Natural Sciences Managers
Agriculture, Food and Natural ResourcesO*NET 11-9121.00United States
Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, statistics, and research and development in these fields.
- Median annual earnings
- $167,211
- Projected change
- +7.5%
- Typical education
- Doctoral degree or more
- Employment
- 113.62K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
40.3% of the workforce
Growing to 122.16K by 2035
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The work
What natural sciences managers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Hire, supervise, or evaluate engineers, technicians, researchers, or other staff.
- Design or coordinate successive phases of problem analysis, solution proposals, or testing.
- Plan or direct research, development, or production activities.
- Review project activities and prepare and review research, testing, or operational reports.
- Confer with scientists, engineers, regulators, or others to plan or review projects or to provide technical assistance.
- Develop client relationships and communicate with clients to explain proposals, present research findings, establish specifications, or discuss project status.
- Determine scientific or technical goals within broad outlines provided by top management and make detailed plans to accomplish these goals.
- Prepare project proposals.
- Develop or implement policies, standards, or procedures for the architectural, scientific, or technical work performed to ensure regulatory compliance or operations enhancement.
- Recruit personnel or oversee the development or maintenance of staff competence.
- Prepare and administer budgets, approve and review expenditures, and prepare financial reports.
- Conduct own research in field of expertise.
- Develop innovative technology or train staff for its implementation.
- Make presentations at professional meetings to further knowledge in the field.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $79,706
- 25th percentile
- $119,434
- 50th percentile
- $167,211
- 75th percentile
- $221,541
- 90th percentile
- $316,846
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $167,211 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+7.5%faster than average
2025113,622 jobs
2035 projected122,156 jobs
8,534 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Doctoral degree or more
- 40.3%
- Bachelor's degree
- 37.3%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 15.1%
- Associate degree
- 7.3%
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.
- 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.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Research and Development Managers329 postings
- 02Laboratory Directors249 postings
- 03Directors of Laboratory Operations191 postings
- 04Project Managers182 postings
- 05Program Portfolio Managers116 postings
- 06Directors of Health Services113 postings
- 07Directors of Research and Development91 postings
- 08Research and Development Software Engineers77 postings
- 09Administrative Directors of Laboratory Services71 postings
- 10Research and Development Tax Managers66 postings
- 11Technology Consulting Managers66 postings
- 12Directors of Imaging Services63 postings
- 13Directors of Process Excellence60 postings
- 14Product Development Scientists59 postings
- 15Cath Lab Directors58 postings
- 16Contracts Leads56 postings
- 17Engagement Associates56 postings
- 18Applications Managers55 postings
- 19Directors of Transformation54 postings
- 20Federal Tax Managers54 postings
Top employers
- 01PricewaterhouseCoopers172 postings
- 02Accenture141 postings
- 03Johnson & Johnson131 postings
- 04K&A Recruiting127 postings
- 05Bausch Health116 postings
- 06Crowe98 postings
- 07Amgen94 postings
- 08Takeda Pharmaceutical Company73 postings
- 09Merck & Co.72 postings
- 10AbbVie71 postings
- 11AstraZeneca63 postings
- 12Sanofi62 postings
- 13Vontier59 postings
- 14Otsuka America56 postings
- 15Parexel56 postings
- 16Notco (The Not Company)54 postings
- 17HCA Healthcare52 postings
- 18Akamai Technologies51 postings
- 19Sumitomo Pharma51 postings
- 20Thermo Fisher Scientific51 postings
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