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Animal Scientists

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

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • Advise producers about improved products and techniques that could enhance their animal production efforts.
    • Advise producers about improved products and techniques that could enhance their animal production efforts.
    • Crossbreed animals with existing strains or cross strains to obtain new combinations of desirable characteristics.
    • Develop improved practices in feeding, housing, sanitation, or parasite and disease control of animals.
    • Determine genetic composition of animal populations and heritability of traits, using principles of genetics.
    • Research and control animal selection and breeding practices to increase production efficiency and improve animal quality.
    • 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.
    • Conduct research concerning animal nutrition, breeding, or management to improve products or processes.
    • Study effects of management practices, processing methods, feed, or environmental conditions on quality and quantity of animal products, such as eggs and milk.

    Skills

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

    Abilities

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

    Knowledge

    • 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.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • 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.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
    • 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.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • 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.

    Education

    Education
    Bachelor's degree
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    No on-the-job training

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    78660/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    37.82/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    60
    Yearly Projected Openings
    10

    Personality

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

    Tools

    • Analytical balances
    • Animal husbandry equipment
    • Animal weighing scales
    • Atomic absorption AA spectrometers
    • Benchtop centrifuges
    • Binocular light compound microscopes
    • Blood collection syringes
    • Calorimeters
    • Chopping machinery
    • Circulating baths
    • Commercial use food grinders
    • Conductivity meters
    • Densitometers
    • Deoxyribonucleic sequence analyzers
    • Desktop computers
    • Dropping pipettes
    • Dry wall single chamber carbon dioxide incubators
    • Drying cabinets or ovens
    • Electrophoresis system accessories
    • Feed mixers
    • Freeze dryers or lyopholizers
    • Fume hoods or cupboards
    • Gas burners
    • Gas chromatographs
    • Gel documentation systems
    • Gel dryers
    • Handheld thermometer
    • Hematology analyzers
    • High pressure liquid chromatograph chromatography
    • Histology sampling and dissecting stations
    • Homogenizers
    • Hybridization ovens or incubators
    • Hydrometers
    • Immersion circulators
    • Incubators or brooders for poultry
    • Infrared spectrometers
    • Laboratory balances
    • Laboratory beakers
    • Laboratory flasks
    • Laboratory graduated cylinders
    • Laboratory vacuum pumps
    • Laminar flow cabinets or stations
    • Liquid scintillation counters
    • Medical ultrasound or doppler or echocardiograph probes
    • Microcentrifuges
    • Microscope slides
    • Notebook computers
    • Orbital shaking water baths
    • Oxygen sensors
    • Personal computers
    • Petri plates or dishes
    • Photo attachments for microscopes
    • Rapid amplification or complementary deoxyribonucleic acid ends RACE technology products
    • Reactors or fermenters or digesters
    • Refrigerated benchtop centrifuges
    • Restraints
    • Scientific calculator
    • Specimen collection container
    • Spectrophotometers
    • Steam autoclaves or sterilizers
    • Stirring hotplates
    • Stunner
    • Tissue culture incubators
    • Triple beam balances
    • Ultracentrifuges
    • Vacuum blood collection tubes or containers
    • Vacuum ovens
    • Veterinary castration instruments
    • Veterinary injection or suction unit
    • Water baths

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Business intelligence and data analysis software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Geographic information system
    • Human resources software
    • Internet browser software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software