How To Become A Technical Scientist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a technical scientist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Dr. Betsy Smith

A technical scientist's job is to improve products and processes using established scientific facts and experiments. Your responsibility as a technical scientist is to develop solutions for routine and non-routine problems, analyze scientific data and laboratory results, monitor work progress, and compare it to the expected result. Furthermore, this work line could be dangerous. Therefore, you need to adhere to all safety precautions and follow all risk management routines according to the workplace guidelines. You will also be doing all the necessary paperwork needed for your line of work.

As a technical scientist, you should be analytical, solve problems with ease, and understand most techniques required in your work line. You should also have communication and observation skills. You need at least a bachelor's degree in chemistry, biology, biochemistry, or any other related course for this role. Most technical scientists earn an average of $83,144 per year.

What general advice would you give to a Technical Scientist?

Dr. Betsy Smith

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Elmira College

I would advise students just graduating to be flexible and open-minded in their job search. Chemistry is a challenging major, and students who succeed in it have learned how to learn, so they shouldn't assume that pure chemistry is the only thing they can do. One growing field is biomedical research, and chemistry majors are often qualified for jobs in that area. If you have other strengths, like writing, there are often jobs that can combine them as a technical writer or work for a science journal. There are jobs out there that might be perfect for you that you haven't heard of until you see an ad for it, so be open to different possibilities.

ScoreTechnical ScientistUS Average

Salary

7.1

Avg. Salary $90,867

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.3

Growth Rate 17%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.15%

Asian 26.41%

Black or African American 6.35%

Hispanic or Latino 9.57%

Unknown 4.10%

White 53.43%

Gender

female 41.34%

male 58.66%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress Level

6.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.8

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.7

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become a technical scientist

Explore technical scientist education requirements

Most common technical scientist degrees

Bachelor's

67.5 %

Master's

17.3 %

Doctorate

10.4 %

Start to develop specific technical scientist skills

Skills	Percentages
Molecular Biology	6.65%
GMP	5.93%
Data Analysis	5.00%
Laboratory Equipment	4.80%
FDA	4.78%

Complete relevant technical scientist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New technical scientists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a technical scientist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real technical scientist resumes.

Research technical scientist duties and responsibilities

Develop and manage third party claim investigations and contractor remedial oversight for various insurance companies.
Perform data analysis, GMP documentation and equipment maintenance.
Line support expertise of the manufacturing and QC processes for cell controls.
Participate in the methods transfer, validation, EP monograph and USP monograph using HPLC analysis of raw materials.

Prepare your technical scientist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your technical scientist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a technical scientist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Technical Scientist Resume templates

Build a professional Technical Scientist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Technical Scientist resume.

Apply for technical scientist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a technical scientist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do technical scientists rate their job?

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Technical Scientist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019

Pros

Science of observation

Cons

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