Biology literally means the study of life. If you think that sounds very broad, you're correct-senior biology scientists can study anything from bacteria to elephants. They can track DNA data or experiment on cells.
Depending on your specialty, you could work in many different places as a senior biology scientist. You could work in a laboratory studying the properties of plants, for a pharmaceutical company developing new vaccines, or in a hospital's research wing discovering new treatments for cancer. You would also supervise junior scientists who are helping you in your research.
All senior biology scientists are experts in their field, and most have advanced degrees such as masters or PhDs. You have to put in long years of studying to become a senior biology scientist, but once you do, you can use your knowledge to change the world.
Senior Scientist, Biology Overview
Senior Scientist, Biology Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a senior scientist, biology. For example, did you know that they make an average of $42.4 an hour? That's $88,187 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 8% and produce 10,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Senior Scientist, Biology Do
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a senior scientist, biology, we found that a lot of resumes listed 13.0% of senior scientists, biology included data analysis, while 12.5% of resumes included molecular biology, and 10.8% of resumes included r. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the senior scientist, biology job title. But what industry to start with? Most senior scientists, biology actually find jobs in the pharmaceutical and health care industries.
How To Become a Senior Scientist, Biology
If you're interested in becoming a senior scientist, biology, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 17.8% of senior scientists, biology have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 21.9% of senior scientists, biology have master's degrees. Even though most senior scientists, biology have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a senior scientist, biology. When we researched the most common majors for a senior scientist, biology, we found that they most commonly earn doctoral degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on senior scientist, biology resumes include bachelor's degree degrees or diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a senior scientist, biology. In fact, many senior scientist, biology jobs require experience in a role such as research assistant. Meanwhile, many senior scientists, biology also have previous career experience in roles such as doctoral fellow or research fellow.
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Senior Scientist, Biology Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a senior scientist, biology can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as senior scientist, progress to a title such as director and then eventually end up with the title vice president of engineering.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Senior Scientist, Biology
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Washington University of St. Louis Senior Scientist-Developmental Biology Senior Scientist-Developmental Biology | Washington University of St. Louis Washington University of St. Louis | 08/11/2020 08/11/2020 | $53,83008/11/2020 $53,830 |
Washington University of St. Louis Senior Scientist-Cell Biology and Physiology Senior Scientist-Cell Biology and Physiology | Washington University of St. Louis Washington University of St. Louis | 05/21/2020 05/21/2020 | $53,83005/21/2020 $53,830 |
University of South Florida Senior Scientist, Biology Senior Scientist, Biology | University of South Florida University of South Florida | 10/27/2019 10/27/2019 | $39,98710/27/2019 $39,987 |
University of South Florida Senior Scientist, Biology Senior Scientist, Biology | University of South Florida University of South Florida | 09/26/2019 09/26/2019 | $40,00009/26/2019 $40,000 |
Astrazeneca Pharmaceuticals LP Senior Scientist Chemical Biology & Chemoproteomics Senior Scientist Chemical Biology & Chemoproteomics | Astrazeneca Pharmaceuticals LP Astrazeneca Pharmaceuticals LP | 08/29/2019 08/29/2019 | $104,04008/29/2019 $104,040 |
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Top Colleges for Senior Scientist, Biologys
1. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
2. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
3. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Public
5. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
6. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
7. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
8. University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Public
9. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Public
10. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Top Skills For a Senior Scientist, Biology
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 13.0% of senior scientists, biology listed data analysis on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and observation skills are important as well.
- Data Analysis, 13.0%
- Molecular Biology, 12.5%
- R, 10.8%
- RNA, 6.1%
- CMC, 4.7%
- Other Skills, 52.9% See All Senior Scientist, Biology Skills
Best States For a Senior Scientist, Biology
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a senior scientist, biology. The best states for people in this position are Nevada, California, Rhode Island, and Delaware. Senior scientists, biology make the most in Nevada with an average salary of $126,883. Whereas in California and Rhode Island, they would average $114,381 and $111,914, respectively. While senior scientists, biology would only make an average of $111,595 in Delaware, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Delaware
$111,595
Avg. Salary
2. California
$114,381
Avg. Salary
3. New Jersey
$108,527
Avg. Salary