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

What is a senior laboratory scientist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Helen Mango Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a senior laboratory scientist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $42.58 an hour? That's $88,562 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 Senior Laboratory Scientist?

Helen Mango Ph.D.

Professor of Geology and Chemistry, Castleton University

Emphasize skills learned - field, laboratory, computer, writing.... Also, that geology is multi-disciplinary. It uses chemistry, physics, math, biology, tech.

ScoreSenior Laboratory ScientistUS Average

Salary

6.9

Avg. Salary $88,562

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 26.54%

Black or African American 6.19%

Hispanic or Latino 9.38%

Unknown 4.05%

White 53.70%

Gender

female 25.00%

male 75.00%

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 senior laboratory scientist

Explore senior laboratory scientist education requirements

Most common senior laboratory scientist degrees

Bachelor's

68.9 %

Doctorate

14.6 %

Master's

12.6 %

Start to develop specific senior laboratory scientist skills

Skills	Percentages
GMP	9.27%
FDA	8.68%
Cell Culture	8.65%
Analytical Methods	6.83%
R	6.26%

Complete relevant senior laboratory scientist training and internships

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

Research senior laboratory scientist duties and responsibilities

Manage study protocols and study conduct, intimately involve in the toxicology and pharmacokinetic study protocol development process.
Enter results into LIMS database.
Generate reports and deliver of presentations to support submissions to FDA.
Establish quantitative, proprietary method for measurement of menstrual blood loss (now register with FDA).

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