On ThE JOb
What Employers Want
maTh aND scieNce skiLLs
multinational engineering firm Halcrow,
Inc., is involved in building the Trans-Texas
corridor, a road and rail system that will span
Texas from mexico to oklahoma. Jonathan
startin, the Halcrow senior consultant in
charge of the project in Texas, says the project
The
requires special skills. “first,” he says, “we’re
looking for people who are good in math and
physics.”
Need to
eNGLish skiLLs
although science and math are important,
it’s just as crucial to be good in english, says
Jeff moehlenbruck, a director of research
and development for zimmer orthobiologics,
Explore
a worldwide leader in the development of hip
replacements. “verbal skills make a huge
difference,” he says. “It’s important to be able
to read, write, and speak english effectively.
If you’re the only one who understands your
The key To sUccess in science, Technology,
ideas, they won’t go anywhere.”
engineering & mathematics is insatiable curiosity.
Teamwork skiLLs
“when I participate in hiring scientists, I look
for teamwork ability and organizational skills,” W
hen he was a kid, Joseph Nors tore The most exciting part of his job, Reutner
apart his big brother’s model blimp to says, is when the detective work pays off. “You
figure out how the electronics worked. have that ‘eureka’ moment. You’ve figured out
says margo marmelstein, oil and gas market “I was always tearing apart toys,” says Nors, what’s happening and why it’s happening—
manager for Thermo fisher scientific, one now an electronics technician at the Federal the light bulb goes on.”
of the world’s leading makers of analytical Bureau of Investigation office in San Antonio. Nors says, however, it can take a while
instrumentation. “I want to know that they will “As I got older, it was more expensive things, before you reach that moment, and that
work well within their team, as well as across like old cell phones.” requires patience. “You can’t get discouraged
functions. I want to know that they can lead It’s that kind of curiosity, a constant urge easily,” he says.
a project.” to get at the “why” and “how” of things,
that makes for success on the job in Science, imagination needed
Technology, Engineering & Mathematics. To be a successful scientific detective, you
creaTive ProBLem soLviNG need the ability to look at things in totally
“when I’m hiring, I always look for creativity Detective Work new ways, says Fort Worth chemist Michael
and a knack for problem solving,” says “I use math all the time to answer questions J. Brubaker, who works in research and
moehlenbruck. “I also look for diligence and like, ‘Why am I seeing what I’m seeing in development at the pharmaceutical company
decisiveness. In the current marketplace, we this satellite image?’” says Curt Reutner, Alcon Laboratories.
are thrown so much information and so many an air pollution meteorologist Brubaker, who directs research and
tasks that it’s critical to be a hard worker and with the Texas Commission on development (R&D) activities for one of
to be able to quickly ferret out the kernels of Environmental Quality. Alcon’s eye-care product units, enjoys
important information and act on them.” “Sometimes when an pursuing answers to challenging problems.
“I like to hire people who have creativity,” unexpected pollutant shows “You have the freedom to use your mind
says startin. “people who ask good questions up and we have no clue where to discover and create new ideas and new
before focusing on a final solution.” it comes from,” says Reutner, products,” he says.
“it takes time and a lot of All that creativity has to begin with the
detective–like activity to ability to analyze and judge information,
figure it out.” Brubaker adds. “The important thing in a
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