Research Analyst

Job Details

Sector(s)

Component Manufacturing and Research & Development

Median Pay

$65,810–$86,200 per year

$31.64–$41.44 per hour

Job Type

Entry- to Mid-Level

Typical Entry-Level Education and Work Experience Requirements

Bachelor's degree required; little to no experience required

Alternate Titles

Researcher, analyst, technical analyst, policy analyst, market research analyst, and energy analyst.

Brief Job Description

Research analysts study different parts of the marine energy industry, such as policies, economics, or technologies, to make recommendations to their employers or other decision makers. 

Education and Training Level Description

Entry-level research analyst positions require a bachelor's degree, but graduate degrees are often preferred. Degrees in engineering, economics, environmental science, finance, policy, or public administration are often desired, and required degrees generally relate to the specific field of research and analysis. 

Job Profile

The marine energy sector is a newly developing industry undergoing early stages of research and development. Research analysts play a key role in understanding the newly emerging markets and technologies. Research analysts often specialize in specific areas of the industry, researching and analyzing existing data, making projections, and making recommendations. A research analyst could assess marine energy market conditions, test and analyze technologies, assess costs, and/or analyze the marine energy workforce. They work in government, academia, and industry to inform decision makers across the marine energy industry.  Research analysts typically disseminate their findings and suggestions through reports, scientific literature, presentations, meetings, and conferences.

Research analysts typically:

  • Test marine energy technology components and draw conclusions from test results
  • Perform market and policy projections
  • Explore ways to improve technology
  • Study marine energy systems (including exploration arrays, ocean and atmospheric sciences, wave modeling)
  • Research  and explore ways to reduce marine energy costs
  • Analyze the domestic and international marine energy markets and workforces
  • Develop tools and processes for improving technology and market outcomes
  • Create data visualizations from complex datasets to convey analytical results
  • Present results of their research to decision makers, including CEOs, business leaders, county commissioners, public utility commissions, governors’ staff, and other researchers
  • Enhance understanding of marine energy systems.

Job Skills

Research analysts typically need:

  • Problem-solving and analytical skills. Researchers need to be able to develop and analyze the results of models.
  • Math skills. Researchers use calculus, statistics, and other advanced topics in mathematics to develop models used in their research.
  • Coding skills. Many positions require coding to develop models, tools, and analytical procedures to conduct research.
  • Market awareness. Analysts typically have a keen awareness of new and upcoming technologies and policies and how they relate their field of study.
  • Communication, presentation, and writing skills. Researchers must be able to communicate their progress and findings both orally and in written form to their team, managers, customers and in public forums. They also must document processes, keep records, describe findings, and make recommendations in published reports and presentations.
  • Teamwork skills. Most analysis problems are complex and best solved in teams with cross institutional collaboration.
  • Planning skills. Researchers may have to secure their own funding or funding for their team, including government or foundation grant writing. They need to plan projects, including budgeting.

More Information, Job Opportunities, etc.

For more information on research analyst jobs see: 

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