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Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Conduct research dealing with the understanding of human diseases and the improvement of human health. Engage in clinical investigation, research and development, or other related activities.

Related: Biochemists & Biophysicists Epidemiologists Geneticists Microbiologists Physicians, Pathologists

Industries: Professional, Science, & Technical Health & Counseling Education

Summary
Details

Use equipment such as atomic absorption spectrometers, electron microscopes, flow cytometers, or chromatography systems.
Standardize drug dosages, methods of immunization, and procedures for manufacture of drugs and medicinal compounds.
Teach principles of medicine and medical and laboratory procedures to physicians, residents, students, and technicians.
Write applications for research grants.
Write and publish articles in scientific journals.
Write applications for research grants.
Plan and direct studies to investigate human or animal disease, preventive methods, and treatments for disease.
Follow strict safety procedures when handling toxic materials to avoid contamination.
Prepare and analyze organ, tissue, and cell samples to identify toxicity, bacteria, or microorganisms or to study cell structure.
Consult with and advise physicians, educators, researchers, and others regarding medical applications of physics, biology, and chemistry.
Plan and direct studies to investigate human or animal disease, preventive methods, and treatments for disease.
Evaluate effects of drugs, gases, pesticides, parasites, and microorganisms at various levels.
Confer with health departments, industry personnel, physicians, and others to develop health safety standards and public health improvement programs.
Investigate cause, progress, life cycle, or mode of transmission of diseases or parasites.

Speaking
- Talking to others.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.

Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

Education

Doctoral or professional degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

101140/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

48.63/hr

Currently Employed

8,520

Yearly Projected Openings

760

Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out. They do well at jobs that need:

Analytical Thinking
Innovation
Integrity
Attention to Detail
Achievement/Effort
Cooperation

Atomic absorption AA spectrometers
Benchtop centrifuges
Beta counters
Binocular light compound microscopes
Blood gas analyzers
Calorimeters
Chemistry analyzers
Chromatography tubing
Coagulation analyzers
Colorimeters
Complementary deoxyribonucleic acid cDNA synthesis kits
Conductivity meters
Cuvettes
Deoxyribonucleic sequence analyzers
Desktop computers
Dropping pipettes
Dry baths or heating blocks
Dry wall single chamber carbon dioxide incubators
Electrocardiography EKG units
Electron microscopes
Electrophoresis system power supplies
Extracting equipment for laboratories
Forced air or mechanical convection general purpose incubators
Fume hoods or cupboards
Gamma counters
Gas chromatographs
Gel boxes
Gel documentation systems
Gel dryers
Hematology analyzers
Hematology or chemistry mixers
High pressure liquid chromatograph chromatography
Homogenizers
Instrumentation for capillary electrophoresis
Ion chromatographs
Ion selective electrode ISE meters
Laboratory balances
Laboratory blenders or emulsifiers
Laboratory evaporators
Laboratory filtration hardware or accessories
Laboratory flasks
Laboratory funnels
Laboratory graduated cylinders
Laboratory heaters
Laboratory hotplates
Laboratory mechanical convection ovens
Laboratory sprayers
Laboratory washing machines
Laminar flow cabinets or stations
Laser printers
Liquid scintillation counters
Magnetic stirrers
Mainframe computers
Manual or electronic hematology differential cell counters
Mass spectrometers
Medical computed tomography CT or CAT scanners or tubes
Medical magnetic resonance imaging MRI scanners
Medical positron emission tomography PET units
Medical ultrasound bone densitometers
Medical ultrasound or doppler or pulse echocardiograph or echocardiograph units for general diagnostic use
Microbiology analyzers
Microcentrifuges
Microplate readers
Microplate washers
Microplates
Mobile or transportable medical linear accelerators
Notebook computers
Nuclear magnetic resonance NMR spectrometers
Pasteur or transfer pipettes
Personal computers
Petri plates or dishes
Photometer
Refrigerated benchtop centrifuges
Robotic or automated liquid handling systems
Scanning light or spinning disk or laser scanning microscopes
Shaking incubators
Spectrophotometers
Standard fermentation units
Steam autoclaves or sterilizers
Temperature cycling chambers or thermal cyclers
Thin layer chromatography tanks
Thinlayer chromatographs
Ultra cold or ultralow upright cabinets or freezers
Ultracentrifuges
Ultrasonic disintegrators
Ultraviolet crosslinkers
Vacuum or centrifugal concentrators
Vacuum or rotary evaporators
Videoscopes
Vortex mixers
pH meters