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

What is a senior scientist, biology and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Betsy Smith

As a senior scientist in biology, you will be responsible for studying how living organisms relate to the environment. You could work in many different places depending on your specialization. You can be employed in a laboratory studying the properties of organisms, a pharmaceutical company developing new vaccines, or the research wing of a hospital discovering new cancer treatments. Also, you'll supervise junior scientists helping you with your research. Additionally, you'll support and participate in research and development meetings.

Employers expect applicants to have at least a master's degree in biological science, biochemistry, molecular biology, or related fields. Applicants must have a minimum of six years of experience in a related field. Key skills for this position include communication, analytical, presentation, record-keeping, and teamwork skills. Senior scientists, biology earn an average salary of $88,187 in a year, equivalent to $42.4 per hour. This falls between $60,000 and $127,000.

What general advice would you give to a senior scientist, biology?

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.

ScoreSenior Scientist, BiologyUS Average

Salary

7.0

Avg. Salary $88,965

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 26.32%

Black or African American 6.44%

Hispanic or Latino 9.69%

Unknown 4.13%

White 53.27%

Gender

female 50.34%

male 49.66%

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 scientist, biology

Explore senior scientist, biology education requirements

Most common senior scientist, biology degrees

Bachelor's

56.8 %

Doctorate

25.2 %

Master's

15.8 %

Start to develop specific senior scientist, biology skills

Skills	Percentages
Data Analysis	8.98%
Cell Biology	8.79%
Next-Generation Sequencing	6.23%
Cell-Based Assays	5.34%
RNA	5.20%

Complete relevant senior scientist, biology training and internships

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

Research senior scientist, biology duties and responsibilities

Manage study protocols and study conduct, intimately involve in the toxicology and pharmacokinetic study protocol development process.
Contribute to a cancer cell line profiling effort.
Review documentation, write research reports and authore FDA submissions.
Cloned and express zebrafish DNA repair genes by PCR; design PCR primers.

Get senior scientist, biology experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a senior scientist, biology. The most common roles before becoming a senior scientist, biology include research assistant, doctoral fellow team lead and research fellow.

Prepare your senior scientist, biology resume

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

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