How To Become A Biomedical Scientist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a biomedical scientist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

David Barker

If you're interested in science and would love to build a career in this discipline, you can become a biomedical scientist. Fundamentally, biomedical scientists employ their scientific knowledge and research to enhance human health. As such, they can carry out tests and create new treatment plans. They'll also evaluate how effective a treatment is.

Biomedical scientists work in hospitals and laboratories. You need to have good analytical skills, discipline, attention to detail, interpersonal skills, communication skills, patience, and leadership skills to work in this capacity. An aspiring biomedical scientist will need to obtain a BSc (Hons) degree accredited by the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS). Apart from this, you need to register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

So how much does a Biomedical Scientist earn per year? The estimated salary for a Biomedical Scientist is $58,735. However, the salary range often falls between $50,382 and $69,416.

What general advice would you give to a biomedical scientist?

David Barker

Assistant Professor

The question of maximizing salary potential is a difficult one. My personal feeling is that there is a risk: reward tradeoff in biomedical sciences, where careers in industry carry some of the best salaries, but also the greatest risk for long-term instability. In contrast, careers in academia traditionally carry lower salaries, but somewhat greater stability. I suppose this means that the best opportunity for salary potential is to not be afraid to take risks by working for a promising startup where you are highly valued, and where you may have the opportunity for vested stock options or other perks that can eventually transform into large returns. Knowing the risk associated with these companies, a smart graduate will enter these companies and work hard, to support the success of the company and to make themselves indispensable.

ScoreBiomedical ScientistUS Average

Salary

5.6

Avg. Salary $72,246

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.3

Growth rate 17%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.15%

Asian 26.43%

Black or African American 6.32%

Hispanic or Latino 9.54%

Unknown 4.09%

White 53.48%

Gender

female 50.43%

male 49.57%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

6.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a biomedical scientist

Explore biomedical scientist education requirements

Most common biomedical scientist degrees

Bachelor's

67.7 %

Master's

12.9 %

Doctorate

9.7 %

Start to develop specific biomedical scientist skills

Skills	Percentages
Biomedical	55.95%
Research Program	9.87%
Extraction	4.55%
PCR	4.06%
Sops	4.02%

Complete relevant biomedical scientist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New biomedical scientists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a biomedical scientist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real biomedical scientist resumes.

Research biomedical scientist duties and responsibilities

Manage sample inventory via in-house laboratory information management system (LIMS) and implement additional systems for sample and chemical organization.
Invent SLOP-PCR and a novel fluorogenic probe for live-time PCR.
Prepare functional membranes from mammalian cells for high throughput assays.
Operate and perform quality assurance on large vault style autoclaves.

Prepare your biomedical scientist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your biomedical scientist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a biomedical scientist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable biomedical scientist resume templates

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