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Job outlook for senior project scientists in the United States
Are senior project scientist jobs in demand?
Senior project scientist job and salary trends over time
Senior project scientist jobs over time
Senior project scientist job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 66 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 77 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 78 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 74 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 68 | 0.00% |
Average senior project scientist salary over time
Senior project scientist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $106,302 | $51.11 | +3.1% |
| 2025 | $103,142 | $49.59 | +4.7% |
| 2024 | $98,519 | $47.36 | +3.3% |
| 2023 | $95,359 | $45.85 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | $93,547 | $44.97 | --2.1% |
Senior project scientist jobs by state
Most common states for senior project scientists
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vermont | 623,657 | 163 | 26% |
| 2 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 183 | 24% |
| 3 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,260 | 23% |
| 4 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 313 | 23% |
| 5 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 180 | 21% |
| 6 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,400 | 20% |
| 7 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 1,050 | 18% |
| 8 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 310 | 18% |
| 9 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 234 | 18% |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 2,224 | 17% |
| 11 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 1,024 | 17% |
| 12 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 507 | 17% |
| 13 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 364 | 17% |
| 14 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 332 | 17% |
| 15 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 507 | 16% |
| 16 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 967 | 15% |
| 17 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 861 | 14% |
| 18 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 100 | 14% |
| 19 | Ohio | 11,658,609 | 1,557 | 13% |
| 20 | Tennessee | 6,715,984 | 873 | 13% |
Most common cities for senior project scientists
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DeLand | 1 | 3% | $87,299 |
| 2 | Hinesville | 1 | 3% | $67,366 |
| 3 | Lawndale | 1 | 3% | $136,357 |
| 4 | Coral Gables | 1 | 2% | $83,806 |
| 5 | Daytona Beach | 1 | 2% | $87,233 |
| 6 | Alhambra | 1 | 1% | $136,756 |
| 7 | Fort Lauderdale | 1 | 1% | $84,270 |
| 8 | Fort Myers | 1 | 1% | $85,850 |
| 9 | Gainesville | 1 | 1% | $88,239 |
| 10 | Lakeland | 1 | 1% | $87,146 |
| 11 | Atlanta | 1 | 0% | $67,877 |
| 12 | Jacksonville | 1 | 0% | $87,718 |
| 13 | Los Angeles | 1 | 0% | $136,899 |
Senior Project Scientist job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of senior project scientist experts
Western Washington University
Quinnipiac University
The University of North Carolina Asheville
American University
Stephen F. Austin State University
University of California, Berkeley
Bradley University
Stevenson University
Doverspike Consulting/HR LItehouse
Robert Morris University
Wright State University
Tiffin University
College of Our Lady of the Elms
Holyoke Community College
What Senior Project Scientist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Josh Kaplan Ph.D.: Demonstrating a skill set that is unique, such as experience with a rare technical research approach, or demonstrating that you can save your employer money by utilizing free resources, can be used to negotiate a higher salary.
What will help Senior Project Scientists increase their earning potential?
Josh Kaplan Ph.D.: Be reliable, consistent, and focus on the details. Your neuroscience training required you to develop an attention to detail that permeated many aspects of your work. Further, you had to apply that detailed approach in a consistent manner across a potentially long experimental duration. Your future coworkers and employers will appreciate knowing that you'll be able to apply the instructions for a novel scenario reliably and consistently.
Lisa Cuchara Ph.D.
Professor of Biomedical SciencesQuinnipiac University
Microbiological Sciences And Immunology
What general advice would you give to a Senior Project Scientist?
Lisa Cuchara Ph.D.: 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.
What Senior Project Scientist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Lisa Cuchara Ph.D.: The first and foremost would be Critical Thinking. We live in a world where facts can be easily acquired, sometimes even by asking Siri/Alexa/ChatGPT/Google/etc. But critical thinking is timeless and priceless. I can ask anyone on the street what xyz is and they can look it up, but can they provide advice or interpret.
Also being a good steward towards science and being willing and able to communicate not just with peers as we are trained, but also with the public, the politicians, the board members. John Holdren*, stated that Scientists should be tithing at least 10 percent of their time to public service ... including activism. In the ever growing science denialism that is happening in our country being able to communicate science with the public is important. As Peter Hotaz states, "Anti-science propaganda is "killing Americans in unprecedented numbers,""
*Holdren is an American scientist who served as the senior advisor to President Barack Obama on science and technology issues through his roles as assistant to the president for science and technology, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and a Research Professor in Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government
Susan Clark Ph.D.
Associate Professor of ManagementThe University of North Carolina Asheville
Management Department
What skills stand out on Senior Project Scientist resumes?
