Average Research Assistant Salary in Nova Scotia, Canada for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Research Assistant salary for 2024 in Nova Scotia and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Canadian dollar. To keep things simple, we are using the CAD currency code instead of the currency symbol $.

How Much Does a Research Assistant Make in Nova Scotia?

A Research Assistant working in Nova Scotia will typically earn around 80,900 CAD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 45,100 CAD to the highest average salary of 121,800 CAD.

Average Annual Salary
80,900 CAD
Average Monthly Salary
6,741 CAD

Lowest Annual Salary
45,100 CAD
Lowest Monthly Salary
3,758 CAD

Highest Annual Salary
121,800 CAD
Highest Monthly Salary
10,150 CAD

These are average salaries for a Research Assistant in Nova Scotia and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Research Assistant to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Research Assistant salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Research Assistant Salaries in Nova Scotia

So we've looked at the average salaries a Research Assistant will earn in Nova Scotia. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Research Assistant can earn between 45,100 CAD and 121,800 CAD on average in Nova Scotia. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Research Assistant in Nova Scotia is 73,100 CAD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 73,100 CAD, and 50% of the population earn more than 73,100 CAD.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Research Assistant salary in Nova Scotia, 25% of the population are earning less than 51,300 CAD while 75% of the population earn more than 51,300 CAD.

75% of the population earn less than 91,000 CAD, and 25% of the population earn more than 91,000 CAD.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Research Assistant Salary by Experience Level in Nova Scotia

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average research assistant salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Research Assistant in Nova Scotia that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 49,100 CAD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Research Assistant salary would increase to 64,300 CAD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Research Assistant, the average salary would be 81,900 CAD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 100,200 CAD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Research Assistant with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 109,700 CAD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Research Assistant with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 114,300 CAD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
49,100 CAD
2-5 Years +26%
64,300 CAD
5-10 Years +32%
81,900 CAD
10-15 Years +18%
100,200 CAD
15-20 Years +11%
109,700 CAD
20+ Years +6%
114,300 CAD

Research Assistant Salary by Education Level in Nova Scotia

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Research Assistant in Nova Scotia based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • High School. A Research Assistant in Nova Scotia with a high school education can earn an average salary of 62,100 CAD.

  • Certificate or Diploma. A Research Assistant in Nova Scotia with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 68,400 CAD.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Research Assistant in Nova Scotia with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 91,900 CAD.

  • Master's Degree. A Research Assistant in Nova Scotia with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 114,600 CAD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School
62,100 CAD
Certificate or Diploma +13%
68,400 CAD
Bachelor's Degree +32%
91,900 CAD
Master's Degree +24%
114,600 CAD

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in Canada is around 49,800 to 149,000 CAD and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Research Assistant Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Nova Scotia, a male research assistant will earn an average of 86,600 CAD, while a female research assistant will earn around 82,200 CAD.

This means that a male research assistant earns approximately 5% more than a female research assistant for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Nova Scotia

Male
86,600 CAD
Female -5%
82,200 CAD

Research Assistant Average Pay Raise in Nova Scotia

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Research Assistant in Nova Scotia is around 13% every 13 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Canada is around 9% every 15 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 13 ÷ 13 ) × 12  = 12%

What this means is that a Research Assistant in Nova Scotia can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 12% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Nova Scotia for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in Canada.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
2%
Energy
4%
Information Technology
6%
Healthcare
8%
Travel
1%
Construction
3%
Education
5%

Research Assistant Bonus and Incentive Rates in Nova Scotia

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Research Assistant is a moderate bonus based job, with 57% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

43% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 6%.

Received Bonus
57%
No Bonus
43%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in Canada earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
123,000 CAD
Private Sector -6%
115,600 CAD

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Research Assistant

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Research Assistant in Nova Scotia.

