Biologists
Health ScienceO*NET 19-1029.04United States
Research or study basic principles of plant and animal life, such as origin, relationship, development, anatomy, and functions.
- Median annual earnings
- $98,646
- Projected change
- +5.2%
- Typical education
- Master's or Professional degree
- Employment
- 61.7K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
55% of the workforce
Growing to 64.88K by 2035
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The work
What biologists do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Program and use computers to store, process, and analyze data.
- Prepare technical and research reports, such as environmental impact reports, and communicate the results to individuals in industry, government, or the general public.
- Supervise biological technicians and technologists and other scientists.
- Develop and maintain liaisons and effective working relations with groups and individuals, agencies, and the public to encourage cooperative management strategies or to develop information and interpret findings.
- Identify, classify, and study structure, behavior, ecology, physiology, nutrition, culture, and distribution of plant and animal species.
- Study basic principles of plant and animal life, such as origin, relationship, development, anatomy, and function.
- Collect and analyze biological data about relationships among and between organisms and their environment.
- Review reports and proposals, such as those relating to land use classifications and recreational development, for accuracy, adequacy, or adherence to policies, regulations, or scientific standards.
- Write grant proposals to obtain funding for biological research.
- Teach or supervise students and perform research at universities and colleges.
- Prepare requests for proposals or statements of work.
- Communicate test results to state and federal representatives and general public.
- Represent employer in a technical capacity at conferences.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $59,644
- 25th percentile
- $76,048
- 50th percentile
- $98,646
- 75th percentile
- $128,172
- 90th percentile
- $170,208
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $98,646 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+5.2%average or slower
202561,697 jobs
2035 projected64,880 jobs
3,183 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Master's or Professional degree
- 55%
- Bachelor's degree
- 23.4%
- Doctoral degree or more
- 21.6%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Postdoctoral Fellows503 postings
- 02Computational Biologists380 postings
- 03Biological Scientists362 postings
- 04Embryologists326 postings
- 05Scientists305 postings
- 06Research Associates278 postings
- 07Cell Biologists256 postings
- 08Biologists244 postings
- 09Molecular Biologists239 postings
- 10Field Biologists221 postings
- 11Postdoctoral Research Associates214 postings
- 12Wetland Scientists208 postings
- 13Postdoctoral Associates205 postings
- 14Associate Scientists201 postings
- 15Principal Scientists200 postings
- 16Computational Scientists198 postings
- 17Field Enumerators182 postings
- 18Research Scientists174 postings
- 19Radiology Specialists153 postings
- 20Technology Experts148 postings
Top employers
- 01Turing294 postings
- 02Parexel259 postings
- 03Stantec195 postings
- 04National Association Of State Departments Of Agriculture186 postings
- 05Harvard University156 postings
- 06AbbVie149 postings
- 07Genentech128 postings
- 08Merck & Co.126 postings
- 09Actalent115 postings
- 10Bayer105 postings
- 11Herc105 postings
- 12University of Hawaii System Office103 postings
- 13Eli Lilly90 postings
- 14State of Florida89 postings
- 15University of Minnesota89 postings
- 16Pennsylvania State University88 postings
- 17University of Florida88 postings
- 18Amgen84 postings
- 19Swca Environmental Consultants80 postings
- 20University of Pennsylvania79 postings
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