Susan Clark Ph.D.: Today's management scientists need to demonstrate a range of both quantitative and qualitative methods that support managerial decision making. Hiring managers are looking for people that have strong creative problem solving, people, and innovation skills, as well as analytical and technical skills. Advanced management scientists have the capacity to identify trends and understand the back end of data analytics, data management, and data-driven decision making. Candidates need to be able to connect the dots between what data reveals and complex managerial problems, as well as how big data relates to market opportunities.
What soft skills should all Senior Project Scientists possess?
Susan Clark Ph.D.: Emotional and social intelligence is absolutely critical to career success, including in management science. Emotional intelligence involves the ability to self-regulate one's own emotions and emotional state, as well as to read the emotions in others and to manage difficult situations with grace and confidence. Interpersonal skills include the ability to start and participate in engaging, intelligent conversations, the confidence and ability to sell ideas, technologies, and innovations, as well as the ability to contribute holistically to team efforts. Successful candidates will demonstrate strong character and reliability as well as an ability to respectfully and enthusiastically engage in conversations with diverse stakeholders.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Senior Project Scientists?
Susan Clark Ph.D.: The kinds of skills that hiring managers are increasingly looking for are complex and creative capacities with respect to managing big data, systems, and technology. Algorithmic abilities, like basic programming, data entry, industry analysis, and bookkeeping, are becoming less relevant as computers, robots, and other forms of artificial intelligence gain momentum in providing these services at a greatly reduced cost and with greater accuracy and reliability. The ability to learn new technologies and understand the big picture of how data and technology related to the organization's purpose and competitive advantages in the marketplace are becoming increasingly in demand. Demonstrating a high capacity and potential to be a creative problem solver, innovator, and contributor to very complex problems and opportunities in chaotic, rapidly changing, and uncertain environments is critical for success in the 2020s.
What skills will help Senior Project Scientists earn the most?
Susan Clark Ph.D.: Perhaps ironically, the academic research consistently reveals that if you are motivated primarily by carrots and sticks, that is, monetary compensation or other extrinsic rewards, that this can actually hinder the highest levels of performance on complex and creative tasks. Artificial intelligence will soon be applied to tasks that are simple, straightforward, and algorithmic. Those 20th-century tasks of being a good executor of simple mechanical tasks like programming and data analysis are a great fit for extrinsic motivators like pay and promotions. The increasingly mission-critical 21st-century tasks of navigating through risk, uncertainty, rapid technological, social, and environmental changes are the best fit with intrinsic motivators. If you are driven by autonomy, mastery, and purpose--that is, if your goal is to make a dent in the universe and make the world a better place--then you are well-positioned for success. In that case, money follows your passion rather than having your work efforts driven by pay for performance.
J. Alberto Espinosa Ph.D.
Professor of Information Technology and AnalyticsAmerican University
Kogod School of Business
What soft skills should all Senior Project Scientists possess?
J. Alberto Espinosa Ph.D.: Without question, it is what we call "storytelling." Analytics is not useful unless you can gain insights and report them to management or clients. This includes the ability to interpret results and articulate them in plain business language to management and clients, as well as presentations, visuals, and writing.
How have salaries changed over time for Senior Project Scientists?
Darrell Fry: According to the American Chemical Society (ACS) salary survey, salaries have increased over the past 15 years.
How have salaries changed over time for Senior Project Scientists?
Dennis Baldocchi: I think 9-month appointments at Univ are vastly under paying these talented people, who I am sure do better at National Labs and Industry.
What type of skills will young Senior Project Scientists need?
Dr. Jose Lozano Ph.D.: In addition to the skills required in their specific area of study, most likely, they would need to have good technological skills and an open mind to conduct many activities remotely.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Senior Project Scientists in the next 3-5 years?
Neil Rothman Ph.D.: Based on the past year, the rapid development of diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics would seem to be an area that will be very important. I am talking about developing a specific vaccine or therapeutic and the equipment and laboratory methods necessary for their product. Running a diagnostic test on an "easy to acquire" sample will be essential to enable rapid and widespread testing and diagnosis. Detection of pathogens in water and food will likely continue and potentially increase in importance as the effects of climate change impact the water supply.
I also think that the strategy behind diagnostic testing may become more critical. Rather than going for very high sensitivity and specificity, it may be more useful to have a "good" test that can be conducted more quickly and often to prevent disease spread. This directly impacts what technologies are developed and how they are applied.
What type of skills will young Senior Project Scientists need?
Dennis Doverspike Ph.D.: Seemingly a paradox, there will continue to be a need for very general, but highly fungible, skills and demand for too specialized skills, requiring advanced education. Coding, statistics, and data analysis related skills will remain a hot growth area. The aging of the baby boomers will create demand for medical and healthcare-related regions, especially nursing, nursing aides, and emergency services. Despite the automation of many people facing jobs, there will continue to be a demand for interpersonal and people skills, including various types of sales. The switch to remote work, due to COVID, will create a substantial future market to fill the leadership and managerial skills gap. In many areas of Technology and engineering, it is already challenging to find a combination of technical knowledge and people skills, and this demand will intensify.
