What skills should a Medical Scientist put on a resume?

O*NET rates Writing, Active Learning, Science, Speaking, and Active Listening 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 Medical Scientist list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Photoshop, BioArray Software Environment BASE, Database software, ESRI ArcGIS software, and FileMaker Pro. 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 Medical Scientist work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists, Clinical Research Scientist, Research Scientist, and Scientist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Medical Scientist need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 36% reported their level of education as "Doctoral Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Medical 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.

Medical Scientist resume example

A resume for a Medical Scientist needs to show the work itself: conduct research dealing with the understanding of human diseases and the improvement of human health. Day to day that means work like this: follow strict safety procedures when handling toxic materials to avoid contamination; evaluate effects of drugs, gases, pesticides, parasites, and microorganisms at various levels. 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.

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
Clinical Research Scientist
Research Scientist
Scientist
Study Director
Clinical Laboratory Scientist
Clinical Lab Scientist
Clinical Pharmacologist
Medical Researcher
Physician Scientist
Researcher
Toxicologist
Medical Lab Scientist
MSL
Anatomist
Cancer Researcher
Chemotherapist
Clinical Analyst

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

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.

Follow strict safety procedures when handling toxic materials to avoid contamination.
Evaluate effects of drugs, gases, pesticides, parasites, and microorganisms at various levels.
Plan and direct studies to investigate human or animal disease, preventive methods, and treatments for disease.
Prepare and analyze organ, tissue, and cell samples to identify toxicity, bacteria, or microorganisms or to study cell structure.
Conduct research to develop methodologies, instrumentation, and procedures for medical application, analyzing data and presenting findings to the scientific audience and general public.
Teach principles of medicine and medical and laboratory procedures to physicians, residents, students, and technicians.
Write and publish articles in scientific journals.
Write applications for research grants.
Standardize drug dosages, methods of immunization, and procedures for manufacture of drugs and medicinal compounds.
Study animal and human health and physiological processes.
Investigate cause, progress, life cycle, or mode of transmission of diseases or parasites.
Use equipment such as atomic absorption spectrometers, electron microscopes, flow cytometers, or chromatography systems.

14 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.

Follow strict safety procedures when handling toxic materials to avoid contamination, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Evaluate effects of drugs, gases, pesticides, parasites, and microorganisms at various levels, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Plan and direct studies to investigate human or animal disease, preventive methods, and treatments for disease, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Prepare and analyze organ, tissue, and cell samples to identify toxicity, bacteria, or microorganisms or to study cell structure, 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.

Adobe Photoshop
BioArray Software Environment BASE
Database software
ESRI ArcGIS software
FileMaker Pro
IBM Notes
IBM SPSS Statistics
Integrated development environment IDE software
LexisNexis
Linux
Medical Scientists HybridAI
Medical Scientists MediSave
Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Excel

41 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.

Absorption tubes
Atomic absorption AA spectrophotometers
Autoclaves
Automated centrifuges
Automated deoxyribonucleic acid DNA sequencers
Balances
Beta counters
Binocular light compound microscopes
Blenders
Blood gas machines
Bomb calorimeters
Bone ultrasound densitometers

What this job rates as most important

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

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

Knowledge areas

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

Biology
English Language
Medicine and Dentistry
Chemistry
Mathematics

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.

36%Doctoral Degree
25%Post-Doctoral Training
25%Master's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Extensive Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Common questions

What does a Medical Scientist do?: Conduct research dealing with the understanding of human diseases and the improvement of human health. Day to day that includes work like follow strict safety procedures when handling toxic materials to avoid contamination and Evaluate effects of drugs, gases, pesticides, parasites, and microorganisms at various levels.
What skills should a Medical Scientist put on a resume?: O*NET rates Writing, Active Learning, Science, Speaking, and Active Listening 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 Medical Scientist list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Photoshop, BioArray Software Environment BASE, Database software, ESRI ArcGIS software, and FileMaker Pro. 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 Medical Scientist work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists, Clinical Research Scientist, Research Scientist, and Scientist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Medical Scientist need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 36% reported their level of education as "Doctoral Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Medical 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.