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Computer and Information Research Scientists

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Conduct research into fundamental computer and information science as theorists, designers, or inventors. Develop solutions to problems in the field of computer hardware and software.

Related: Computer Systems Engineers/Architects Data Scientists Mathematicians Operations Research Analysts Software Developers

Industries: Professional, Science, & Technical Government Media & Communication

Summary
Details

Maintain network hardware and software, direct network security measures, and monitor networks to ensure availability to system users.
Apply theoretical expertise and innovation to create or apply new technology, such as adapting principles for applying computers to new uses.
Participate in staffing decisions and direct training of subordinates.
Develop and interpret organizational goals, policies, and procedures.
Participate in staffing decisions and direct training of subordinates.
Conduct logical analyses of business, scientific, engineering, and other technical problems, formulating mathematical models of problems for solution by computers.
Evaluate project plans and proposals to assess feasibility issues.
Assign or schedule tasks to meet work priorities and goals.
Direct daily operations of departments, coordinating project activities with other departments.
Approve, prepare, monitor, and adjust operational budgets.
Design computers and the software that runs them.
Maintain network hardware and software, direct network security measures, and monitor networks to ensure availability to system users.
Consult with users, management, vendors, and technicians to determine computing needs and system requirements.
Analyze problems to develop solutions involving computer hardware and software.
Develop performance standards, and evaluate work in light of established standards.
Meet with managers, vendors, and others to solicit cooperation and resolve problems.
Participate in multidisciplinary projects in areas such as virtual reality, human-computer interaction, or robotics.
Direct daily operations of departments, coordinating project activities with other departments.

Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Education

Master's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

221990/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

106.73/hr

Currently Employed

3,710

Yearly Projected Openings

380

Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out. They do well at jobs that need:

Analytical Thinking
Cooperation
Attention to Detail
Independence
Achievement/Effort
Initiative

Camera based vision systems for automated data collection
Cinematographic cameras
Compact disks CDs
Computer servers
Content delivery networking equipment
Digital camcorders or video cameras
Digital cameras
Graphics tablets
Hard disk arrays
Hard disk drives
High capacity removable media drives
High end computer servers
Laser printers
Loudspeakers
Mainframe computers
Microprocessors
Multimedia projectors
Network interface cards
Personal computers
Pick or place robots
Scanners
Stage or projection or studio lighting system
Tape arrays

Analytical or scientific software
Application server software
Business intelligence and data analysis software
Cloud-based management software
Clustering software
Communications server software
Compiler and decompiler software
Computer aided design CAD software
Configuration management software
Data base management system software
Data base user interface and query software
Data mining software
Development environment software
Enterprise application integration software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
File versioning software
Geographic information system
Graphical user interface development software
Graphics or photo imaging software
Industrial control software
Metadata management software
Object or component oriented development software
Object oriented data base management software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Portal server software
Presentation software
Project management software
Requirements analysis and system architecture software
Sales and marketing software
Spreadsheet software
Video creation and editing software
Web page creation and editing software
Web platform development software

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Computer and Information Research Scientists

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