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Career Details

19-2032.00 - Materials Scientists


Research and study the structures and chemical properties of various natural and synthetic or composite materials, including metals, alloys, rubber, ceramics, semiconductors, polymers, and glass. Determine ways to strengthen or combine materials or develop new materials with new or specific properties for use in a variety of products and applications. Includes glass scientists, ceramic scientists, metallurgical scientists, and polymer scientists.


Key Facts
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Bright Outlook
Career Details
Green Job
Career Details
Current Employment
7,300
Estimate
Forecasted Employment
7,500
Estimate
Change in Employment
200.0
Estimate
Change in Employment %
+2.7%
Estimate
Tasks
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Tasks
The tasks listed below can be performed to prepare you for a career in this field.
Core
  • Plan laboratory experiments to confirm feasibility of processes and techniques used in the production of materials with special characteristics.
  • Confer with customers to determine how to tailor materials to their needs.
  • Conduct research on the structures and properties of materials, such as metals, alloys, polymers, and ceramics, to obtain information that could be used to develop new products or enhance existing ones.
  • Devise testing methods to evaluate the effects of various conditions on particular materials.
  • Determine ways to strengthen or combine materials or develop new materials with new or specific properties for use in a variety of products and applications.
  • Recommend materials for reliable performance in various environments.
  • Visit suppliers of materials or users of products to gather specific information.
  • Test material samples for tolerance under tension, compression, and shear to determine the cause of metal failures.
  • Test metals to determine conformance to specifications of mechanical strength, strength-weight ratio, ductility, magnetic and electrical properties, and resistance to abrasion, corrosion, heat, and cold.
  • Perform experiments and computer modeling to study the nature, structure, and physical and chemical properties of metals and their alloys, and their responses to applied forces.
  • Prepare reports, manuscripts, proposals, and technical manuals for use by other scientists and requestors, such as sponsors and customers.
  • Supervise and monitor production processes to ensure efficient use of equipment, timely changes to specifications, and project completion within time frame and budget.
  • Write research papers for publication in scientific journals.
Supplemental
  • Test individual parts and products to ensure that manufacturer and governmental quality and safety standards are met.
  • Research methods of processing, forming, and firing materials to develop such products as ceramic dental fillings, unbreakable dinner plates, and telescope lenses.
  • Teach in colleges and universities.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Knowledge
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Knowledge