Job Title Category Salary
Assistant Business Development Manager Business Planning 166,600 CAD
Assistant Merchandise Planner Business Planning 95,300 CAD
Business Advisor Business Planning 151,800 CAD
Business Analyst Business Planning 152,700 CAD
Business Consultant Business Planning 142,100 CAD
Business Continuity Associate Business Planning 88,500 CAD
Business Developer Business Planning 99,100 CAD
Business Development Analyst Business Planning 107,700 CAD
Business Development Associate Business Planning 76,000 CAD
Business Development Coordinator Business Planning 87,300 CAD
Business Development Director Business Planning 216,300 CAD
Business Development Engineer Business Planning 114,600 CAD
Business Development Executive Business Planning 152,900 CAD
Business Development Manager Business Planning 190,400 CAD
Business Development Specialist Business Planning 142,300 CAD
Business Manager Business Planning 163,800 CAD
Business Operations Specialist Business Planning 141,000 CAD
Business Process Writer Business Planning 87,500 CAD
Business Systems Analyst Business Planning 151,800 CAD
Capacity Planner Business Planning 109,700 CAD
Capacity Planning Supervisor Business Planning 138,700 CAD
Change Communications Analyst Business Planning 132,000 CAD
Change Control Analyst Business Planning 142,100 CAD
Change Impact Analyst Business Planning 146,900 CAD
Contracts Executive Business Planning 146,700 CAD
Corporate Strategy Analyst Business Planning 156,200 CAD
Cost Control Engineer Business Planning 95,100 CAD
Cost Controller Business Planning 108,200 CAD
Cost Estimator Business Planning 95,100 CAD
Data Executive Business Planning 80,900 CAD
Data Manager Business Planning 111,700 CAD
Data Processing Manager Business Planning 130,400 CAD
Development Researcher Business Planning 111,700 CAD
Director of Business Development Business Planning 216,300 CAD
Director of Production Planning Business Planning 184,700 CAD
Due Diligence Analyst Business Planning 163,800 CAD
Estimating Manager Business Planning 164,100 CAD
General Manager Business Planning 180,500 CAD
Incident Handler Business Planning 99,900 CAD
Incident Specialist Business Planning 128,200 CAD
Lean Consultant Business Planning 115,600 CAD
Manager Business Planning 205,700 CAD
Marketing and Business Development Manager Business Planning 183,900 CAD
Materials Planner Business Planning 61,700 CAD
Merchandise Assistant Business Planning 64,800 CAD
Merchandise Controller Business Planning 60,100 CAD
Merchandise Planner Business Planning 63,200 CAD
Operations Analyst Business Planning 140,700 CAD
Operations Manager Business Planning 150,100 CAD
Operations Research Analyst Business Planning 93,900 CAD
Planning and Reporting Manager Business Planning 161,300 CAD
Planning Director Business Planning 200,600 CAD
Project Administrator Business Planning 94,000 CAD
Project Manager Business Planning 146,900 CAD
Project Planner Business Planning 95,300 CAD
Research Engineer Business Planning 95,100 CAD
Research Officer Business Planning 71,400 CAD
Risk Management Specialist Business Planning 139,100 CAD
Scholarship Coordinator Business Planning 73,100 CAD
Store Planner Business Planning 76,000 CAD
Strategy Director Business Planning 199,700 CAD
Top Research and Development Executive Business Planning 222,300 CAD

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in Canada, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Brampton 76,900 CAD
Calgary 81,300 CAD
Edmonton 85,500 CAD
Gatineau 76,000 CAD
Halifax 78,200 CAD
Hamilton 83,400 CAD
Kitchener 76,000 CAD
Markham 82,200 CAD
Mississauga 81,600 CAD
Montreal 86,600 CAD
Ottawa 86,600 CAD
Quebec 87,200 CAD
Regina 71,700 CAD
Richmond 71,400 CAD
Saskatoon 77,000 CAD
Surrey 80,500 CAD
Toronto 88,400 CAD
Vancouver 86,800 CAD
Vaughan 77,000 CAD
Windsor 76,800 CAD
Winnipeg 80,400 CAD

Salary Comparison by State

The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in Canada.

City Average Salary
Alberta 86,800 CAD
British Columbia 94,100 CAD
Manitoba 83,000 CAD
New Brunswick 75,900 CAD
Newfoundland-Labrador 78,900 CAD
Northwest Territories 80,500 CAD
Nunavut 84,500 CAD
Ontario 95,300 CAD
Prince Edward Island 69,700 CAD
Quebec 92,000 CAD
Saskatchewan 84,600 CAD
Yukon 73,100 CAD

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