Become A Scientist
Where do you want to work?
Working As A Scientist
- Getting Information
- Analyzing Data or Information
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
- Documenting/Recording Information
Mostly Sitting
$78,291
Average Salary
What Does A Scientist Do
How To Become A Scientist
Medical scientists typically have a Ph.D., usually in biology or a related life science. Some medical scientists get a medical degree instead of a Ph.D., but prefer doing research to practicing as a physician.
EducationStudents planning careers as medical scientists typically pursue a bachelor’s degree in biology, chemistry, or a related field. Undergraduate students benefit from taking a broad range of classes, including life sciences, physical sciences, and math. Students also typically take courses that develop communication and writing skills, because they must learn to write grants effectively and publish research findings.
After students have completed their undergraduate studies, they typically enter Ph.D. programs. Dual-degree programs are available that pair a Ph.D. with a range of specialized medical degrees. A few degree programs that are commonly paired with Ph.D. studies are Medical Doctor (M.D.), Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.), Doctor of Dental Medicine (D.M.D.), and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.). Whereas Ph.D. studies focus on research methods, such as project design and data interpretation, students in dual-degree programs learn both the clinical skills needed to be a physician and the research skills needed to be a scientist.
Graduate programs emphasize both laboratory work and original research. These programs offer prospective medical scientists the opportunity to develop their experiments and, sometimes, to supervise undergraduates. Ph.D. programs culminate in a thesis that the candidate presents before a committee of professors. Students may specialize in a particular field, such as gerontology, neurology, or cancer.
Those who go to medical school spend most of the first 2 years in labs and classrooms, taking courses such as anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, psychology, microbiology, pathology, medical ethics, and medical law. They also learn how to record medical histories, examine patients, and diagnose illnesses. They may be required to participate in residency programs, meeting the same requirements that physicians and surgeons have to fulfill.
Medical scientists often continue their education with postdoctoral work. Postdoctoral work provides additional and more independent lab experience, including experience in specific processes and techniques such as gene splicing, which is transferable to other research projects.
Licenses, Certifications, and RegistrationsMedical scientists primarily conduct research and typically do not need licenses or certifications. However, those who administer drugs, gene therapy, or otherwise practice medicine on patients in clinical trials or a private practice need a license to practice as a physician.
Important QualitiesCommunication skills. Communication is critical, because medical scientists must be able to explain their conclusions. In addition, medical scientists write grant proposals, because grants often are required to fund their research.
Critical-thinking skills. Medical scientists must use their expertise to determine the best method for solving a specific research question.
Data-analysis skills. Medical scientists use statistical techniques, so that they can properly quantify and analyze health research questions.
Decisionmaking skills. Medical scientists must determine what research questions to ask, how best to investigate the questions, and what data will best answer the questions.
Observation skills. Medical scientists conduct experiments that require precise observation of samples and other health data. Any mistake could lead to inconclusive or misleading results.
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Scientist jobs
Scientist Career Paths
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Associate Principal Scientist 6.3 years
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Principal Research Scientist 5.3 years
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Senior Scientist 4.9 years
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Senior Associate Scientist 4.7 years
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Principal Scientist 4.7 years
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Senior Staff Scientist 4.7 years
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Chemist Scientist 4.4 years
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Senior Development Scientist 3.9 years
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Associate Research Scientist 3.8 years
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Research Scientist 3.8 years
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Senior Research Associate 3.7 years
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Lead Scientist 3.5 years
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Staff Scientist 3.4 years
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Assistant Research Scientist 3.3 years
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Development Scientist 3.2 years
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Laboratory Scientist 3.1 years
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Technical Scientist 3.1 years
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Research And Development Scientist 3.1 years
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Associate Scientist 3.1 years
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Scientist 3.0 years
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Process Scientist 2.9 years
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Assistant Scientist 2.9 years
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Research Associate R & D 2.8 years
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Analytical Scientist 2.8 years
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Production Scientist 2.5 years
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Assay Development Scientist 2.3 years
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Contract Scientist 1.3 years
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Research Assistant 15.0%
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Research Associate 12.1%
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Associate Scientist 8.0%
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Research Fellow 6.1%
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Fellow 5.9%
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Teaching Assistant 5.6%
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Research Scientist 5.2%
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Internship 5.2%
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Chemist 4.7%
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Senior Scientist 3.9%
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Research Technician 3.0%
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Laboratory Assistant 2.4%
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Analytical Chemist 2.2%
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Assistant Scientist 2.2%
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Researcher 2.2%
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Assistant Professor 1.6%
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Senior Scientist 25.1%
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Research Scientist 10.0%
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Research Associate 8.9%
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Consultant 5.3%
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Principal Scientist 4.5%
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Research Assistant 4.5%
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Research Fellow 4.3%
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Associate Scientist 3.9%
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Fellow 3.8%
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Project Manager 3.6%
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Chemist 3.0%
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Manager 2.9%
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Staff Scientist 2.8%
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Director 2.7%
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Group Leader 2.7%
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Assistant Professor 2.5%
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Associate Director 2.3%
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Teaching Assistant 2.1%
Average Length of Employment
Top Careers Before Scientist
Top Careers After Scientist
Scientist Demographics
Gender
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Male
50.8% -
Female
38.9% -
Unknown
10.3%
Ethnicity
-
White
61.9% -
Asian
25.7% -
Hispanic or Latino
8.4% -
Unknown
3.1% -
Black or African American
0.9%
Languages Spoken
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Spanish
30.7% -
Chinese
12.2% -
French
10.7% -
German
9.6% -
Mandarin
6.4% -
Russian
4.9% -
Hindi
3.7% -
Japanese
3.7% -
Italian
2.6% -
Cantonese
2.1% -
Portuguese
1.9% -
Arabic
1.9% -
Ukrainian
1.7% -
Korean
1.5% -
Carrier
1.5% -
Xiang
1.3% -
Swedish
0.9% -
Vietnamese
0.9% -
Dakota
0.9% -
Polish
0.9%
Scientist
Unfortunately we don’t have enough data for this section.
