scientist.

The specific work tasks and areas of responsibility can vary depending on the employer and research role. However, more common tasks you can expect as a scientist are the following:

• plan and conduct experiments
  As a scientist, you will spend most of your working hours planning various experiments and formulating hypotheses that form the basis for the experiments. If your research area involves working with experiments in a laboratory, you will conduct the tests there. Part of the planning work before carrying out an experiment involves collecting materials and test subjects needed to be able to conduct the study or experiment.
• write reports
  At every individual stage of the project, you need to document which steps have been taken and record your results. When you have finished the experiments, it is important to write a detailed report that includes all parts of the process, from the experiment’s objective to its results, as well as subsequent conclusions. The journals then form a reference base that can be useful for future research projects, both for you and for colleagues at your workplace or elsewhere in the scientific community.
• supervise other researchers or scientists
  As a scientist, you are often the leading researcher in a project. This means you need to guide your team and the colleagues who are part of the team through the different stages of the investigation, the collection of samples, and the documentation of discoveries. You will also offer advice on the presentation of the results in the written reports, which always need to be done after a research project.
• administrative tasks
  As a lead scientist, your role is to delegate responsibilities and tasks, to create schedules, and to handle other important administrative tasks required for the workflow to run smoothly. Sometimes this also means you need to apply for grants and prepare financial documents for various research projects.

As a scientist, your area of expertise determines what your work environment looks like. Some scientists spend long periods and large parts of their workdays outdoors, when they collect samples and study animals or plants in forests or other environments.

After collecting the samples, time is spent conducting tests in the laboratory, in order to then draw various conclusions using the results. In the lab environment, there are often chemical components, living specimens, and machines. This means you need to wear protective clothing to avoid harming yourself or the samples, or causing other accidents.

Besides working in the lab environment, as a scientist you may also have administrative tasks, which you perform in a more traditional office environment.

Depending on your employer and the field you work in, your colleagues can be anything from botanists, zoologists, field biologists, and marine biologists. But you may also work alongside physicists, chemists, and mathematicians, and it's also possible that you work in an area that borders on something else, which means you have social scientists, analysts, and researchers nearby.

Working hours vary depending on which role as a scientist you work in, and what kind of research project is ongoing. Basically, you will probably work during regular office hours, but there are also project-based or part-time positions available.

It is not uncommon for a scientist to work on a project until it is completed, and then move on to a new employer and a new project. In some cases, you work weekends and evenings when you need to finish experiments. It is also not unusual for the job as a scientist to involve quite a lot of travel, as you need to collect samples or conduct interviews that are part of the research project.

A career as a scientist offers exciting future prospects and opportunities for development. The various roles available for a scientist mean that the demand and the possibilities to move on to other fields of study are always there, without the need for extra training. One example of this is someone who becomes a researcher and then works their way up to more senior positions with more responsibility. The alternative to become a consultant within your area of expertise, there is also the possibility to become a university lecturer or speaker in your field of expertise.

There are many advantages to finding an open job as a scientist through Randstad:

• various development and career opportunities

• an experienced contact person who can help you when needed

• many job vacancies within your area

• full-time or part-time work depending on the job/assignment

Are you hoping for a permanent position as scientist? It's not uncommon to have temporary jobs in the research world, either on a project basis or as a part-time job. A temporary assignment as scientist is often a stepping stone to an attractive permanent job. Every year, several people get a permanent position with employers, thanks to a temporary job that came through us at Randstad. In addition, many companies recruit their permanent employees directly through Randstad.

You can't pursue a scientific career path without being curious by nature. Most researchers are curious about how the natural world works and have a passion for understanding different aspects of nature. Curiosity will keep your passion alive and motivate you to continue your investigations and research all the way until you find a satisfying explanation for a phenomenon.

A scientist is basically a problem solver who uses research to find solutions to different problems in the world. That’s why strong problem-solving skills and a creative way of thinking are needed to find paths to new discoveries that can change the future.

As a scientist, you work on many different tasks and experiments at the same time. With strong organizational skills, you can make sure to succeed with many different work tasks simultaneously. Someone who lacks this ability may encounter problems as a scientist. Such a skill also means you are better at planning your time and managing to complete reports, experiments, and other work tasks on time.

Working as a scientist also means managing various research projects, from start to finish. Those who are strong project managers have an advantage, as it involves planning resources, delegating responsibilities and tasks, and motivating other colleagues to succeed with the project.

It can be frustrating to spend long workdays and many hours doing research and recording various test results. Sometimes the hypothesis you formulated at the beginning of a research project turns out to be incorrect. It can be difficult to set your feelings aside and try to interpret the results objectively, at least if you lack high-level logical thinking. If the results are complicated, logical thinking also helps you understand the results more clearly.

A scientist is the expert responsible for investigating a specific area of interest, a phenomenon, or an event. The goal is to find a scientific explanation or a solution to the scientific problem. A scientist conducts various tests and experiments, and documents their test and sample results in a way that allows science to learn more about the state of things.

A job as a scientist can mean many different things, depending on which field of study and subject area you as a scientist have chosen to specialize in. What all scientists have in common is that they try to use various scientific methods to investigate, understand, and explain the world in different ways.

It's easy to apply for a job as a scientist through Randstad. Search among our open jobs within your area. Then submit your cv and your personal letter or apply via LinkedIn.

If you need help with your job application, you can read all our guide's job tips here! 

Here you can find more information about the role of a scientist.