What skills should a Materials Scientist put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, and Science among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Materials Scientist list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Accelrys Materials Studio, Advanced Chemistry Development Analytical Laboratory, ANSYS LS-DYNA, ANSYS Multiphysics, and Bruker AXS EVA. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Materials Scientist work?

O*NET records 15 titles for this occupation, including Materials Research Engineer, Research Scientist, Scientist, and Applications Scientist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Materials Scientist need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 62% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Materials Scientist role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Materials Scientist resume example

A resume for a Materials Scientist needs to show the work itself: 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. Day to day that means work like this: 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; 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. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Materials Research Engineer
Research Scientist
Scientist
Applications Scientist
Metallurgical Engineer
MEMS Device Scientist
Polymer Materials Consultant
R and D Scientist
Research and Development Scientist
Material Science Engineer
Metal Alloy Scientist
Metallurgist
Plastics Scientist
Polymer Specialist
Research Development Specialist

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

Materials Scientist
Micro Electrical/Mechanical Systems Device Scientist (MEMS Device Scientist)
R and D Scientist (Research and Development Scientist)

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

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.
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.
Test material samples for tolerance under tension, compression, and shear to determine the cause of metal failures.
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.
Prepare reports, manuscripts, proposals, and technical manuals for use by other scientists and requestors, such as sponsors and customers.
Plan laboratory experiments to confirm feasibility of processes and techniques used in the production of materials with special characteristics.
Recommend materials for reliable performance in various environments.
Supervise and monitor production processes to ensure efficient use of equipment, timely changes to specifications, and project completion within time frame and budget.
Research methods of processing, forming, and firing materials to develop such products as ceramic dental fillings, unbreakable dinner plates, and telescope lenses.
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.
Devise testing methods to evaluate the effects of various conditions on particular materials.
Test individual parts and products to ensure that manufacturer and governmental quality and safety standards are met.

16 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

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, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
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, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Test material samples for tolerance under tension, compression, and shear to determine the cause of metal failures, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
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, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

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
CrystalMaker
Dassault Systemes Abaqus
Email software
GAMESS-US
General Structural Analysis System GSAS
Hypertext markup language HTML

37 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Accelerometers
Annealing ovens
Atomic absorption AA spectroscopes
Atomic force microscopes
Auger electron spectrometers
Backscatter detectors
Ball mills
Ball-on-disk tribometers
Blungers
Box furnaces
Capacitance manometers
Capillary rheometers

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Accelrys Materials Studio
Advanced Chemistry Development Analytical Laboratory
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft PowerPoint

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Active Listening
02Complex Problem Solving
03Critical Thinking
04Reading Comprehension
05Science
06Writing
07Active Learning
08Speaking
09Judgment and Decision Making
10Mathematics

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Engineering and Technology
Chemistry
Physics
Mathematics
Computers and Electronics
Production and Processing
Design
Mechanical

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

62%Bachelor's Degree
14%Doctoral Degree
10%Master's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Materials Scientist do?: 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. Day to day that includes work like 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 and 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.
What skills should a Materials Scientist put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, and Science among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Materials Scientist list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Accelrys Materials Studio, Advanced Chemistry Development Analytical Laboratory, ANSYS LS-DYNA, ANSYS Multiphysics, and Bruker AXS EVA. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Materials Scientist work?: O*NET records 15 titles for this occupation, including Materials Research Engineer, Research Scientist, Scientist, and Applications Scientist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Materials Scientist need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 62% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Materials Scientist role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.