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Information Scientist

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Information Scientist

Information Scientist Career Details

Information scientists organise, maintain and develop information systems. They evaluate and manage the information resources of an organisation or company, in order to make high-quality information easily accessible to employees or clients. Information scientists can work in many types of organisation, including scientific, technical, legal, commercial, financial and economic. Their skills, methods and expertise are very similar to those of librarians.

Information scientists or managers work with IT and paper-based resources, and their duties may include:

  • leading and motivating a team of information staff
  • cataloguing, classifying and storing materials
  • selecting and acquiring new materials, and carrying out research
  • offering information support to managers and colleagues
  • managing information technology and creating information architecture, for instance developing intranets, creating spreadsheets or designing user- friendly search engines
  • overseeing the development of new information systems
  • dealing with research enquiries
  • controlling budgets, conducting information audits and writing reports.

Working Environment

Information scientists usually work office hours, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm with occasional overtime or shifts.

Most information scientists are based at a workstation in an office but may need to travel occasionally to attend meetings.

Information Scientist Related Skills

To be an information scientist you should:
  • be aware of information management issues, eg accessibility, duplication and copyright
  • be able to identify strategies to meet users' complex information needs
  • have a methodical and analytical approach to interpret clients’ needs
  • be familiar with planning and research methods
  • be a competent user of IT, particularly databases and web technology
  • be able to manage a budget, and, where necessary, a team
  • have strong communication skills
  • be self confident, motivated and able to take the initiative
  • have training and mentoring skills
  • have an understanding of a particular field of knowledge, where necessary, eg financial or legal.

Information Scientist Career Opportunities

Further Career Information

If you would like to know more about a career as an Information Scientist related facts, statistics, articles and websites.

Career Steps

Not quite sure about a career as a Information Scientist? Try our step-by-step career guide to reaching your chosen career.

Career Courses

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