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

What is a contract scientist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Betsy Smith

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a contract scientist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $47.35 an hour? That's $98,484 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 17% and produce 20,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a contract scientist?

Dr. Betsy Smith

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Elmira College

I would advise students just graduating to be flexible and open-minded in their job search. Chemistry is a challenging major, and students who succeed in it have learned how to learn, so they shouldn't assume that pure chemistry is the only thing they can do. One growing field is biomedical research, and chemistry majors are often qualified for jobs in that area. If you have other strengths, like writing, there are often jobs that can combine them as a technical writer or work for a science journal. There are jobs out there that might be perfect for you that you haven't heard of until you see an ad for it, so be open to different possibilities.

ScoreContract ScientistUS Average

Salary

7.6

Avg. Salary $98,484

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.3

Growth rate 17%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.15%

Asian 26.22%

Black or African American 6.56%

Hispanic or Latino 9.84%

Unknown 4.16%

White 53.08%

Gender

female 44.90%

male 55.10%

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 contract scientist

Explore contract scientist education requirements

Most common contract scientist degrees

Bachelor's

68.8 %

Doctorate

13.0 %

Master's

10.9 %

Start to develop specific contract scientist skills

Skills	Percentages
Technical Reports	11.97%
HPLC	8.40%
Chemistry	7.81%
Data Analysis	7.62%
Analytical Methods	7.56%

Complete relevant contract scientist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New contract 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 contract scientist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real contract scientist resumes.

Research contract scientist duties and responsibilities

Manage data of project samples through LIMS software.
Manage sample inventory via in-house laboratory information management system (LIMS) and implement additional systems for sample and chemical organization.
Present chemistry of current and future targets at team meetings.
Coordinate internal blood draws to harvest serum and plasma for future testing.

Prepare your contract scientist resume

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

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