Skills and Attributes that Contribute to a Successful Career as a Scientist, Eng

Careers in Science and Technology: A Student Planning Guide to Grad School and Beyond（http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=5129）
Skills and Attributes that Contribute to a Successful Career as a Scientist, Engineer, Scholar, or Professional

Intellectual Skills
1.  Honesty
2.  Curiosity
3.  Discrimination—ability to distinguish what is important from what is trivial
4.  Imagination and creativity 
5.  Common sense
6.  Objectivity 
7.  Intuition 
8.  Skill in observation of natural, technical, or social phenomena
9.  Systematic problem-solving
10. A good memory
11. Capacity for logical reasoning, including abstract and theoretical reasoning
12. Capacity to draw logical inferences from observational and experimental data
13. Ability to conceive an explanatory hypothesis and design critical tests to evaluate it

Communication Skills
1.  Capacity to retrieve information from published sources
2.  Skill in learning by interview methods
3.  Capacity to communicate in writing 
4.  Capacity to communicate orally
5.  Skill in use of computers and other information-processing devices
6.  Skill in graphic display of information and ideas

Personality Characteristics
1.  Maturity
2.  Motivation and drive
3.  Self-confidence
4.  Dependability
5.  Independence
6.  Empathy
7.  Capacity to work effectively with superiors, peers, and subordinates
8.  Initiative and sense of responsibility
9.  Capacity for objective self-criticism
10.  Leadership and management skills

Habits of Work
1.  Efficiency in the use of time
2.  Persistence—ability to see things through to completion
3.  Capacity for sustained intellectual and physical work
4.  Orderliness
5.  Ability to meet deadlines

Mechanical Skills
1.  Manual dexterity
2.  Skill in the development, selection, and use of appropriate scientific, engineering, or artistic apparatus, machines, and models