Survey researchers essential career information:
- 2011 median pay: $45,050
- 2011, number of jobs: 17,370
- Employment growth forecast, 2010-2020: 24 percent
- Entry-level education requirements: Bachelor’s degree
Survey researchers; what they do:
If you’ve always enjoyed participating in surveys and found studying their results interesting, a survey researcher career may be right up your alley. Survey researchers are the masterminds behind the surveys we see and participate in daily; they design, conduct, and analyze surveys intended to collect a plethora of information ranging from employment or salary information, to people’s opinions and beliefs on subjects, to market research purposes.
A survey researcher career includes designing surveys conducted in the form of interviews, questionnaires, or focus groups via the Internet, mail, telephone or in-person interviews.
Survey researcher careers include researching background information on survey topics in order to best design the survey. Before distributing their surveys to the intended audience, survey researchers test their questions to assure they’re easy to understand.
After conducting and collecting a survey, survey researchers account for anyone who did not respond to the survey, then use statistical software and techniques to analyze the results.
Survey research careers involve creating and using tables, graphs and fact sheets while analyzing results. In addition to reviewing the answers given on a survey, survey researchers must also look for ways to improve the survey for the future.
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Survey researchers job titles:
- Research Fellow
- Field Interviewer
- Research Associate
- Research Interviewer
- Market Survey Representative
- Research Assistant
- Telephone Interviewer
- Research Methodologist
Survey Researchers Education, Certification and License Requirements
Employers hire survey researchers for entry-level positions with a variety of different bachelor degrees, such as a Bachelor of Business degree, Bachelor of Psychology degree, or Bachelor of Political Science degree. Many technical research positions, however, require an advanced degree, such as a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Social Sciences, or a Ph.D.
Survey researcher programs cover subjects such as:
- Survey methods
- Survey methodology
- Statistics
- Marketing
- Consumer behavior
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Economics
It’s highly recommended survey researchers obtain work experience through internships while still studying.
Survey researchers don’t need certification, however certification is highly recommended for people interested in a survey researcher career. Survey researchers can obtain the Professional Researcher Certification (PRC) through The Marketing Research Association. Survey researchers need to renew their certification every two years and take continuing education courses.
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Survey Researchers Job Outlook
Forecast: 24 percent employment growth from 2010 to 2020 for survey researchers, faster than the average for all occupations. Survey researcher is a small occupation overall, thus the higher growth results in fewer than 5,000 new jobs in a decade.
Companies and government agencies using research more frequently, especially through public opinion polling and surveys, increases the demand for the services of survey researchers to design, distribute, collect, and analyze the polls and surveys. However, the ability to use social media to collect data hinders employment growth for survey researchers.
Survey Researchers Salary
- 2011 median annual wage: $45,050
- 2011, workers at the 75th percentile annual wage: $68,570
- 2011, workers at the 25% percentile annual wage: $28,990
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Major Employers
- Professional, scientific, and technical services
- Scientific research and development services
- Management, scientific, and technical consulting services
- State, local, and private educational services
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