discovering new frontiers in your field sound appealing? If you love the idea of spending years studying a subject you love, working in a lab to develop new advances, and sharing those advances in order to change the world, then the career of a Ph.D. researcher might be for you.

By definition, a Ph.D. researcher is someone who already has their Ph.D. You could get your Ph.D. in a variety of fields, from physics to chemistry. You can also specialize in various subfields depending on your interests. After you graduate, you would put your academic knowledge to practical use, usually in a laboratory setting.

Your day-to-day as a Ph.D. researcher would vary. Some days, you would get to work with exciting equipment in the lab and conducting experiments. Other days, you would work on papers for publication or attend conferences. Either way, you get to spend your days studying what you love.

What general advice would you give to an PHD Researcher?

Sage Franetovich

Science Technology Engineering Math, Holyoke Community College

Keep an open mind, and be willing to try new things, and work with all kinds of people. We, the professors, are preparing you for a job market that is constantly changing.

ScorePHD ResearcherUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,634

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.3

Growth Rate 17%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.15%

Asian 32.53%

Black or African American 6.13%

Hispanic or Latino 9.31%

Unknown 4.03%

White 47.85%

Gender

female 38.26%

male 61.74%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress Level

6.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.8

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.7

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an phd researcher

Explore phd researcher education requirements

Most common phd researcher degrees

Doctorate

40.1 %

Bachelor's

39.2 %

Master's

19.5 %

Start to develop specific phd researcher skills

Skills	Percentages
Python	8.99%
Chemistry	7.67%
Research Projects	6.10%
Data Analysis	5.99%
Renewable Energy	5.81%

Complete relevant phd researcher training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New phd researchers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an phd researcher based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real phd researcher resumes.

Research phd researcher duties and responsibilities

Manage and mentore graduate and undergraduate students in their physical chemistry relate studies and research projects on spin dynamics simulations.
Evaluate data employing GC/MS, gel electrophoresis, and UV/VIS spectroscopy.
Perform testing using gel electrophoresis as well as mixed and pour the gels used in testing
Optimize and redesign robotic components base on FEA for improve strength using ANSYS and SOLIDWORKS.

Prepare your phd researcher resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your phd researcher resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an phd researcher resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable PHD Researcher Resume templates

Build a professional PHD Researcher resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your PHD Researcher resume.

Apply for phd researcher jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an phd researcher job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do phd researchers rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

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1 Star

PHD Researcher reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020

Pros

Exploring more about reseaching field by building knowledge in a certain subject of research and growing the wisdom and knowledge.

Cons

The struggle of not breaking a certain research topic.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019