Will there be an increase or decrease in demand for Senior Project Scientists in the next 5 years?
Paul Badger Ph.D.: The demand for skilled research scientists in the healthcare industry or related industries will almost certainly grow in the next five years. There is nearly always a need for entry-level positions, such as laboratory scientists or medical laboratory technicians. The recent increase in pressures placed on the health care sector will likely lead to more hiring as testing facilities, and analytical labs are expanded.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Senior Project Scientists to find work opportunities?
Paul Badger Ph.D.: Any area of the U.S. that has current or projected population growth, like the southern Atlantic states and the Rocky Mountain regions, will have an increased demand for biology graduates in a variety of occupations.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Senior Project Scientists to find work opportunities?
David Cool Ph.D.: The best place to work is wherever you can get a job. You will learn something new, no matter what or where you start. Colleges and universities employ people every day. However, the jobs there are usually called 'soft money,' meaning that your job ends when the grant runs out. Unless you have become such an expert and so critical to the needs of your PI or the department that they decide they will hire you to work until another grant comes along to pay you. Clinical research is expanding greatly in the U.S. now. Every medical student has to do research, and most large teaching hospitals have a research coordinator that will work to generate grants in the department. This means that lab personnel is required for these positions and valuable to the clinical research team. The clinical trial coordinator is a new and expanding field, becoming increasingly essential to help run even small clinical trials in a small university medical office. Universities are starting to create new degree programs designed to train people to run clinical trials. As one study starts, more will open up and you will have a lot of work to do. Government is also a great place to get a job, but you may have a more extensive hiring process, especially in today's market. However, large numbers of research labs do not work on a military base but, instead, run small projects that are sourced to and for the military. Since these are paid for by government funds, the salaries should be expected to be higher.
Of course, Pharma will be a choice, but this can be even harder to get in the door. Some companies don't advertise, and it is nearly impossible to reach a person in HR on the phone. You send a CV or resume blindly, hoping someone sees it. However, this example may help you think differently about Pharma. Twenty-five years ago, a larger Pharma company discovered that they had 100 PhDs running projects. But these PhDs weren't doing any grand thinking; they were running tests and assays, something any BS degree graduate in biology or biochemistry could do. So, the large Pharma company fired 90 PhDs, hired 200 BS degreed personnel, and let the 10 PhDs coordinate their efforts. They saved more money and made more progress.
How do you envision technology impacting Senior Project Scientists in the next 5 years?
David Cool Ph.D.: Where will technology be in 5 years? COVID again will be a driver of science and technology. Technology will need to adapt to understand the new diseases of tomorrow better, viruses that cross from animals to humans, how global warming and climate change will affect our environment, and the conditions and pests that will migrate, mutate, or expand. So, all the above techniques will be incredibly important as they are the basis for everything new that will be developed. Inflammation, though, will be a required field. So, instruments, technology, and research that impact inflammatory responses and immunology will be incredibly valuable. The examples cited above multiplexed 50 cytokine assays from 50 microliters of blood, combined with a digital real-time PCR for each of the cytokines and other related proteins, all analyzed by computer software written in real-time to take advantage of all the current literature that links each cytokine to another, and different pathways in the cells, and to their responses. This will be the technology necessary to beat the next infectious disease and that students graduating today will be competing in the job market.
Sami Mejri Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Science, Assistant Dean, Graduate ProgramsTiffin University
School of Arts & Sciences
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Senior Project Scientists to find work opportunities?
Sami Mejri Ph.D.: With the rising cost of living, a college graduate's ideal first job may not be in their home state or favorite vacation town. According to Business Insider, MidWestern cities like Columbus-Ohio, Cincinnati-Ohio, Madison-Wisconsin, Milwaukee-Wisconsin, and Indianapolis-Indiana were some of the best geographical areas to live for college graduates. The cost of living in these Midwestern states remains relatively lower than coastal areas, making these locations ideal for college graduates entering the workforce. However, college graduates with degrees in healthcare, computer science, and data analytics may not be limited to these geographical areas, given employers' incentives to these in-demand jobs.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Senior Project Scientists?
Janet Williams Ph.D.: I do not think that there will be an enduring impact on students concerning the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We will overcome this virus as we have other infections in the past. Students should learn to adapt to situations and make the best of the case, despite how unusual or complicated the job might be. When they look back, it will be a minor inconvenience that we should have been far more prepared for than we were.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Senior Project Scientists?
Sage Franetovich: Graduates who studied Biology during the pandemic will complete their degree learning not only their content and material but also technical skills that will help them in a wide range of fields.