NJ Civil Service Navigator

Research Scientist Family

Career series with 18 positions across 3 levels

New Jersey classifies Research Scientist as a 3-level family, 18 titles in all, built for step-by-step advancement.

Entry is typically through Research Scientist 3, advancing through the ladder toward Research Scientist 1. Pay across the family spans $79,844 to $148,187, around the 78th percentile of all civil service job families by top pay. State payroll records show 1,707 people across the family's titles, most concentrated at Health and Senior Services.

Research Scientist is a common next step after Research Data Analyst.

18
Positions
3
Career Levels
4
Specializations
Salary Range: $79,844 - $148,187/year

Specializations

Botany Chemistry Microbiology Pharmacy

Positions in This Family

... and 3 more positions

What the Research Scientist family covers

New Jersey classifies Research Scientist as a 3-level series holding 18 separate title codes. 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

Sorted by pay instead of by title number, the Research Scientist family stacks up as follows. Note that the numbers in these titles do not run in pay order. In this family a lower number sits higher on the ladder, which is a New Jersey convention that catches people out when they read a title list top to bottom.

Showing the 12 best paid of 15 titles with published salary data.

The distance from the bottom of Research Scientist 3 to the top of Research Scientist 1, Pharmacy is $68,343, an increase of about 86% over the entry minimum.

What each title does

The specifications themselves are the clearest guide to what separates these titles. Here is how each one opens.

  • Research Scientist 3: Under direction of a Research Scientist 2 or other supervisory official in a state department, institution, or agency, conducts or participates in research projects…
  • Research Scientist 3: Under direction of a Research Scientist 1 or other supervisory official in a state department, institution, or agency, conducts or participates in research projects…
  • Research Scientist 3, Chemistry: Under the limited supervision of a Research Scientst 1 or other supervisory official in a State department, institution, or agency, implements and carries…
  • Research Scientist 3 Microbiology: Under the limited supervision of a Research Scientist 1, Microbiology or other supervisory official in a State department, institution, or agency…
  • Research Scientist 3, Botany: Under the limited supervision of a Research Scientist 1, Botany or other supervisory official in a State department, institution, or agency, implements and…
  • Research Scientist 3, Pharmacy: Under the limited supervision of a Research Scientist 1, Pharmacy or other supervisory official in a State department, institution, or agency, implements…
  • Research Scientist 2: Under general supervision of a Research Scientist 1 or other supervisory official in a state department, institution, or agency, conducts research projects or…
  • Research Scientist 2, Chemistry: Under the general supervision of a Research Scientist 1, Chemistry or other supervisory official in a State department, institution, or agency, takes the…

Showing 8 of 17 published definitions in this family. The full list of titles is below.

Getting in: the stated requirements

Across the 18 titles we have parsed, the education requirements read as a master's degree on 18 of them. Stated experience runs from 2 years at the lowest rung to 4 at the highest, which is the main thing separating one level from the next.

On how the jobs are filled: 3 are competitive, filled from an eligible list after an open competitive or promotional examination and 15 are non-competitive, appointed on proof of the stated qualifications rather than by examination.

Who actually employs these titles

1,707 people appear on the state payroll under 11 of these titles, at 14 agencies. Health and Senior Services alone accounts for about 49% of them.

  • Health and Senior Services — 844 employees
  • Environmental Protection — 482 employees
  • Children and Families — 91 employees
  • Human Services — 66 employees
  • Unknown — 63 employees
  • Board of the Public Utilities — 59 employees

Those are the 6 largest of 14 agencies employing this family.

Median actual pay varies across the family, from $91,592 for Research Scientist 3 up to $138,568 for Research Scientist 1, Pharmacy. 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

Nearby in the plan, ranked by how distinctive the shared terms are rather than by how many words happen to match.

Families next to this one

New Jersey's classification plan links families by shared terminology and by the routes people actually take between them. These sit closest to Research Scientist.

Common questions about Research Scientist jobs

How many separate Research Scientist classifications does New Jersey have?

The Research Scientist family holds 18 title codes arranged across 3 levels. Each code is a separate classification with its own published specification, requirements and salary treatment.

How much is a Research Scientist paid?

Published salary data for this family runs from $79,844 at the bottom of Research Scientist 3 to $148,187 at the top of Research Scientist 1, Pharmacy. 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 Scientist?

Not for the non-competitive titles in this family, of which there are 15. A non-competitive appointment is made on proof that you meet the stated requirements, without a competitive examination, though the position is still in the classified service with its own protections.

What are the requirements to become a Research Scientist?

The most common education requirement in this family is a master's degree, named on 18 of the 18 titles. Stated experience ranges from 2 to 4 years depending on the rung. Read the individual specification for the exact wording, including any experience substitution.

Which agencies employ Research Scientist staff?

State payroll records show 1,707 people in this family across 14 agencies, with Health and Senior Services the largest at 844. Local government employers are not covered by that extract.

Is Research Scientist 1 higher or lower than Research Scientist 3?

In this family the lower number is the more senior title. New Jersey's level numbering does not run in pay order, and reading the titles by number alone will give you the ladder upside down. The list above is sorted by what each title actually pays.