What does a physical scientist do?
A physical scientist is responsible for investigating scientific problems by conducting laboratory examinations by collecting information, analyzing existing research studies, and formulating theories. Physical scientists follow scientific methods and processes strictly depending on their expertise and may perform field investigations to support their claims as necessary. They also operate different laboratory tools and equipment, requiring them to inspect and sterilize each before and after use to avoid contamination that can affect the accuracy of laboratory results.
Physical scientist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real physical scientist resumes:
- Develop and manage third party claim investigations and contractor remedial oversight for various insurance companies.
- Devise numerous processing and data visualization tools for analysis and assessment of multi-beam data quality.
- Validate personnel work supporting DoD mapping / charting programs.
- Represent the USAPHC in departmental and interagency workgroups and committees.
- Authore technical review correspondences to EPA and co-authore sections of several articles and reports.
- Create a GIS project to link countrywide stream tracer experiments with various geological characteristics.
- Serve as TEC liaison to DoD and intelligence community, coordinating collaboration and providing support.
- Participate in GIS training courses to evaluate new technologies for in office and at-sea utilization.
- Conduct environmental assessments, surveillance audits, and relate studies to assure compliance with state/federal regulations and EPA laws.
- Work closely with and provide information to in-processing, Intel, firearms/toolmarks, latents, chemistry, and explosive units.
- Develop laboratory protocols for genetic extraction/gel electrophoresis.
- Project manager for the closure of RCRA operating unit with trace quantities of herbicides, pesticides, and hydrocarbons.
- Create report and presentation on project status to client, as well as final deliverable products for all RCRA phase initiatives.
- Conduct ESAs per ASTM standards.
- Lead and train a team conducting PCB sampling in storm drains during wet and dry weather events.
Physical scientist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 23% of Physical Scientists are proficient in Chemistry, Environmental Compliance, and DOD. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Problem-solving skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Physical Scientists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Chemistry, 23%
Supervised the Organic Chemistry (OC) and Environmental Chemistry (EC) functional groups.
- Environmental Compliance, 20%
Avoided potential environmental damage and penalties from environmental regulators by coordinating environmental compliance assessments.
- DOD, 16%
Served as TEC liaison to DoD and intelligence community, coordinating collaboration and providing support.
- Hazardous Waste, 15%
Developed Operation and Maintenance Plans, Best Management Practices, and Standard Operation Procedures for hazardous waste operations.
- Research Projects, 6%
Performed statistical and numerical modeling research projects in the field of hydrology.
- Technical Reports, 5%
Managed and reviewed project budgets, resources, funds, and technical reports.
Common skills that a physical scientist uses to do their job include "chemistry," "environmental compliance," and "dod." You can find details on the most important physical scientist responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a physical scientist to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "environmental scientists and specialists base their conclusions on careful analysis of scientific data." Additionally, a physical scientist resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "managed the installation and testing of new satellite data visualization software within the division and provide training to users. "
Problem-solving skills. Many physical scientist duties rely on problem-solving skills. "environmental scientists and specialists try to find the best possible solution to problems that affect the environment and people’s health.," so a physical scientist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways physical scientist responsibilities rely on problem-solving skills: "designed new and innovative solutions to synthesize and analyze data incorporated into gis applicationssciences. "
Communication skills. This is an important skill for physical scientists to perform their duties. For an example of how physical scientist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "environmental scientists and specialists may need to present and explain their findings to audiences of varying backgrounds and write technical reports." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a physical scientist: "selected skills and achievements managed communication teams to market various usgs products. ".
The three companies that hire the most physical scientists are:
- Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Inc.14 physical scientists jobs
- SHINE Systems9 physical scientists jobs
- Pacific Architects and Engineers
6 physical scientists jobs
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Compare different physical scientists
Physical scientist vs. Research scientist
The job of research scientists is to design, undertake, and analyze information from experiments, trials, and laboratory-based investigations. They usually perform experiments in different areas, including medical research, pharmacology, and geoscience. They have varied duties and responsibilities that include planning and carrying out experiments, conducting fieldwork, and overseeing junior staff members like the technicians. They are typically working for a government laboratory, an environmental agency, and other organizations. Many of these scientists also work in teams and support staff.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between physical scientists and research scientist. For instance, physical scientist responsibilities require skills such as "environmental compliance," "iii," "dod," and "hazardous waste." Whereas a research scientist is skilled in "patients," "c++," "java," and "molecular biology." This is part of what separates the two careers.
On average, research scientists reach similar levels of education than physical scientists. Research scientists are 1.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 21.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Physical scientist vs. Environmental scientist
Environmental scientists are responsible for analyzing environmental issues and creating their solutions. They protect the environment together with human health by using their understanding of natural science. It is their job to advise policy-makers, work with industry professionals to reduce waste, and clean up polluted areas. Also, they assess environmental risks and research to guide businesses, government administrators, as well as the general public on probable environmental threats and health risks. Additionally, they ensure that these entities follow the environmental regulations and policies to help minimize their environmental impact on the ecosystem.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, physical scientist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "chemistry," "iii," "dod," and "research projects." Meanwhile, an environmental scientist has duties that require skills in areas such as "osha," "oversight," "hazwoper," and "project management." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Environmental scientists may earn a lower salary than physical scientists, but environmental scientists earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $72,955. On the other hand, physical scientists receive higher pay in the education industry, where they earn an average salary of $81,973.In general, environmental scientists achieve lower levels of education than physical scientists. They're 6.5% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 21.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Physical scientist vs. 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.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a physical scientist is likely to be skilled in "environmental compliance," "iii," "dod," and "hazardous waste," while a typical scientist is skilled in "patients," "molecular biology," "cell culture," and "java."
Scientists earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $134,486. Physical scientists earn the highest pay from the education industry, with an average salary of $81,973.Most scientists achieve a similar degree level compared to physical scientists. For example, they're 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 12.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Physical scientist vs. Staff scientist
The primary role of a Staff Scientist is to develop and manage scientific research projects with minimal supervision. They are also responsible for the technical and budgetary aspects of scientific research projects.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between physical scientists and staff scientists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a physical scientist might have more use for skills like "chemistry," "environmental compliance," "iii," and "hazardous waste." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of staff scientists require skills like "molecular biology," "next-generation sequencing," "statistical analysis," and "rna. "
The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for staff scientists, with average annual pay of $102,260. Comparatively, the highest physical scientist annual salary comes from the education industry.The average resume of staff scientists showed that they earn lower levels of education compared to physical scientists. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 5.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 19.7%.Types of physical scientist
Updated January 8, 2025