Scientist Education
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Johns Hopkins University
7.2% -
Pennsylvania State University
6.3% -
Northeastern University
6.3% -
University of California - Davis
5.6% -
Purdue University
5.6% -
University of Washington
5.5% -
North Carolina State University
5.4% -
Temple University
5.1% -
University of California - Berkeley
4.9% -
University of California - San Diego
4.9% -
Virginia Commonwealth University
4.8% -
University of Connecticut
4.7% -
University of Florida
4.6% -
Michigan State University
4.5% -
Texas A&M University
4.3% -
University of Massachusetts Amherst
4.2% -
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
4.2% -
University of Arizona
4.1% -
University of California - Los Angeles
3.9% -
University of Maryland - College Park
3.8% -
Chemistry 25.9%
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Biology 15.6%
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Pharmacy 5.4%
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Microbiology 5.3%
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Physics 4.2%
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Business 3.8%
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Chemical Engineering 3.6%
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Biotechnology 3.3%
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Pharmacology 2.2%
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Geology 2.0%
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Computer Science 1.8%
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-
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Genetics 1.5%
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Public Health 1.3%
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Doctorate
31.2% -
Masters
30.1% -
Bachelors
27.2% -
Other
7.6% -
Certificate
2.2% -
Associate
1.3% -
Diploma
0.4% -
License
0.0%
Schools
Majors
Degrees
Scientist
Unfortunately we don’t have enough data for this section.
Real Scientist Salaries
Job Title
|
Company
|
Location
|
Start Date
|
Salary
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Observatory Scientist | TMT Observatory Corporation | Pasadena, CA | Jul 15, 2015 | $240,000 |
| MTS 2, Applied Scientist | EBAY Inc. | San Jose, CA | Jun 08, 2015 | $200,000 |
| Scientist | Microsoft Corporation | Mountain View, CA | Jun 30, 2015 | $177,600 |
| Market Scientist | Vatic Operations LLC | New York, NY | Jan 27, 2016 | $175,000 |
| Market Scientist | Vatic Operations LLC | San Francisco, CA | Sep 15, 2015 | $175,000 |
| Speech Scientist | JIBO, Inc. | Redwood City, CA | Sep 14, 2015 | $170,000 |
| Decision Scientist | Facebook, Inc. | Menlo Park, CA | Jul 11, 2016 | $170,000 |
| Earth Scientist | Chevron Corporation | Houston, TX | Aug 03, 2015 | $159,806 |
| Applied Scientist | Microsoft Corporation | Redmond, WA | Aug 20, 2016 | $156,600 |
| Applied Scientist | Microsoft Corporation | Redmond, WA | May 23, 2016 | $156,600 - $176,600 |
| Machine Learning Scientist | Wal-Mart Associates, Inc. | Sunnyvale, CA | Jun 30, 2016 | $155,000 |
| Applied Scientist | Microsoft Corporation | Sunnyvale, CA | Mar 27, 2015 | $154,936 |
| Scientist 4 | Los Alamos National Security, LLC | Los Alamos, NM | Jun 06, 2016 | $154,000 - $188,900 |
| Visiting Scientist | Food and Drug Administration, HHS | Silver Spring, MD | Apr 26, 2015 | $99,905 |
| Visiting Scientist | Food and Drug Administration, HHS | Silver Spring, MD | Aug 15, 2015 | $99,905 |
| Visiting Scientist | Food and Drug Administration, HHS | Silver Spring, MD | Jun 03, 2016 | $99,905 |
| Visiting Scientist | Food and Drug Administration, HHS | Silver Spring, MD | Mar 20, 2016 | $99,905 |
| General Health Scientist | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/DHHS | San Juan, PR | Oct 07, 2016 | $99,785 |
| Scientist II | Bayer Cropscience LP | Morrisville, NC | Aug 31, 2016 | $99,738 |
| Scientist | Amgen Inc. | Cambridge, MA | Dec 19, 2016 | $99,692 |
| Scientist | Amgen Inc. | West Greenwich, RI | Aug 30, 2015 | $99,692 |
| Scientist 2 | Battelle Memorial Institute | Richland, WA | Jan 02, 2016 | $82,755 |
| Scientist 2 | Battelle Memorial Institute | Richland, WA | Feb 01, 2016 | $82,755 |
| Outcomes Scientist | Pharmerit North America LLC | Bethesda, MD | Sep 09, 2015 | $82,722 |
| Scientist | Brain Corporation | San Diego, CA | Apr 13, 2015 | $82,638 - $110,000 |
| Modeling Scientist | Novelis Inc. | Kennesaw, GA | Aug 15, 2016 | $82,500 |
| Reference Standards Scientist | U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention | Rockville, MD | Jul 20, 2015 | $82,500 |
| Scientist | Lanzatech | Skokie, IL | Aug 21, 2016 | $82,410 |
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Top Skills for A Scientist
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Top Scientist Skills
- Laboratory Equipment
- Analytical Methods
- Method Development
- Performed equipment troubleshooting as required to ensure laboratory equipment performed within optimal tests parameters.
- Optimize analytical methods to reduce the time for analysis and evaluate cost-reduction initiatives to gain efficiency in the Laboratory.
- Assisted with method development, method validation and sample analysis to support nonclinical and clinical trials.
- Performed cell culture process development and process optimization for recombinant monoclonal and oligoclonal antibody production in pilot plant.
- Trained fellow associates and students on safe manipulation of cultures in the laboratory.
Top Scientist Employers
Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Inc.
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