Research Analyst Family
Career series with 5 positions across 4 levels
New Jersey classifies Research Analyst as a 4-level family, 5 titles in all, built for step-by-step advancement.
Entry is typically through Research Analyst 1, advancing through the ladder toward Research Analyst 4. Pay across the family spans $58,222 to $134,900, around the 64th percentile of all civil service job families by top pay. State payroll records show 45 people across the family's titles, most concentrated at Law and Public Safety.
Research Analyst is a common next step after Analyst and Health Economics Research Specialist.
Positions in This Family
- RESEARCH ANALYST 1 (03171) $58,222 - $84,763/year
- RESEARCH ANALYST 2 (03172) $66,592 - $97,354/year
- RESEARCH ANALYST 3 (03173) $76,287 - $111,856/year
- RESEARCH ANALYST 3 (03183) $79,844 - $117,228/year
- RESEARCH ANALYST 4 (10243) $91,628 - $134,900/year
What the Research Analyst family covers
Research Analyst is a graded series in the New Jersey civil service classification plan, running 5 title codes across 4 levels. Every title in it is a state title, so the employer is a state department, commission or authority rather than a county or municipality.
The state runs working laboratories rather than research institutes, so scientific titles are tied to a statutory job: testing water and air, screening newborns, analysing evidence, monitoring pesticides, mapping geology. Degrees in a named field do the qualifying, and the exam is often an evaluation of education and experience rather than a written test. Because each laboratory is small, these families tend to be short ladders inside one agency instead of broad classifications spread across government.
The ladder, ordered by pay
Ordered by what they actually pay rather than by the number in the title, the Research Analyst rungs look like this. Here the numbering happens to agree with the pay order, which is not guaranteed elsewhere in New Jersey's plan.
- Research Analyst 4 — $91,628 to $134,900 (a doctoral degree and 1 year of experience)
- Research Analyst 3 — $79,844 to $117,228 (a doctoral degree and 2 years of experience)
- Research Analyst 3 — $76,287 to $111,856 (a doctoral degree and 2 years of experience)
- Research Analyst 2 — $66,592 to $97,354 (a doctoral degree and 1 year of experience)
- Research Analyst 1 — $58,222 to $84,763 (a doctoral degree and 1 year of experience)
The distance from the bottom of Research Analyst 1 to the top of Research Analyst 4 is $76,678, an increase of about 132% over the entry minimum.
What each title does
Each title in the family carries its own published definition. These are the opening lines of each one, which is usually where the difference between two neighboring rungs is actually stated.
- Research Analyst 1: Under direction of a supervisory official in a state department, institution, or agency, performs basic legislative and legal research in connection with department or…
- Research Analyst 2: Under direction of a supervisory official in a state department or agency, performs more difficult and/or independent legislative and legal research in connection with…
- Research Analyst 3: Under direction of a supervisory official in a state department or agency, performs legislative research in connection with department programs and prepares reports…
- Research Analyst 4: Under direction of a supervisory official, supervises and performs legislative research and analysis in connection with department/agency legislative, administrative…
What it takes to qualify
Across the 5 titles we have parsed, the education requirements read as a doctoral degree on 5 of them. Stated experience runs from 1 year at the lowest rung to 2 at the highest, which is the main thing separating one level from the next.
On how the jobs are filled: 5 are competitive, filled from an eligible list after an open competitive or promotional examination.
Who actually employs these titles
45 people appear on the state payroll under 4 of these titles, at 9 agencies. Law and Public Safety alone accounts for about 22% of them.
- Law and Public Safety — 10 employees
- Human Services — 9 employees
- Unknown — 6 employees
- Community Affairs — 5 employees
- Office of Administrative Law — 5 employees
- Environmental Protection — 4 employees
Those are the 6 largest of 9 agencies employing this family.
Median actual pay varies across the family, from $61,382 for Research Analyst 1 up to $113,615 for Research Analyst 4. Those are medians of what people are really paid, not schedule minimums and maximums.
State payroll only, deduplicated by payroll title; local employers file separately, so a family with local codes looks smaller here than it is. How this is counted.
How the pay is set
Titles in this family are paid on the A-P-R-S salary schedule. See every step in that schedule. Bargaining is handled by CWA. Union contracts and rights are collected here.
Where these jobs exist
Hiring for this family runs through state service. Departments, commissions and boards fill these titles from eligible lists built by the Civil Service Commission, so the route in is an announcement and a filing deadline rather than a posting you apply to directly. What state jurisdiction means, and a breakdown of who employs what.
Related titles elsewhere in the plan
These titles sit elsewhere in the classification plan but share vocabulary with Research Analyst, which usually means overlapping duties or a related eligible list.
- Research Data Analyst 1 ($69,668 to $101,951, state jurisdiction) — in the Research Data Analyst family
- Right of Way Research Analyst ($83,582 to $122,832, state jurisdiction)
- Right of Way Research Analyst ($87,507 to $128,719, state jurisdiction)
- Analyst 1 Research and Evaluation ($79,844 to $117,228, state jurisdiction) — in the Analyst family
- Senior Intelligence Research Analyst ($66,592 to $97,354, state jurisdiction)
- Principal Intelligence Research Analyst ($76,287 to $111,856, state jurisdiction)
Common questions about Research Analyst jobs
How many separate Research Analyst classifications does New Jersey have?
The Research Analyst family holds 5 title codes arranged across 4 levels. Each code is a separate classification with its own published specification, requirements and salary treatment.
How much is a Research Analyst paid?
Published salary data for this family runs from $58,222 at the bottom of Research Analyst 1 to $134,900 at the top of Research Analyst 4. Those are schedule figures. Where the title appears on the state payroll, actual median pay is listed on the page above.
Is there a civil service test for Research Analyst?
Yes for most of the family. 5 of the 5 titles are in the competitive division, which means appointment comes from an eligible list built by an open competitive or promotional examination.
What are the requirements to become a Research Analyst?
The most common education requirement in this family is a doctoral degree, named on 5 of the 5 titles. Stated experience ranges from 1 to 2 years depending on the rung. Read the individual specification for the exact wording, including any experience substitution.
Which agencies employ Research Analyst staff?
State payroll records show 45 people in this family across 9 agencies, with Law and Public Safety the largest at 10. Local government employers are not covered by that extract.