Life, Physical, and Social Science · Holland code IRC

Materials Scientists

Research and study the structures and chemical properties of various natural and synthetic or composite materials, including metals, alloys, rubber, ceramics, semiconductors, polymers, and glass. Determine ways to strengthen or combine materials or develop new materials with new or specific properties for use in a variety of products and applications. Includes glass scientists, ceramic scientists, metallurgical scientists, and polymer scientists.

Also called: Materials Research Engineer, Materials Scientist, Research Scientist, Scientist, Applications Scientist, Metallurgical Engineer, Micro Electrical/Mechanical Systems Device Scientist (MEMS Device Scientist), Polymer Materials Consultant.

O*NET 19-2032.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $117,790; Middle half earn $89,990 to $150,550. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 62% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Conduct research on the structures and properties of materials, such as metals, alloys, polymers, and ceramics, to obtain information that could be used to develop new products or enhance existing ones.
Test metals to determine conformance to specifications of mechanical strength, strength-weight ratio, ductility, magnetic and electrical properties, and resistance to abrasion, corrosion, heat, and cold.
Test material samples for tolerance under tension, compression, and shear to determine the cause of metal failures.
Determine ways to strengthen or combine materials or develop new materials with new or specific properties for use in a variety of products and applications.
Prepare reports, manuscripts, proposals, and technical manuals for use by other scientists and requestors, such as sponsors and customers.
Plan laboratory experiments to confirm feasibility of processes and techniques used in the production of materials with special characteristics.
Recommend materials for reliable performance in various environments.
Supervise and monitor production processes to ensure efficient use of equipment, timely changes to specifications, and project completion within time frame and budget.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Science4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Writing3.9 / 5
Speaking3.8 / 5

Knowledge areas

Engineering and Technology4.8 / 5
Chemistry4.6 / 5
Physics4.4 / 5
Mathematics4.3 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.8 / 5
Production and Processing3.7 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic80
Investigative93
Artistic19
Social6
Enterprising14
Conventional53

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

physicist · DE Physiker/Physikerin · FR physicien/physicienne
mineralogist · DE Mineraloge/Mineralogin · FR minéralogiste
synthetic materials engineer · DE Kunststoffingenieur/Kunststoffingenieurin · FR ingénieur matériaux synthétiques/ingénieure matériaux synthétiques
chemical metallurgist · DE Ingenieur Chemietechnik/Ingenieurin Chemietechnik · FR chimiste métallurgiste
process metallurgist · DE Ingenieur Prozessmetallurgie/Ingenieurin Prozessmetallurgie · FR ingénieur de recherche métallurgie physique/ingénieure de recherche métallurgie physique
mineral processing engineer · DE Ingenieur Aufbereitung von Mineralien/Ingenieurin Aufbereitung von Mineralien · FR minérallurgiste

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Occupational therapists (2222)56,000 employed
Podiatrists (2256)16,200 employed
Quantity surveyors (2453)45,300 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.03. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (19-2032).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test