How to Become a Consumer Scientist

Consumer scientists are professionals who help companies assess problems with their consumers or products. They are responsible for investigating and researching what consumers desire and need. Consumer scientists may help companies with product launches, brand repositioning and product design. A wide range of consumer product companies hire consumer scientists. Supermarkets, household appliance manufacturers, banks and food manufacturers all employ consumer scientists. Here are a few suggestions to get you started on a career in consumer science.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• College degree in Marketing or Consumer Science

1. Obtain a degree in Marketing or Consumer Science at an accredited university. Be sure to take marketing, public relations, advertising, basic economics and business management courses. Writing courses will also be beneficial since you will be producing many reports (see Resources below).

2. Use your college career center to help you find companies that recruit for consumer scientists.

3. Visit a large university library to search for trade periodicals that will feature consumer science publications. They will not only provide you with industry research that will be relevant for your interview process, but will also have job listings in the back.

4. Go online. Internet job websites should have jobs listed under "consumer science" or "marketing research." Both these categories are similar professions and companies may list them under these different headings (see Resources below).

5. Expect to work in a 9-to-5 office setting, but you may be required to work weekends to research consumer behavior in a retail setting. If you are working for a consultancy, you may have to travel and spend time away from home.

Tips & Warnings

• Expect your salary to start at about $20,000. With experience, you may be making over $90,000 annually. If you start your own consumer science consultancy, you may be able to earn over a million dollars if you are able to obtain large accounts with national brand names.
• Don't expect to get a position in this field without a relevant college degree.

Resources

• American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
• National Association of Business Economics
• Search for jobs on Monster.com

Who Can Help Sponsored

• Earn your degree from industry experts at University of Phoenix. Take the next step in your career.