Skills
Biology Professor Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in biology professors, and how to build and show them.
What skills do biology professors need?
Biology Professors need technical skills such as biology expertise, lab techniques, and research design, plus people skills like mentoring and communication. They also use tools such as Lab equipment and Microscopes.
Technical (hard) skills
- Biology expertise
- Lab techniques
- Research design
- Statistics
- Grant writing
- Curriculum design
People (soft) skills
- Mentoring
- Communication
- Curiosity
- Organization
Tools, equipment and technology
- Lab equipment
- Microscopes
- Sequencing data tools
- Statistical software
- Learning management systems
- Field equipment
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how biology professors put their skills to work:
- How to build a course-based research experience
- How to teach a large intro biology class
- How to mentor a new graduate student
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Biology expertise” and “Lab techniques.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “mentoring,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as Ph.D. in biology near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our biology professor glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Biology Professor training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.