Associate scientists are critical to many of the scientific advancements of our day. They work in teams led by project scientists to assist in experiments and research. Depending on the team's size and the experiment's nature, associate scientists may be involved in the research process.
An associate scientist's daily tasks may involve receiving instructions from a lead scientist, conducting the necessary research, and reporting findings. They may get to work independently or closely with senior scientists. Associate scientists may have small administrative responsibilities, like training other scientists and supervising library technicians and student scientists.
Associate scientists receive some of the credit for the project's findings, along with other members of the team. Most employers insist that associate scientists have at least a Ph.D. in their chosen field. The employer also determines the minimum acceptable years of experience necessary.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an associate scientist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $35.33 an hour? That's $73,488 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 8% and produce 10,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be an associate scientist, we found that a lot of resumes listed 8.9% of associate scientists included procedures, while 8.5% of resumes included chemistry, and 6.2% of resumes included data analysis. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the associate scientist job title. But what industry to start with? Most associate scientists actually find jobs in the pharmaceutical and health care industries.
If you're interested in becoming an associate scientist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 43.9% of associate scientists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 37.1% of associate scientists have master's degrees. Even though most associate scientists have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an associate scientist. When we researched the most common majors for an associate scientist, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on associate scientist resumes include doctoral degree degrees or associate degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an associate scientist. In fact, many associate scientist jobs require experience in a role such as research assistant. Meanwhile, many associate scientists also have previous career experience in roles such as research associate or laboratory technician.