Production scientists research new production processes to improve manufacturing systems to make them more time- and cost-efficient and, as a consequence, more profitable. As a production scientist, you may find work in myriad industries that involve the manufacturing of goods, like food processing, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics testing, and many more.
You can opt to specialize in either product or process development as a production scientist, or you may work in both areas. In your role, you will plan and supervise product or production process testings to find the best way to optimize them. You will model new ideas and analyze data collected about existing production.
You will need a degree in biochemistry, engineering, or a related field to embark on a career as a production scientist. Employers looking to hire production scientists seek candidates with analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to follow strict methodologies and work on a team.
How to Become a Production Scientist
What is a Production Scientist
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Production Scientist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $32.13 an hour? That's $66,831 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 8% and produce 10,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Production Scientist Do
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a Production Scientist, we found that a lot of resumes listed 9.1% of Production Scientists included Raw Materials, while 7.9% of resumes included Lab Equipment, and 7.7% of resumes included QC. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
How To Become a Production Scientist
If you're interested in becoming a Production Scientist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 83.2% of Production Scientists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 10.0% of Production Scientists have master's degrees. Even though most Production 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 a Production Scientist. When we researched the most common majors for a Production Scientist, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Master's Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Production Scientist resumes include Associate Degree degrees or Doctoral Degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Production Scientist. In fact, many Production Scientist jobs require experience in a role such as Research Assistant. Meanwhile, many Production Scientists also have previous career experience in roles such as Laboratory Technician or Research Associate.
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Production Scientist Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of Scientist you might progress to a role such as Consultant eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title Manufacturing Manager.
Production Scientist Jobs You Might Like
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Average Salary for a Production Scientist
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Choose From 10+ Customizable Production Scientist Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Production Scientist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Production Scientist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Production Scientist Demographics
Production Scientist Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among Production Scientists, 41.6% of them are women, while 58.4% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among Production Scientists is White, which makes up 60.3% of all Production Scientists.
- The most common foreign language among Production Scientists is Chinese at 23.1%.
Find the best Production Scientist job for you
Production Scientist Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Production Scientist Jobs - $100K and Up
- Entry Level Production Scientist Jobs
- Part Time Production Scientist Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Production Scientist Jobs
Top Colleges for Production Scientists
1. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
2. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
3. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
5. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
6. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
7. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
8. University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
9. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
10. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Find the best Production Scientist job for you
Production Scientist Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Production Scientist Jobs - $100K and Up
- Entry Level Production Scientist Jobs
- Part Time Production Scientist Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Production Scientist Jobs
Online Courses For Production Scientist That You May Like
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How can we ensure the continuous supply of the increasingly scarce raw materials that are needed to make the products we use every day? In this course, we will look at the potential benefits of circular procurement and how recycling technologies and more efficient ways of collecting and recycling critical raw materials (CRMs) can make your business and production more resource resilient. A good number of the materials found in everyday products are now referred to as "critical". This means that...
Top Skills For a Production Scientist
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 9.1% of Production Scientists listed Raw Materials on their resume, but soft skills such as Communication skills and Observation skills are important as well.
Best States For a Production Scientist
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a Production Scientist. The best states for people in this position are California, Hawaii, Nevada, and Delaware. Production Scientists make the most in California with an average salary of $113,148. Whereas in Hawaii and Nevada, they would average $92,725 and $81,967, respectively. While Production Scientists would only make an average of $81,788 in Delaware, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. California
$113,148
Avg. Salary
2. Delaware
$81,788
Avg. Salary
3. Massachusetts
$75,964
Avg. Salary
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