Job prospects Post-secondary Research Assistant in Québec

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "post-secondary research assistant" in Québec or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Québec

These outlooks were updated on November 29, 2023.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be good for Post-secondary teaching and research assistants (NOC 41201) in Quebec for the 2023-2025 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to several new positions.
• Not many positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

Employment trends in this occupation are dependent on post-secondary student enrolment, government investment in education, and public and private funding of university research.

According to forecasts by the Ministère de l'Éducation

The labour shortage in the job market in general creates an environment conducive to students dropping out of school. Major investments in education are planned over the next few years to encourage graduation, student retention and worker requalification.

Measures are also intended to promote student mobility, by attracting students from other regions of Quebec outside major urban centres or from abroad.

Full-time or alternating distance education, which began with the pandemic, will have required hiring additional resources to support faculty and students. While in-person instruction has returned to the norm, these non-traditional modes could continue to be integrated into students' academic careers.

While the employment outlook for this occupation is good at the provincial level, it will be moderate in Bas-Saint-Laurent, Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean.

Here are some key facts about Post-secondary teaching and research assistants in Quebec:

• Approximately 21,800 people work in this occupation.
• Post-secondary teaching and research assistants mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Universities (NAICS 6113): 78%
  • Community colleges and C.E.G.E.P.s (NAICS 6112): 14%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 60% compared to 82% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 40% compared to 18% for all occupations
• 53% of post-secondary teaching and research assistants work all year, while 47% work only part of the year, compared to 62% and 38% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 40 weeks compared to 43 weeks for all occupations.
• Less than 5% of post-secondary teaching and research assistants are self-employed compared to an average of 12% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 44% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 56% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 12% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: less than 5% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: less than 5% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 14% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 28% compared to 17% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 52% compared to 11% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Québec by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Job prospects elsewhere in Canada

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "post-secondary research assistant" Post-secondary teaching and research assistants (NOC 41201) or across Canada.

Learn more