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Materials Scientist
Science & ResearchYou study the structure and properties of materials — metals, ceramics, polymers, composites — and figure out how to make them stronger, lighter, cheaper, or more sustainable. You're the reason phone screens are scratch-resistant, airplane wings don't snap, and medical implants don't corrode inside the body. The work is deeply technical, often microscopic, and invisible to everyone who benefits from it.
Salary Range
Low
$60k
Median
$98k
High
$145k
10-Year Growth
faster than average
US Workers
8K
Education
Bachelor's in materials science or engineering minimum, master's or PhD for research roles
Environment
indoor
Tools & Technical Skills
- ▸Electron microscopy (SEM, TEM) and spectroscopy
- ▸X-ray diffraction (XRD) and crystallography
- ▸Mechanical testing (tensile, hardness, fatigue, impact)
- ▸Materials characterization and failure analysis
- ▸Computational materials modeling (DFT, molecular dynamics)
- ▸Polymer, ceramic, and composite material science
People & Mindset Skills
- ▸Scientific curiosity and persistence
- ▸Precision in laboratory work
- ▸Technical writing and publication
- ▸Collaboration across engineering disciplines
- ▸Long-term research patience
What you'll actually do
- 01Test material properties — tensile strength, hardness, corrosion resistance — using equipment that costs more than your house
- 02Analyze material microstructure using electron microscopes and diffraction techniques at the atomic level
- 03Develop new materials or improve existing ones for applications where failure isn't just inconvenient, it's dangerous
- 04Collaborate with engineers who need a material that's simultaneously lightweight, strong, cheap, and easy to manufacture (pick two)
- 05Write research papers and patents for discoveries that won't reach products for 5-10 years
- 06Run experiments that take weeks to set up, hours to run, and sometimes yield data that says 'try again'
Related Shifts
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