There is a lot of misconceptions about the research associate position. They do tell you in the interview that you will be making phone calls to your account. They in no way, shape, or form, tell you that calling is your only job function. They require you to make twenty, 90 second calls per day to a portfolio of people that you call everyday. Overall, they expect 80 calls per day and only 20 have to count. Think outbound telemarketer. They then publically display your call stats and rank you amongst your peers. The turnover rate is very high as people soon realize that they did not just spend an astronomical amount of money on school to work at an outbound call center collecting real estate data. It's literally a revolving door at CoStar. Don't expect to be able to transfer your skills unless you are looking at other call center opportunities. Also, the salaries for a Research Associate are a flat rate. There is zero room for negotion. So if you have a Masters and work experience, you make just as much as a fresh college grad with zero experience. It is definitely a degrading feeling to know that they do not value your education or experience. Also, they do not pay based on locality so those in major markets make less than the rural areas.
