What does an information scientist do?
Information Scientists work with the knowledge database of a given organization and ensure that it is always available to those who need to use it. The creation of systems that simplify the finding of knowledge is an important activity every day as an information scientist. They are required to routinely archive and store information, check new information stack tools, and review the information to generate reports and findings.
Information scientist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real information scientist resumes:
- Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
- Improve copyright compliance process for regulatory submissions ahead of FDA eCTD requirement for electronic submissions.
- Participate in FDA and in-house QA/QC audits.
- Provide support relating to EDG metadata content and ingest, including maintenance and update of PERL ingest scripts.
- Maintain and modify all Perl ingest scripts used in support of the web-based interface for EDG metadata submission.
- Evaluate emerging technologies to enhance capabilities for cross repository search, knowledge discovery, data mining and visualization.
- Conduct research and analyze data to identify potential biomarkers and provide input for selection of candidates for non-clinical studies development.
- Identify opportunities and develop and support on-line and at-line process NIR and IR monitoring and control methodologies for aluminum coating operations.
Information scientist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 19% of Information Scientists are proficient in Data Analysis, Literature Searches, and R. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Detail oriented, and Logical thinking.
We break down the percentage of Information Scientists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Data Analysis, 19%
Extracted usage trends for information resources via data analysis of firewall logs.
- Literature Searches, 16%
Performed expert literature searches and primary filtering of evidence to address questions from the respective teams.
- R, 9%
Designed R-statistical algorithms and wrote R codes to develop numerical regression.
- Clinical Data, 8%
Supported Regulatory Affairs Dept., Audit, Clinical Data Management and Clinical Research teams to ensure compliance of study documents.
- FDA, 7%
Advised/trained R&D clients on archiving and retention requirements for best alignment with FDA standards.
- Pharmaceutical Industry, 6%
Attend sales meetings and bid defenses to formally present information on scientific capabilities to pharmaceutical industry clients.
Most information scientists use their skills in "data analysis," "literature searches," and "r" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential information scientist responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for an information scientist to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what information scientists do because "computer and information research scientists must be organized in their thinking and analyze the results of their research to formulate conclusions." Additionally, an information scientist resume shows how information scientists use analytical skills: "evaluated emerging technologies to enhance capabilities for cross repository search, knowledge discovery, data mining and visualization. "
Detail oriented. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling information scientist duties is detail oriented. The role rewards competence in this skill because "computer and information research scientists must pay close attention to their work, because a small programming error can cause an entire project to fail." According to an information scientist resume, here's how information scientists can utilize detail oriented in their job responsibilities: "participated in pre-release software and web-based application user acceptance testing, providing error reporting through detailed incident submission. "
Logical thinking. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of information scientists is logical thinking. This skill is critical to many everyday information scientist duties, as "computer algorithms rely on logic." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "develop and implement bioanalytical methods for small molecules in various biological matrices. "
Math skills. For certain information scientist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "math skills." The day-to-day duties of an information scientist rely on this skill, as "computer and information research scientists must have knowledge of advanced math and other technical topics that are critical in computing." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what information scientists do: "performed data analysis workflow and statistics analysis of high content screening (hcs) experiments. "
Communication skills. Another common skill required for information scientist responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of information scientists all the time, as "computer and information research scientists must communicate well with programmers and managers and be able to clearly explain their conclusions to people with no technical background." An excerpt from a real information scientist resume shows how this skill is central to what an information scientist does: "developed daily news report for product development and drug discovery skills used database maintenance literature research cataloging communication skills"
The three companies that hire the most information scientists are:
- Merck6 information scientists jobs
- Amazon4 information scientists jobs
- Booz Allen Hamilton2 information scientists jobs
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Compare different information scientists
Information scientist vs. Research and development internship
When it comes to Research and Development Internship, the duties will vary according to the organization or company. Most of the time, the responsibilities will revolve around observing the industry, taking part in the research and analysis, lend a helping hand in experiments and surveys, explore theories and attempt to create a model of out it, present findings for evaluation, and develop more innovative designs and systems. Moreover, in the Research and Development Internship, it always helps to be critical in solving complex problems.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, information scientist responsibilities require skills like "literature searches," "scientific literature," "scientific data," and "dialog." Meanwhile a typical research and development internship has skills in areas such as "c #," "java," "css," and "donor database." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Research and development interns tend to make the most money working in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $41,635. In contrast, information scientists make the biggest average salary, $113,213, in the technology industry.On average, research and development interns reach similar levels of education than information scientists. Research and development interns are 2.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 17.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Information scientist vs. Control system computer scientist
A scientist is responsible for researching and analyzing the nature and complexities of the physical world to identify discoveries that would improve people's lives and ignite scientific knowledge for society. Scientists' duties differ in their different areas of expertise, but all of them must have a broad comprehension of scientific disciplines and methods to support their experiments and investigations. They collect the sample for their research, record findings, create research proposals, and release publications. A scientist must know how to utilize laboratory equipment to support the study and drive results efficiently and accurately.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that information scientist responsibilities requires skills like "python," "data analysis," "literature searches," and "scientific literature." But a control system computer scientist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "switches," "lan," "test equipment," and "encryption."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Control system computer scientists tend to reach lower levels of education than information scientists. In fact, they're 16.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 17.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Information scientist vs. Scientist
A computer scientist is responsible for analyzing network infrastructure and designing efficient computer systems according to clients' specifications and business functions. Computer scientists inspect the safety and security of the organization's database, ensuring its protection from malicious activities and unauthorized access. They also manage a large scale of software applications, identifying technical opportunities to improve optimal performance and navigations. A computer scientist must have excellent knowledge of the technology industry, strong command on programming languages and system codes, and the ability to solve technical complexities for conceptualization.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from information scientist resumes include skills like "python," "literature searches," "scientific literature," and "scientific data," whereas a scientist is more likely to list skills in "chemistry," "patients," "molecular biology," and "cell culture. "
Scientists earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $134,486. Information scientists earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $113,213.When it comes to education, scientists tend to earn similar degree levels compared to information scientists. In fact, they're 2.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 2.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Information scientist vs. Computer scientist
Even though a few skill sets overlap between information scientists and computer scientists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an information scientist might have more use for skills like "literature searches," "scientific literature," "scientific data," and "dialog." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of computer scientists require skills like "computer system," "machine learning," "architecture," and "c #. "
The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for computer scientists, with average annual pay of $102,601. Comparatively, the highest information scientist annual salary comes from the technology industry.In general, computer scientists hold similar degree levels compared to information scientists. Computer scientists are 2.7% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 12.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of information scientist
Updated January 8, 2025
