The pathway
How you actually get there, here
How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.
- 1
Graduate Scheme / Internship (Marketing/Research)
6-12 monthsSkills to master
- Basic project support, data entry and cleaning, note-taking, understanding of research ethics, professional communication.
You're ready to move on when
- Successfully completed assigned tasks with minimal errors.
- Demonstrated proactive learning and asked thoughtful questions.
- Received positive feedback on organisation and attention to detail.
- Showed a genuine interest in product research and user understanding.
- 2
Research Assistant (Academic/Agency)
1-2 yearsSkills to master
- Experience with data collection (surveys, interviews), transcription, literature reviews, basic report compilation, working under supervision.
You're ready to move on when
- Managed small research tasks independently within a larger project.
- Contributed to research outputs (e.g., sections of a report, data summaries).
- Familiarity with research software and data handling.
- Ability to follow strict research protocols and guidelines.
- 3
Customer Service / Support Role
1-3 yearsSkills to master
- Deep understanding of customer pain points, empathy, communication skills, experience with feedback collection, identifying recurring issues.
You're ready to move on when
- Consistently provided excellent customer service and resolved complex issues.
- Proactively identified trends in customer feedback or complaints.
- Demonstrated strong active listening and problem-solving skills.
- Expressed a desire to understand 'why' customers behave in certain ways.


