Academic institutions, including research hospitals, rely on a diverse community of professionals whose work advances research, enriches teaching, and supports the broader mission of higher education. These environments bring together researchers, educators, and research support professionals to generate new knowledge and translate it into meaningful real-world impact.
This page introduces a wide range of career paths across the academic landscape, highlighting opportunities to make contributions to your field, push the boundaries of knowledge, and help drive discoveries and innovations that shape our world.
Explore the roles below that align with your skills, interests, and goals, and discover how you can build a rewarding career in the dynamic and collaborative world of academia.
Explore Academic Roles
Research and teaching faculty are academic leaders who spearhead the advancement of knowledge through research and educating students, trainees, and or postdoctoral researchers.
Across universities, research hospitals, and colleges, faculty can hold both tenure-track and non–tenure-track positions, including research-stream professors, hospital-based scientists, teaching-stream professors, and lecturers. Depending on the focus of the faculty role, emphasis may be placed on securing and managing research funding, publishing original research in peer‑reviewed journals, and engaging in other forms of academic service. Other roles, such as teaching‑stream faculty, play a key role in course design and delivery, trainee supervision, and contributing to the broader research and educational missions of their institutions.
Click below to explore detailed descriptions of Research and Teaching Faculty roles, along with common job requirements and helpful resources to support your job search.
Administrative and support professionals support an institution’s research and education activities by facilitating, managing, and strengthening the infrastructure that enables scholarly work. Serving in a wide variety of positions, these professionals provide critical support in sustaining institutional research growth, mitigating risk, and enhancing the overall research impact.
Administrative and support roles may includes:
|
Program Coordinator/Administrator/Manager |
Research Ethics Coordinator |
| Academic Advisor | Data Management Specialist |
| Educational Specialist | Research Strategy Officer |
| Research Coordinator | Research Safety Specialist |
| Business Analyst/Manager | Research Partnerships Officer |
| Research Operations/Facilities Coordinator | Intellectual Property Specialist |
| Research Communications Specialist | Commercialization Specialist |
| Research Integrity Advisor | Core Facility Staff |
| Grants Specialist | Data Analytics Specialist |
Click below to explore detailed descriptions of a Grant Specialist, Research Strategy Officer, and Research and Education Program Manager, along with common job requirements to support your job search.
Research staff are professionals who directly support the design, execution, and day-to-day operations of research in wet and dry bench laboratories, clinical research teams, core facilities, and more. These professionals conduct experiments, manage equipment and supplies, maintain accurate data records and ensure adherence to safety and regulatory standards in research labs, departments, and facilities.
Research Staff roles can include:
| Research Technician | Data Scientist |
| Research/Scientific Assistant, Analyst, or Associate | Research Project Manager |
| Staff Scientist | Clinical Research Assistant |
| Clinical Research Coordinator | Clinical Trails Specialist |
| Bioinformatician | Technical Specialist |
Click below to explore detailed descriptions of a Research Technician, Research/Scientific Associate, and Staff Scientist, along with common job requirements to support your job search.