In Alien, does it really makes sense that a “science” officer is a regular crew member on board a commercial towing vehicle?

It would seem to me that a typical journey a board a space tug would consist of takeoffs, landings, and a really big sleep. The engineer’s are there to fix and maintain the ship so they don’t break down, stranded in the middle of space. The other major concern would be the health and safety of the crew, but wouldn’t that be handled by some sort of medical specialist? I think having Ash as a “medical” officer would make more sense. Having some type highly trained science PHD, going back and forth on these trips, on the off chance that they may happen to encounter a situation that requires sophisticated science expertise seems like a waste of time and resources. Wouldn’t MOTHER suffice as “science” officer anyway?