Market Researcher

You know that nosy neighbor you caught digging through your garbage and signing for your packages? Well, in a manner of speaking, that’s you when you’re a Market Researcher — only without the questionable motives.

You see, as a Market Researcher, it’s your job to find out what people think about issues, people and products. Like Mrs. Mind-Your-Own-Business who lives at the end of the cul-de-sac, it’s your job as the Market Researcher, to scrutinize the way people behave. You don’t snoop, however; you survey and you study.

In fact, what you do — help companies determine what types of products people want, and what types of people want them — is extremely scientific, and extremely useful to the people who pay you to do it.

It typically starts with a question: What do you think? To get the answer, you’ll design Internet and telephone surveys, convene focus groups and dispatch pollsters in public places, including shopping malls and grocery stores. That’s the easy part. The hard part comes before the survey (developing questions designed to get the information you need) and after it (analyzing data in order to help companies develop, enhance and market their products).

Because companies use market research to find out what consumers want — and give it to them — you can take credit for improving your neighbors’ standard of living. By comparison, the only thing Nosy Nancy can take credit for improving is the quality of gossip at your next block party.