The items listed below are organized into sections that contain knowledge useful for pursuing a career in this field. Each section also contains a "Percentage of Importance" statistic that shows how relevant an item is to the occupation.
 Engineering and Technology
  • 95%
    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.
 Chemistry
  • 91%
    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.
 Mathematics
  • 90%
    Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
 Physics
  • 88%
    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.
 English Language
  • 79%
    Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
 Computers and Electronics
  • 79%
    Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
 Design
  • 72%
    Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
 Production and Processing
  • 70%
    Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
 Education and Training
  • 69%
    Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
 Administration and Management
  • 56%
    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.
 Mechanical
  • 52%
    Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Tools
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Tools
The tools listed below include machines, equipment, tools, and software that is useful for individuals who are interested in this career.
 Electrical measuring and testing equipment and accessories
  • Accelerometers
  • Digital oscilloscopes
  • Potentiostats
 Spectroscopic equipment
  • Atomic absorption AA spectroscopes
  • Auger electron spectrometers
  • Dielectric spectrometers
  • Fourier transform infrared FTIR spectrometers
  • Gamma ray spectrometers
  • Gas chromatograph mass spectrometers GC-MS
  • Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometers ICP-MS
  • Mobile mass spectrometers
  • Mossbauer spectroscopes
  • Raman scattering spectroscopes
  • Secondary ion mass spectrometers SIMS
  • Spectrofluorimeters
  • Spectrophotometers
 Viewing and observing instruments and accessories
  • Atomic force microscopes
  • Charge-coupled device CCD cameras
  • Field emission scanning electron microscopes
  • Metallographic microscopes
  • Microscope digital cameras
  • Nanoscope atomic force microscopes
  • Optical compound microscopes
  • Petrographic microscopes
  • Scanning electron microscopes SEM
  • Scanning Kelvin probes
  • Scanning probe microscopes SPM
  • Scanning tunneling microscopes STM
  • Stereo microscopes
  • Transmission electron microscopes TEM
 Crystallography equipment
  • Backscatter detectors
  • Crystal growers
  • Dynamic light scattering equipment
  • X ray diffractometers
 Metals and metallurgy and structural materials testing instruments
  • Ball-on-disk tribometers
  • Creep testing equipment
  • Erosion testers
  • Impact testers
  • Macrohardness testers
  • Multisample autoclaves
  • Salt spray chambers
  • Scratch testers
  • Servohydraulic test machines
  • Slurry abrasion testers
  • Stylus profilometers
  • Titanium autoclaves
  • UV exposure chambers
 Laboratory furnaces and accessories
  • Box furnaces
  • Electrode furnaces
  • Horizontal tube furnaces
  • Induction furnaces
  • Muffle furnaces
  • Nitrogen furnaces
  • Tube furnaces
  • Ultra high temperature furnaces
 Fluid mechanics equipment
  • Capacitance manometers
  • Cone viscometers
  • Contact angle goniometers
  • Plate viscometers
  • Rotational viscometers
 Machinery for working wood and stone and ceramic and the like
  • Computerized numerical control CNC machining centers
 Computers
  • Desktop computers
  • Laptop computers
  • Personal computers
 Power tools
  • Diamond wafering saws
  • Grinding spindles
  • High-speed cutoff saws
  • Semiautomatic grinders
 Temperature and heat measuring instruments
  • Differential scanning calorimeters
  • Microcalorimeters
 Chemical evaluation instruments and supplies
  • Differential thermal analyzers
  • Dilatometers
  • Double push rod dilatometers
  • Dynamic mechanical analyzers DMA
  • Thermal gravimetric analyzers
 Actuators
  • Dynamic actuators
  • Static actuators
 Marking tools
  • Electrolytic etching machines
 Length and thickness and distance measuring instruments
  • Ellipsometers
  • Imaging ellipsometers
  • Quartz crystal thickness monitors
 Rubber and plastic processing machinery and equipment and supplies
  • Extruding machines
  • Injection molding machines
  • Screw injection molding machines
 Light and wave generating and measuring equipment
  • Function generators
  • Interferometric microscopes
  • Laser interferometers
  • Neutron reflectometers
  • Spectrum analyzers
 Sampling equipment
  • High-vacuum manifolds
 Hydraulic presses
  • Hot mounting presses
  • Hydraulic presses
 Non destructive examination equipment
  • Industrial computed tomography CT scanners
  • Sonic modulus testers
  • Ultrasonic analyzers
 Weight measuring instruments
  • Laboratory analytical balances
  • Quartz crystal microbalances
  • Semi-microbalances
  • Ultra microbalances
 Laboratory water purification equipment and supplies
  • Laboratory water purification systems
 Indicating and recording instruments
  • Linear variable differential transformers LVDT
  • Peltier cooled solid-state detectors
 Transducers
  • Load cells
 Mechanical instruments
  • Optical profilometers
  • Profilometers
 Soil measuring equipment
  • Pore sizers
  • Sedigraphs
 Integrated circuits
  • Programmable logic controllers PLC
 Electronic manufacturing and processing machinery
  • Reactive ion etchers RIE
  • Sputter deposition systems
 Vision protection and accessories
  • Safety glasses
  • Safety goggles
 Forming tools
  • Swaging tools
 Laboratory electron and solid state physics equipment
  • Theta-theta diffractometers
  • Vibrating sample magnetometers
  • X ray generators
 Lathes and turning centers
  • Ultraprecision lathes
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Technology
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Technology
The technologies listed below include machines, equipment, tools, and software that is useful for individuals who are interested in this career.
 Industry specific software
  • Accelrys Materials Studio
  • Advanced Chemistry Development Analytical Laboratory
  • ANSYS LS-DYNA
  • ANSYS Multiphysics
  • Bruker AXS EVA
  • Bruker AXS LEPTOS
  • Bruker AXS TOPAS
  • Chempute Software HSC Chemistry
  • Dassault Systemes Abaqus
  • ESM Software CrystalMaker
  • GAMESS-US
  • General Structural Analysis System GSAS
  • IBM SPSS StatisticsHOT
  • Maplesoft Maple
  • Materials Data Incorporated Jade
  • Multichannel microelectrode analyzer MMA software
  • Olympus Image Analysis
  • PANalytical X'Pert Data Collector
  • PANalytical X'Pert Epitaxy
  • PWscf
  • RIETAN
  • SolidWorks COSMOSWorks
  • Stewart Computational Chemistry MOPAC
  • The MathWorks MATLABHOT
  • VAMP/VASP
  • Wolfram Research Mathematica
 Data management and query software
  • International Centre for Diffraction Data ICDD DDView
 Content authoring and editing software
  • Microsoft ExcelHOT
  • Microsoft PowerPointHOT
  • Microsoft WordHOT
 Development software
  • National Instruments LabVIEWHOT
  • RHOT
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Certifications
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Certifications
FastForward at Virginia's Community Colleges is a short-term training program for high-demand industries, like healthcare, information technology, and skilled trades and infrastructure, helping Virginians get the jobs and salaries they need. Our goal is to get you trained, help you earn your certification, and get you into a career that can support you and your family. Explore the latest training program offerings by visiting FastForward
The certifications listed below are useful to pursue if you are interested in a career in this field.
 Specialty
 Advanced
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Licensing
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Licensing
The licensing information below is organized into sections and is useful for pursuing if you are interested in a career in this field.
No specific licensing information is listed for this occupation in the area you have selected.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Related Programs
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Programs related to this career, offered by participating institution(s), are listed below.

Clicking on the Degree programs in the list below will take you away from the Careers page.
INSTITUTION
PROGRAMS
Randolph-Macon College
Richard Bland College