How to become Geneticist in 2024

Geneticist Research and study the inheritance of traits at the molecular, organism or population level. May evaluate or treat patients with genetic disorders.

Geneticist is Also Know as

In different settings, Geneticist is titled as

  • Cardiovascular Geneticist
  • Medical Geneticist
  • Research Scientist
  • Scientist

Education and Training of Geneticist

Geneticist is categorized in Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

Experience Required for Geneticist

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Education Required for Geneticist

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Degrees Related to Geneticist

Training Required for Geneticist

Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Related Ocuupations

Some Ocuupations related to Geneticist in different industries are

What Do Geneticist do?

  • Write grants and papers or attend fundraising events to seek research funds.
  • Verify that cytogenetic, molecular genetic, and related equipment and instrumentation is maintained in working condition to ensure accuracy and quality of experimental results.
  • Plan curatorial programs for species collections that include acquisition, distribution, maintenance, or regeneration.
  • Participate in the development of endangered species breeding programs or species survival plans.
  • Maintain laboratory safety programs and train personnel in laboratory safety techniques.
  • Instruct medical students, graduate students, or others in methods or procedures for diagnosis and management of genetic disorders.
  • Evaluate, diagnose, or treat genetic diseases.
  • Design and maintain genetics computer databases.
  • Confer with information technology specialists to develop computer applications for genetic data analysis.
  • Collaborate with biologists and other professionals to conduct appropriate genetic and biochemical analyses.
  • Attend clinical and research conferences and read scientific literature to keep abreast of technological advances and current genetic research findings.
  • Supervise or direct the work of other geneticists, biologists, technicians, or biometricians working on genetics research projects.
  • Review, approve, or interpret genetic laboratory results.
  • Search scientific literature to select and modify methods and procedures most appropriate for genetic research goals.
  • Prepare results of experimental findings for presentation at professional conferences or in scientific journals.
  • Maintain laboratory notebooks that record research methods, procedures, and results.
  • Extract deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or perform diagnostic tests involving processes such as gel electrophoresis, Southern blot analysis, and polymerase chain reaction analysis.
  • Evaluate genetic data by performing appropriate mathematical or statistical calculations and analyses.
  • Develop protocols to improve existing genetic techniques or to incorporate new diagnostic procedures.
  • Design sampling plans or coordinate the field collection of samples such as tissue specimens.
  • Create or use statistical models for the analysis of genetic data.
  • Conduct family medical studies to evaluate the genetic basis for traits or diseases.
  • Plan or conduct basic genomic and biological research related to areas such as regulation of gene expression, protein interactions, metabolic networks, and nucleic acid or protein complexes.
  • Analyze determinants responsible for specific inherited traits, and devise methods for altering traits or producing new traits.

Qualities of Good Geneticist

  • Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
  • Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
  • Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
  • Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
  • Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
  • Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
  • Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
  • Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
  • Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  • Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
  • Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
  • Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
  • Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
  • Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
  • Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  • Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
  • Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
  • Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
  • Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
  • Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
  • Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
  • Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
  • Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
  • Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
  • Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
  • Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
  • Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
  • Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
  • Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
  • Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.

Tools Used by Geneticist

  • Binocular optical microscopes
  • Capillary electrophoresis equipment
  • Desktop computers
  • Fast protein liquid chromatographs FPLC
  • Flow cytometers
  • Gas chromatography equipment
  • Gel electrophoresis equipment
  • High pressure liquid chromatograph HPLC equipment
  • Laptop computers
  • Mass spectrometry equipment
  • Micropipettes
  • Microplate readers
  • Personal computers
  • Phosphorimagers
  • Polymerase chain reaction PCR equipment
  • Robotic liquid handlers
  • Safety gloves
  • Safety goggles

Technology Skills required for Geneticist

  • Basic Local Alignment Search Tool BLAST
  • Bioinformatics databases
  • C++
  • ClustalW
  • Database software
  • Deoxyribonucleic acid DNA sequence analysis software
  • Email software
  • Formula translation/translator FORTRAN
  • Git
  • GitHub
  • Golden Helix HelixTree
  • HapMap
  • Insightful S-PLUS
  • Linux
  • Mendel
  • Microsoft Access
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Visual C# .NET
  • Microsoft Word
  • Oracle Java
  • Perl
  • PHYLIP
  • Plate reader software
  • Python
  • R
  • RTI International SUDAAN
  • Sage Accounting Software
  • SAS
  • SAS JMP
  • SAS/Genetics
  • Structured query language SQL
  • UNIX
  • Ward Systems Group GeneHunter
  • Web browser software