Social Science Research Assistants
SOC 19-4061 · 2024-2034
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.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $61,937per year
- Projected openings
- 8,470
- Projected change
- +7.9%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Complex Problem Solving
- Speaking
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $67,555 | 560 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $64,579 | 60 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County) | $61,682 | 40 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $56,706 | 610 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $54,445 | 660 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $53,249 | 540 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | $50,465 | 90 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $50,326 | 2,530 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $46,305 | 1,000 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $45,617 | 360 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $38,858 | 70 |
| Napa MSA (Napa County) | Not reported | 40 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $39,125
- A quarter earn under
- $42,836
- Half earn under
- $61,937
- Three quarters earn under
- $87,369
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $120,347
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientists | $145,554 | 40,180 | +37.1% |
| Statisticians | $139,766 | 1,860 | +15.4% |
| Survey Researchers | $85,858 | 1,090 | 0% |
| Natural Sciences Managers | $213,757 | 14,100 | +11.8% |
| Computer Systems Analysts | $131,295 | 41,500 | +9.7% |
| Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary | $50,516 | 28,690 | +2.6% |