10 types of Scientist not all science jobs are the same1

Diana Garnham
The Science Council is the umbrella organisation for over 30 learned societies and professional
bodies in the UK drawn from across science and its applications. Collectively its member
bodies represent more than 330,000 individual members, including scientists, teachers and
senior executives in industry, academia and other businesses. The Science Councils primary
purpose is to advance professionalism in the practice of science at all levels and to achieve it
needed to develop a better understanding of both the range of the current roles undertaken by
scientists and the roles they would be required to undertake in the future.
One of the Science Councils key aims is to encourage more young people to consider a career
in science. Research shows that the understanding of the careers available is generally poor
and that the most common vision of a scientist is someone who works in a lab in a white coat,
probably undertaking research into something fairly obscure and distanced from everyday life.
This is not surprising. Most publicly funded public engagement activity has focused around
research and academia, and media coverage of science is most commonly about research and
breakthroughs. Many within the science community consider you need to be in the elite group
of those with a PhD to be considered a scientist: take for example the comments after the
election last year that there were now only three scientists that meant three with PhDs in
Parliament.
One of the most obvious ways to define scientists was to draw on the central discipline
underpinning their work: physics, chemistry, biology, soil science, psychology etc. Professional
bodies also work around sectors such as energy or water but this doesnt help to describe what
people actually do in their work. In order to give some shape to this I realized we need to have
a better understanding of not just the knowledge that scientists need to have but also the skills
they will use in their work. I have identified 10 broad types of scientist.
A science professional may have a career as a scientist, in science or from science. Working
as a scientist they will be in a STEM environment and the role will be clearly recognised as a
science role. Working in science they may be in a STEM sector but will have moved away
from direct day to day science and be influencing, supporting, promoting, managing, leading
and shaping. Scientists also move into the wider employment sector where their science
knowledge and wider skills are also valued and these are from science.

This paper was published to coincide with a presentation to the Science for Careers Conference at the National
STEM Centre in York, 23rd February 2011

Even within these broad categories the roles differ. To help illustrate this I have identified 10
types of scientist. These are:

Explorer
Investigator
Developer/Translational
Service provider/operational
Monitor/regulator
Entrepreneur
Communicator
Teacher
Business/Marketing
Policy maker

The Explorer Scientist is someone who, like Columbus is on a journey of discovery to boldly
go where no man has gone before. They will most often be basic scientist, rarely focused on
a specific outcome or impact beyond the next piece of the jigsaw of scientific understanding and
knowledge. Commonly they will be described as a blue skies researcher and freshness of
ideas and creativity will mark them out. Any investment will have an element of risk and
outcomes - even if output is identifiable new knowledge will be unknown and not predictable.
They are likely to be employed in a university or research centre but may not be primarily a
teacher, research leader or involved in science policy. They may well work alone.
The Investigator Scientist is the mapping scientist. They dig into the unknown observing,
mapping, understanding and piecing together in-depth knowledge and data, setting out the
landscape for others to translate and develop. They survive in troubled times because there is
always so much to find out. They will almost certainly be located in HE or a research centre,
will usually work in a team in what will increasingly be a multi-disciplinary environment.
The Developer/Translational Scientist is an applied scientist whose depth of knowledge and
skills of both the research environment and the potential user environment enables them to
make use of the knowledge generated by others and transform it into something that society
can use. They might be developing products, services, ideas that change behaviour,
improvements in health care and medicines, new technology or the application of existing
technology in new settings. They will be the interface between science and society turning new
knowledge and understanding of the world around us into benefits for society.
The Operational/Service Provider Scientist is one who provides scientific services in a wide
range of ways. Rarely visible these are scientists we have come to depend on within the health
service, forensic science, food science, health and safety, materials analysis and testing etc and
many also provide support in research and educational laboratories. This group of scientists
have strong laboratory skills and they probably do wear a white coat. They will be found in both
the public and private sectors. Examples include biomedical scientists and school science
technicians.
The Monitor/Regulator Scientist is becoming increasingly important as we translate more
science and technology into society, and as society needs the increasing reassurance that
systems and technology are reliable and safe and seen to be reliable and safe. It is crucial for
society that we build and maintain public trust and confidence in the applications of science so
the monitor/regulator scientist must be able to communicate with the public as well as with the

