How Do I Become a Lead Scientist?

Lead scientists are individuals who spearhead research projects at their organizations and also supervise employees to make sure that their work helps their companies to achieve established goals. Professionals in this industry have to be extremely analytical and enjoy solving problems. If you want to become a lead scientist, you must be prepared to complete at least four years of training beyond high school and gain internship experience. Studying an additional two to seven years at the graduate level, however, will increase your employment opportunities.

A person who plans to become a lead scientist needs to complete at least a four-year bachelor’s degree in the scientific specialty area in which he or she is interested. Enrolling in this type of educational program involves filling out your college’s admissions form and providing a copy of your high school transcript to the school. You must turn in scores from recently taken standardized exams in addition to submitting your high school diploma or the equivalent certification as well.

Mastering the concepts presented in science classes is critical to thrive in this career area. You should study topics such as biology or chemistry if you would like to become a lead scientist who works in a hematology department, which focuses on the study of blood, for example. Courses in computer science and software development suit someone who wants to work in the engineering or technology research field, as he or she must develop tools to help a company to analyze and interpret business data. Classes in pharmacology are necessary if you plan to become a lead scientist in the oncology field because you have to understand how various medications can help cancer patients.

Acquiring an internship will allow you to apply the concepts that you learned in the classroom to real-life situations. You can ask your school’s career services office to help you to locate companies that work with interns. During your hands-on training opportunity, you should practice monitoring research projects, analyzing data, and communicating results in reports, as you must perform these duties when you become a lead scientist.

Companies often look for field professionals who also have completed advanced training. You need to finish a two-year master’s degree in your scientific area of study. Getting into graduate school involves providing proof of having earned an undergraduate degree as well as filling out an enrollment application and submitting scores from graduate school admission tests. In addition, employers prefer job candidates who have completed four- to five-year doctoral degree programs in this industry, which you can do after receiving your master’s degree.