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Career Exploration

Animal Scientists

Also called: Animal Nutritionist, Animal Scientist, Beef Cattle Nutritionist, Research Scientist

What they do:

Conduct research in the genetics, nutrition, reproduction, growth, and development of domestic farm animals.

On the job, you would:
  • Study nutritional requirements of animals and nutritive values of animal feed materials.
  • Write up or orally communicate research findings to the scientific community, producers, and the public.
  • Develop improved practices in feeding, housing, sanitation, or parasite and disease control of animals.
On the job, you'll need:

Math and Science

  • biology
  • arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Manufactured or Agricultural Goods

  • food production

Education and Training

  • teaching and course design

Basic Skills

  • reading work related information
  • thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem

Problem Solving

  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

People and Technology Systems

  • thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it

Verbal

  • communicate by speaking
  • communicate by writing

Ideas and Logic

  • make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
  • notice when problems happen

Math

  • add, subtract, multiply, or divide
  • choose the right type of math to solve a problem

Investigative

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.

  • Analytical Thinking
  • Integrity
  • Dependability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Initiative
  • Achievement/Effort

Analytical or scientific software

  • Deoxyribonucleic acid DNA sequence analysis software
  • SAS

Presentation software

  • Microsoft PowerPoint

Data base user interface and query software

  • Microsoft Access
  • Structured query language SQL

Video courtesy of CareerOneStop.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for this position is Bright.

New job opportunities are very likely in the future. This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Median Annual Salary: $69,390

Education

Doctoral degree or master's degree is usually needed.