Biologist

Overview and Key Facts

What Do They Do?

A biologist could...

Overview Listen to this section

Life is all around you in beauty, abundance, and complexity. Biologists are the scientists who study life in all its forms and try to understand fundamental life processes, and how life relates to its environment. They answer basic questions, like how do fireflies create light? Why do grunion fish lay their eggs based on the moon and tides? What genes control deafness? Why don't cancer cells die? How do plants respond to ultraviolet light? Beyond basic research, biologists might also apply their research and create new biotechnology. There are endless discoveries waiting to be found in the field of biology!

Do You Have the Skills and Characteristics of a Biologist?

1. Science: ? Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
2. Writing: ? Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
3. Active Listening: ? Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
4. Speaking: ? Talking to others to convey information effectively.
5. Reading Comprehension: ? Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

6. Critical Thinking: ? Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
7. Complex Problem Solving: ? Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
8. Active Learning: ? Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
9. Mathematics: ? Using mathematics to solve problems.
10. Judgment and Decision Making: ? Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Core Tasks

Think about if you'd like the typical tasks a Biologist might do:

• Prepare technical and research reports, such as environmental impact reports, and communicate the results to individuals in industry, government, or the general public.
• Develop and maintain liaisons and effective working relations with groups and individuals, agencies, and the public to encourage cooperative management strategies or to develop information and interpret findings.
• Collect and analyze biological data about relationships among and between organisms and their environment.
• Program and use computers to store, process, and analyze data.
• Supervise biological technicians and technologists and other scientists.
• Identify, classify, and study structure, behavior, ecology, physiology, nutrition, culture, and distribution of plant and animal species.
• Communicate test results to state and federal representatives and general public.
• Prepare requests for proposals or statements of work.
• Represent employer in a technical capacity at conferences.
• Study basic principles of plant and animal life, such as origin, relationship, development, anatomy, and function.
• Review reports and proposals, such as those relating to land use classifications and recreational development, for accuracy, adequacy, or adherence to policies, regulations, or scientific standards.
• Develop methods and apparatus for securing representative plant, animal, aquatic, or soil samples.