Both academia and industry research are vastly different but similar in some aspects. For academia, expertise in grant writing and deep research skills are needed. For academia, a project is funded through grants which is why the researcher needs to know how to write excellent grants, so that they have the means of funding their project. In addition to grant writing, researchers in academia also need to have expertise in strong research skills because the project will not be funded or successful if the research done is not strong enough to be published in an accredited journal. Often times than not, grants are given based on how strong a research project is predicted to be in a given field. For industry, expertise in practical skills and adaptability is needed. When doing research for industry, the researcher would need to have the practical skills to analyze the market to understand what product needs to be researched. Furthermore, adaptability is needed when conducting research in the industry so that the needs of the changing market are met when completing the project. 

For academic research, master's and PhD roles are more suited since academic research requires more in-depth knowledge about a given field. However, for industry research, even a bachelor's degree would suffice for the position, but having a master's or PhD degree would help obtain a higher position in the industry field. 

I agree with what @archishak said regarding the vast differences in academic and industry research. I think a key aspect of any good research is perseverance, which is being able to push through failures and continue trekking on, which in research happens alot. In academic research, having perseverance helps maintain focus on the objective and can lead to you going back to the drawing board and revising your experimental setup and controls, which can permit you to come up with multiple ways to reach your goal. This goes the same fro industry, but with much higher stake because you are often burning through cash that you cannot definitively say that you own (meaning you would need to pay it back eventually.

I think in general, having research experience in academia as an undergrad or grad student helps prepare you with the technical skills and capabilities to continue research in academia or moving into industry. Whether you find passion working for either group is entirely up to your personal beliefs and objectives.

With regards to entering a R&D into industry, these individuals usually need a Master's/phD to obtain a job in industry and there are many skills that is needed. First and foremost is knowledge or a background experience in researching the same components/ideas as the company does. Having relevant experience on their thesis project shows that you have the necessary expertise to contribute to the company's research goals. A lot of R&D is having technical skills so already having knowledge of the processes and the market sets this person apart. 

Some other skills are also necessary including regulatory understanding with FDA or other regulations, product development skills such as testing, designing, commercializing, etc., ability to work with teams, and strong statistics background for data analysis and modeling. 

I think there are a lot of great skills that once can have to get into research. After thinking about my previous experiences and thinking about what others would say on this forum. I think the best skill to get into research would be data analysis skills, specifically with minicab. You would be surprised at how much data you would have to work with and software like minitab will really help you direct and understand the data. You might think excel is also strong too, but trust me. Once you try minicab, you will see that its ability and tools makes it very strong and helpful, maybe even more than excel. 

To start out, both academia and industry require a great deal of knowledge from their employees. It may not be fair to say that academics always possess greater knowledge than people in industry simply because they may use their education more often, as people in industry may also use their education the same amount depending on their profession. However, people in industry definitely, as the original question poses, require a different skill set than do people in academia. Even though academica and industry professionals possess the same education, people in industry need more education from outside the classroom in order to apply their knowledge more creatively. This might entail project management, as we are learning about in class, or other avenues by which people in industry can solve problems quickly and efficiently. People in academia, on the other hand, require a great deal of patience. I use the word loosely, as people in academia, like professors, require a great deal of patience when it comes to teaching others as well as waiting for research to pan out. Moreover, academia often requires knowledge of the politics of an institution in order to climb the ranks. While this may be required in industry as well, the politics of industry are between working institutions rather than within one.

Both academic research and industry research require a few similar skills and knowledge. However, a major difference is the specificity of knowledge in a field. I believe master’s and PhD roles are a better fit in academia research, rather than industry. Individuals with master’s and PhDs or current graduate students are better prepared to work in academia research as they acquire the essential skills in their PI’s (principal investigator) lab during their multiple years of graduate school. The transition would be more seamless as they have worked in the academia environment as research assistants. The attitudes and motivations for research would remain the same as they are changing roles within academia. The skills gained from a graduate degree would be applicable and useful in an industry setting. They are able to transfer these skills in industry, but may be hindered by the specificity of their degree. They likely have become accustomed to research in a specific subject, rather than a range of topics. The purpose of gaining such a degree is to gain specialized knowledge and skills in a field. However, this specialized knowledge is a better fit in academia research. They are likely to do research into a topic they have a background in and are therefore more informed about the subject. Whereas in industry, employees may be assigned projects on topics they are less knowledgeable about. They may require a more in-depth and longer literature search than an individual with a graduate degree would need. Industry research may require an individual to work in various fields, not the one specific field this person had studied during their bachelor’s.

As many mentioned, it’s clear that there are significant differences between academia and industry research, particularly in terms of how they use their skills in each field. However, I also think the skills themselves are similar.

For further/higher education, in academia, a Master’s or PhD is often essential, as the focus is on developing deep, specialized expertise in a specific field. These advanced degrees provide the rigorous training needed for conducting and leading independent research, which is crucial for publishing in academic journals and securing grants. In industry, many will pursue MS, MBA, or certifications to allow for growth in their role, to new roles, and in their salary.

For writing and presentation skills, academia uses these in successful grant writing, research proposal, conferences, etc. while industry uses them in their team/org meetings; presenting to stakeholders, the public, or regulatory agencies; proposing design ideas and changes; etc. 

In both places, leadership skills are required to motivate your team and get where you/the company wants to be. 

Overall, I think many of the skills are the same but there are differences in how and for what industry and academia uses those skills. 

There are similarities and differences in the desired qualities of an engineer in the industry versus a researcher in academia. Both fields require expertise in knowledge, however, academia prefers graduate level education. One can work in the industry with just a bachelors degree. From experience in the industry, companies like to see personable people who work well with others and provide a positive energy in the office. This is not to say that researchers in academia are introverted loners, but that the environment of a company in the office setting does require more interaction and interpersonal skills. A researcher still has to cooperate with fellow researchers, research assistants, and students, but there is more room to focus on the research than these relationships. In the industry, the relationship with a manager and upper management can play a larger role than in academia.

Regarding industry only, I think you need to master a specific skill to fulfill a position's requirement. As I applied for jobs, I tend to see and hear that people hire those with a specific skill that they look for. For example, when you talk about analysis, they have analysis for imaging, for research data, for NMR, etc These are very specific and requires that you have master it during your time doing research. That's what I hear from people. Furtheremore, the industry's setting is so much more hierachical, which makes sense because you will not be required to handle everything like you are doing research in academia. Like when you search for jobs, there are positions that is solely for cell culturing, which means that you only have to take care of the cells, compared to when you do research in academia, you have to take care of the cells then use it at your own need. Therefore, being specialized in a skill is very important for finding a job in the industry.