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

What is a senior project scientist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Lisa Cuchara Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a senior project scientist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $51.11 an hour? That's $106,302 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 project scientist?

Lisa Cuchara Ph.D.

Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Quinnipiac University

Practice both public speaking (presentations, journal clubs, research meetings) as much as possible and also practice "elevator speeches".

Do more than the minimum. Is there a conference you can present at, a journal club you can be involved in, an ASM branch or student chapter to participate in.

ScoreSenior Project ScientistUS Average

Salary

7.8

Avg. Salary $106,302

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 24.46%

Black or African American 6.38%

Hispanic or Latino 9.62%

Unknown 4.11%

White 55.28%

Gender

female 21.54%

male 78.46%

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 project scientist

Explore senior project scientist education requirements

Most common senior project scientist degrees

Bachelor's

62.3 %

Master's

20.5 %

Doctorate

13.1 %

Start to develop specific senior project scientist skills

Skills	Percentages
GIS	13.58%
Sample Collection	11.81%
OSHA	11.79%
R	10.12%
Site Assessments	9.35%

Complete relevant senior project scientist training and internships

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

Research senior project scientist duties and responsibilities

Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
Complete health & safety and industrial hygiene oversight for excavation activities relate to utility installations at areas impact with hydrocarbons.
Produce ESA report maps utilizing AutoCAD skills.
Conduct research programs to identify new ingredients and new test methods to support product IP, consumer concepts and equity claims.

Get senior project scientist experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a senior project scientist. The most common roles before becoming a senior project scientist include environmental scientist, senior scientist team lead and project scientist.

Prepare your senior project scientist resume

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

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