Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
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.
Most important skills
- Writing
- Speaking
- Science
- Active Learning
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Judgment and Decision Making
Key knowledge
- Biology
- English Language
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Chemistry
- Mathematics
- Computers and Electronics
- Education and Training
- Administration and Management
What the work involves
- 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.
- Evaluate effects of drugs, gases, pesticides, parasites, and microorganisms at various levels.
- Teach principles of medicine and medical and laboratory procedures to physicians, residents, students, and technicians.
- 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.
- Write and publish articles in scientific journals.
- Write applications for research grants.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Realistic, Conventional.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Doctoral Degree (35.9% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (31.1%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (33.7%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Depends on state or role (national summary): Medical scientists who only do research typically need no license; those who practice medicine must be licensed as physicians or other healthcare practitioners. source (checked 2026-10-25)
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections; State licensing authorities (curated, see evidence links) · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 74% of occupations compared | 78% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 83% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 93% of occupations compared | 89% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 74% of occupations compared | 59% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 64% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Lower on conflict situations than 53% of occupations compared | 66% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 74% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 69% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 5.08%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 17.25%
- Constant contact with others: 77.66%
n = 26, Incumbent 08/2021
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 44.06%
- Fairly important: 0.42%
- Important: 37.03%
- Very important: 4.01%
- Extremely important: 14.5%
n = 26, Incumbent 08/2021
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 2.54%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 8.72%
- Extremely important: 88.74%
n = 26, Incumbent 08/2021
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 0%
- Some freedom: 58.9%
- A lot of freedom: 41.1%
n = 26, Incumbent 08/2021
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 46.79%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 37.66%
- Every day: 15.55%
n = 26, Incumbent 08/2021
Conflict situations
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 27.59%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 66.21%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 6.2%
- Every day: 0%
n = 25, Incumbent 08/2021
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 20.85%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 37.29%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 32.24%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 1.88%
- Every day: 7.75%
n = 26, Incumbent 08/2021
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 2.96%
- Fairly serious: 8.78%
- Serious: 42.5%
- Very serious: 33.72%
- Extremely serious: 12.04%
n = 26, Incumbent 08/2021
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O*NET-SOC 19-1042.00 · SOC 19-1042 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8