leading edge researcher, and establish credibility with both. They will have a mix of skills and
may not be working in the lab very much although they will have a thorough understanding of
the science and the processes involved in monitoring its use or application. Examples include
Food Standards Agency, government science services and HFEA and a wide range of testing
and measurement services.
The Entrepreneur Scientist plays a crucial role in making innovation happen. Their scientific
knowledge and connections are deep enough to be able to see opportunities for innovation
not just in business but also in public sector and service delivery. They are able to blend their
science knowledge and credibility with people management skills, entrepreneurial flair and a
strong understanding of business and finance. They will need to know how business sectors
work, how to secure investment and finance, and to oversee the development and innovation
process. They may need to explain or represent the science thinking at Executive Board level
and to investors, covering discussions and decision-making on new products, competition,
health and safety etc.
The Communicator Scientist is a crucial group of scientists. Communicator scientists career
path may follow a variety of routes and for the majority there is likely to be some post graduate
science training, including PhD level. These are scientists who are able to combine their
science and technological know-how with an ability to communicate and they need to be
credible and trusted by both the science community and the public. Seemingly undervalued by
the pure scientists, the science community as a whole recognises the benefit from increasing
the pool of individuals with the right combination of skills to communicate science. All science
sectors, not just research, need science communicators. Robert Winston and Brian Cox are
good examples of scientists who manage to combine deep knowledge and enthusiasm of the
science with an appreciation of what their audience wants to know and how to respond and
enthuse.
The Teacher Scientist is an obvious category people who are trained in science and who
share the knowledge and train the next generation. Often forgotten but certainly in my view fully
part of the science community these scientists will be working in schools, colleges and higher
education and developing the tools for teaching and learning. Their knowledge of science is
combined with pedagogy.
The Business Scientist will be found in almost all parts of the economy where a high level of
science and technology knowledge and skill is playing a part. The science and technology
based sectors employ large numbers of different types of STEM graduates working in a variety
of settings from R&D to marketing especially in the business to business sectors such as IT.
STEM skills and knowledge are of course valuable in many types of non STEM businesses
marketing, modeling, product development, finance, insurance, communications etc. but in the
STEM related business to business environments (eg pharmaceuticals marketing and IT
services) a high level of technical and specialist knowledge is essential. They must have
sufficient scientific and technical knowledge to be credible with colleagues and competitors and
over time they will have opportunities to progress through the company to higher levels at which
their scientific knowledge is valuable but their management and business skills are essential. At
senior management board or Executive Board level they may be in a minority of those with
science knowledge and will have to cover discussions and decision-making on new products,
competition, health and safety etc.

The Policy Scientist combines science and technical knowledge and skills with knowledge and
understanding of government and policy making, decision making and scrutiny processes to
ensure that legislation and policy have a sound evidence base. Employed and involved at
many levels and in many environments including government and Parliament, NGOs and
campaigning groups. Within this group of scientists, communication, people and negotiation
skills are highly prized as is their ability to live within an environment in which decisions have to
be made on incomplete evidence. To be a government Chief Scientific Adviser is perhaps the
top level and some of these have described themselves as 75% scientist and 25% politician.
I am very grateful for the input from the Science Councils member organisations and to 100s of
individual chartered scientists who we asked to describe themselves and then to decide what
type of scientist they were. I also want to thank Sir Paul Nurse for sowing the seeds of this idea
in conversations when he was CEO of Cancer Research UK about the fact that not all types of
research were the same and needed different types of research funding to enable them to
happen. Having started with three categories we ended up with 10 but have avoided
increasing this to a full football team of roles! While it was always clear to the Science Council
that not all scientists will work in a lab, not all have a PhD and not all will work in academia, I
hope we have now found a way of illustrating the variety of careers that a scientist might have. I
hope others find this the outline of the 10 types of scientist helpful and will use it to broaden
their careers information advice and guidance on STEM careers.

Diana Garnham
23rd February 2011
Science for Careers Conference, National STEM Centre, YORK