What You'll Do

  • Confer with scientists, engineers, regulators, or others to plan or review projects or to provide technical assistance.
  • Develop client relationships and communicate with clients to explain proposals, present research findings, establish specifications, or discuss project status.
  • Plan or direct research, development, or production activities.
  • Prepare project proposals.
  • Design or coordinate successive phases of problem analysis, solution proposals, or testing.
  • Review project activities and prepare and review research, testing, or operational reports.
  • Hire, supervise, or evaluate engineers, technicians, researchers, or other staff.
  • Determine scientific or technical goals within broad outlines provided by top management and make detailed plans to accomplish these goals.
  • Develop or implement policies, standards, or procedures for the architectural, scientific, or technical work performed to ensure regulatory compliance or operations enhancement.
  • Develop innovative technology or train staff for its implementation.

Essential Skills

Science 4.12/5
Reading Comprehension 4.0/5
Active Listening 4.0/5
Critical Thinking 4.0/5
Monitoring 4.0/5
Writing 3.88/5
Speaking 3.88/5
Complex Problem Solving 3.88/5
Judgment and Decision Making 3.75/5
Management of Personnel Resources 3.62/5
Active Learning 3.5/5
Learning Strategies 3.5/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to understand the kind of profile this role rewards. It helps you judge whether this career looks like a stronger match than your current role, a nearby move worth exploring, or a broader path to compare more seriously.

Top passions

  • Analyst: Investigating problems and finding patterns keeps you engaged.
  • Leader: Taking charge and moving ideas forward motivates you.
  • Organizer: Bringing order to data and processes satisfies you.

Common styles

Intellectual Curiosity, Leadership Orientation, Dependability, Innovation, Achievement Orientation

Want a personal read on fit? Take the free assessment and compare this career to your current role, nearby alternatives, and broader stronger-fit options.

Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Written Comprehension 4.12/5
Oral Comprehension 4.0/5
Oral Expression 4.0/5
Written Expression 4.0/5
Deductive Reasoning 4.0/5
Inductive Reasoning 4.0/5
Information Ordering 4.0/5
Problem Sensitivity 3.88/5

Technologies & Tools

Adobe Acrobat Adobe Photoshop Clinical trial management software ESRI ArcGIS software Graphics software IBM Lotus 1-2-3 IBM SPSS Statistics Integrated development environment IDE software Laboratory information management system LIMS Microsoft Access Microsoft Excel Microsoft Office software Microsoft Outlook Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft Project Microsoft SharePoint Microsoft Visio Microsoft Word Oracle Database R

Work Environment & Strengths

Common Strengths for This Career

  • Intellectual Curiosity (High importance: 4.81/5)
  • Leadership Orientation (High importance: 4.81/5)
  • Dependability (High importance: 4.75/5)
  • Innovation (High importance: 4.67/5)
  • Achievement Orientation (High importance: 4.57/5)

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How to Become One

This career requires extensive preparation, typically including a graduate degree (Master's or Doctoral) and several years of experience. Most professionals in this field have invested significant time in education and training.

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Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Agricultural Research Director Agriculture Research Director Analytical Services Manager Chemical Engineer Supervisor Chemical Plant Technical Director Chemical Process Exploration Manager Clinical Project Manager Clinical Trials Manager Environmental Program Manager Environmental Research Project Manager Geochemical Manager Geological Manager Geophysical Manager Gravity Manager Lab Director (Laboratory Director) Lab Manager (Laboratory Manager) Laboratory Operations Director (Lab Operations Director) Laboratory Services Administrative Director (Lab Services Administrative Director) Natural Resources Manager Natural Sciences Manager Ocean Program Administrator Quarrying Manager Research Administrator Research and Development Director (R and D Director) Research and Development Manager (R & D Manager) Research Coordinator Research Development Director Research Development Manager Research Director Research Manager Research Project Coordinator Water Team Leader Wild Life Manager

Career Fit FAQs

Is this career a good fit for me

This page shows the role itself. To see personal fit, use the assessment to compare your interests, motivations, and strengths against this career and against the role you are in now.

Can this help if I want to stay in my field

Yes. Many people use career pages like this to compare nearby roles in the same field and see whether they need a full switch or a better-fit version of the work they already know.

What should I compare first

Start with the daily tasks, the preparation level, and the work-style signals on this page. Then use the assessment to see whether this role looks like a stronger fit than your current role or just a different title.