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

What is a senior scientist, project manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Aaron Haines Ph.D., Certified Wildlife Biologist ®

The average senior scientist, project manager salary is $100,646. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an chemistry major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become a senior scientist, project manager. Senior scientist, project managers with a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 4,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

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

Aaron Haines Ph.D., Certified Wildlife Biologist ®

Professor of Biology, Website

Having more technical skill sets can help you get entry level positions that can lead to higher pay positions. These include the ability to extract DNA from biological samples and understand the process of DNA sequencing, be familiar with geographical information systems (GIS) software such as ArcPro, ArcGIS, QGIS, be familiar with programming language such as Phyton and R statical programming, and government policies that impact your field of study.

Be a member of a professional organization and attend their conferences. This will allow you the opportunity to learn from others, network, and meet potential future employers.

ScoreSenior Scientist, Project ManagerUS Average

Salary

7.6

Avg. Salary $100,646

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.6

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 13.03%

Black or African American 2.45%

Hispanic or Latino 13.70%

Unknown 7.39%

White 62.92%

Gender

female 25.30%

male 74.70%

Age - 43.5

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 - 43.5

Stress level

7.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.5

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior scientist, project manager

Explore senior scientist, project manager education requirements

Most common senior scientist, project manager degrees

Bachelor's

64.0 %

Master's

14.8 %

Doctorate

14.4 %

Start to develop specific senior scientist, project manager skills

Skills	Percentages
R	10.45%
Oil Gas	8.80%
OSHA	8.13%
Data Analysis	7.67%
Technical Reports	5.95%

Complete relevant senior scientist, project manager training and internships

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

Research senior scientist, project manager duties and responsibilities

Manage sample inventory via in-house laboratory information management system (LIMS) and implement additional systems for sample and chemical organization.
Prepare proposals, project plans, cost estimates, and labor estimates for EIM and GIS projects.
Perform asbestos, lead-base paint and universal waste building inspections.
Develop and deliver OSHA compliance training programs to fit client's needs.

Get senior scientist, project manager experience

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

Prepare your senior scientist, project manager resume

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

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a senior scientist, project manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable senior scientist, project manager resume templates

Build a professional senior scientist, project manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior scientist, project manager resume.

Apply for senior scientist, project manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a senior scientist, project manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do senior scientist, project managers rate their job?

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Senior scientist, project manager reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2021

Pros

Firstly, the most important is to protect our planet for us and the future generations. Secondly our planet is not going to support the pressure and negative impacts because of the big Increased human population . Finally our planet needs more and more environmental specialists to regulate and control all human activities, especially the ilegal ones.

Cons

I don’t like when big companies they know what’s wrong and what’s right, but still the destroy, like cutting trees in Brazil and the other side big companies even knowing those trees are ilegal, but still they continuing to porches. There for I can’t understand and I don’t like.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019