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

What is a food scientist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Bryan Spiegelberg Ph.D.

Do not mistake this for Chefs; knowing how to cook is one thing, but creating different foods for different health purposes is another, and that's where a Food Scientist comes in. They are meant to create different types of food and make sure it is healthy for human consumption. Unlike Chefs, Food Scientists make use of scientific methods to come out with the right food that serves the right purpose. Their primary aim is to find better ways to preserve foods, hence, keep them fresh and attractive.

To qualify for this job, you must be skilled with the knowledge of a wide range of foods and their applications, good IT, analytical, numerical, and business skills, ability to work without supervision, excellent communication skills, and attention to detail.

As for the salary structure, you have to understand that most of these people prefer working independently, but some of them still like working with organizations (which are mostly in the hospitality sector). So we will be getting the salary structures from that angle. An average Food Scientist earns between $55,000 and $133,000, but it can still go as low as $28,500. This is because some factors decide the salary structure, e.g., size of the organization, experience acquired, and country you live in.

What general advice would you give to a Food Scientist?

Bryan Spiegelberg Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Molecular Sciences, Rider University

Balance patience with a sense of urgency. In a hypercompetitive market, new jobs, or other experiences will likely not be optimal -- the work might be tedious, or the pay might be low. But budding chemists can't get discouraged in these positions, there are still plenty of satisfying careers out there. I would remind these job seekers that they absolutely cannot become complacent, however. Finding those great careers will require hard work. I advise graduates to seek value from every opportunity, tenaciously. For example, can arriving early and leaving late to an entry-level lab position pay dividends in the form of new knowledge or skills? And, most importantly, how can that entry-level position be leveraged to expand the all-important network?

It's also essential for graduates to understand that even the most definite sense of urgency is going to be inefficient in the absence of a cohesive plan. Planning is stressful, though, when one is just starting. I advise grads to use multiple tools, including their network and their alma mater's career services department, to identify mentors who can help them establish appropriate goals and strategies.

ScoreFood ScientistUS Average

Salary

5.8

Avg. Salary $74,345

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

5.4

Growth Rate 8%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.24%

Asian 11.92%

Black or African American 4.05%

Hispanic or Latino 7.96%

Unknown 2.75%

White 73.08%

Gender

female 61.56%

male 38.44%

Age - 38

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 - 38

Stress Level

5.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.3

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.2

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a food scientist

Explore food scientist education requirements

Most common food scientist degrees

Bachelor's

74.0 %

Master's

17.5 %

Associate

5.5 %

Start to develop specific food scientist skills

Skills	Percentages
Product Development	8.60%
Project Management	7.85%
Food Safety	7.83%
Pilot Plant	6.82%
FDA	4.33%

Complete relevant food scientist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New food 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 food scientist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real food scientist resumes.

Research food scientist duties and responsibilities

Achieve accurate, quick QC sample analysis to ensure product integrity.
Lead a collaboration with another biotechnology company to design ELISAs for the purpose of evaluating novel reagents.
Manage sample inventory via in-house laboratory information management system (LIMS) and implement additional systems for sample and chemical organization.
Maintain all QA lab equipment used for preprocess and finish food testing.

Prepare your food scientist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your food 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 food scientist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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