Occupation
Research assistant
Research assistants carry out the practical work of a study under the direction of a lead researcher: collecting data, running procedures, and keeping records that stand up to scrutiny. The role exists across university, hospital, government, and commercial research settings, and the subject matter varies with the project. Posts are frequently tied to the funding period of a specific study.
Also known as: Research associate · Study assistant · Graduate research assistant
Saving keeps the career family and this occupation as your private target role on this device.
Occupation content
Part of Natural sciences and research
A visual day in the work
What the work involves
Collect data through experiments, fieldwork, surveys, or literature searches
Prepare materials, equipment, or participant documentation before sessions
Clean and code datasets and run agreed analyses
Keep records that meet ethics, consent, and data-protection requirements
Draft sections of reports, posters, or papers for the lead researcher to review
Coordinate scheduling, supplies, and correspondence for the project
Entry-route stepper
How people commonly enter
An undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline is the usual baseline
Postgraduate study, often undertaken alongside or immediately after the role
Progression from a technician or laboratory support post within the same group
Undergraduate placement, internship, or summer research programmes leading to a paid post
Typical training: Bachelor's degree
Licensing: Not typically licensed
Work-context map
Typical work context
- Team based
- Desk based
- Lab or workshop
- Varied work
- Quiet focus
Team based · Desk based · Lab or workshop · Varied work · Quiet focus
Related interests
- Investigative (analytical)
- Conventional (organizing)
Investigative (analytical) · Conventional (organizing)
Related aptitude preparation
These are preparation links only. They do not measure eligibility for this occupation and no score here qualifies or disqualifies anyone.
Skills to practise
Practice suites
Related learning
Family-level learning links for Natural sciences and research.
Official sources
Labour-market facts such as pay and employment projections are not reproduced here. Open an official source below for figures, with its own geography and reference period.
Labour-market context (not part of exploration match)
This is broad family-level context for Natural sciences and research in Canada, not a figure for Research assistant. It does not affect matching scores and is not an eligibility determination.
This is a broad Natural sciences and research family. Explore the official profile for the chosen occupation; entry education and training can differ within the family.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Natural sciences and research: education pathways
Some roles in Natural sciences and research may be regulated. Confirm whether the specific role requires registration, certification, or a jurisdiction-specific licence.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Natural sciences and research: licensing
Find jobs
These are live, user-controlled searches on each source's own site for “ Research assistant”. Novus Learn does not fetch, store, or rank these results, and job availability never changes your exploration match score.
Related occupations
Learn → Practise → Prepare → Apply
Continue from this occupation
Choose a learning action because it supports the work, not because a test score predicts career suitability.
When you get to the application
Novus Learn stops at preparation. These two Novus tools cover the paperwork, and like this site they run entirely in your browser. Nothing you upload to them leaves your device.
Novus Learn hands you real PDFs: study guides, practice packs, answer keys, career summaries. PDF Studio is where you merge several into one revision booklet, pull out the pages you actually need, or lock a file before you send it.
Career Discovery ends with a profile photo and an application. This is where you clean up a headshot without handing the file to a server.