All biological scientists not listed separately.
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Licensing, certifications and working conditions
About these figures. BLS publishes wages, growth, openings and typical education for this occupation as a whole (SOC 19-1029); 4 related specialties share them.
State licensing. Biological Scientists, All Other is licensed or registered in 3 of 57 states and territories, as reported by each state to CareerOneStop. A license often applies only to certain roles within a career, and records were last updated between 2010 and 2024, so confirm requirements with the state licensing board.
Sources: CareerOneStop (licenses and certifications), part of the CareerOneStop suite of web products, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (working conditions, wages). MajorPays has reorganized this information; these agencies have not approved or endorsed it. See it interactively, with state-by-state detail →
More data on this career
Where the jobs are, and what they pay by industry. Nationwide, the industries that employ the most workers in the occupation group that includes biological scientists, all other (5 related careers are counted together) are Federal Executive Branch (36% of the jobs counted, median pay $99,590), Scientific Research and Development Services (29% of the jobs counted, median pay $107,540), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (9% of the jobs counted, median pay $77,450), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5% of the jobs counted, median pay $79,560) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). Among large industries, the highest median pay is in Scientific Research and Development Services ($107,540), Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing ($106,880), Federal Executive Branch ($99,590). Pay differs by industry for many reasons, including the mix of jobs and where employers are located.
Injury and illness rates. For the broader group "Life scientists", which includes this career (BLS did not publish enough cases for this exact occupation), employers reported 26.1 nonfatal injury and illness cases with days away from work per 10,000 full-time workers, compared with 94.6 for all U.S. workers; the median case kept the worker away 10 days (all workers: 8) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023-2024). Rates reflect the work setting as well as the occupation.
Union membership. In the broad group "Life, physical, and social science", which includes this career, 10.7% of wage and salary workers belong to a union (all U.S. workers: 10.0%); median weekly pay is $1,736 for union members and $1,533 for workers not in a union (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2025). This is a group figure, not specific to biological scientists, all other.
Wages employers offered H-1B workers. For the occupation group that includes biological scientists, all other (the Department reports one figure for the 6-digit occupation code, which covers 5 related careers), employers filed 4,757 certified Labor Condition Applications for H-1B workers covering 4,990 worker positions in FY2025, with a median lower-bound wage offered of $80,000 (the middle half ran from $70,000 to $104,500) (U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification). These are wages named in employers' applications to hire temporary foreign workers, usually in jobs that need at least a bachelor's degree. They are not what every worker in the occupation earns. The Department of Labor has not endorsed this presentation.
Employer benefits. In the broad group "Professional and related", which includes this career, 86% of civilian workers had access to an employer retirement plan, 85% had access to employer medical care benefits, and 92% had paid sick leave, 73% paid vacation and 78% paid holidays (all civilian workers: 75%, 74%, 83%, 77% and 79%) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, March 2026). This is a group figure, not specific to biological scientists, all other, and having access to a benefit does not mean every worker uses it. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has not endorsed this presentation. Employers spent about $74.42 per hour worked on total compensation for the occupational group "Professional and related" in June 2026 ($50.37 in wages and salaries and $24.06 in benefits, 32.3% of the total; all civilian workers: $49.46, with 31.6% in benefits) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation).
Pay by state. See what biological scientists, all other earn in each state, with the pay range and number of jobs: Biological Scientists, All Other salary by state (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025).
Compare biological scientists, all other with other careers (pay, growth, openings and education side by side).
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 PUMS (MajorPays' own estimates from the survey; Census is credited as the source of the original data and has not endorsed them); BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses; BLS Current Population Survey; BLS National Compensation Survey (employee benefits); HRSA National Center for Health Workforce Analysis; U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification (LCA disclosure data, FY2025). MajorPays has selected and reorganized these figures; these agencies have not approved or endorsed them. See it interactively →
Biology/Biological Sciences, General
CIP 26.0101
Molecular Biology
CIP 26.0204
Structural Biology
CIP 26.0207
Photobiology
CIP 26.0208
Radiation Biology/Radiobiology
CIP 26.0209
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
CIP 26.0210
Botany/Plant Biology
CIP 26.0301
Plant Pathology/Phytopathology
CIP 26.0305
Plant Physiology
CIP 26.0307
Plant Molecular Biology
CIP 26.0308
Botany/Plant Biology, Other
CIP 26.0399
Cell/Cellular Biology and Histology
CIP 26.0401
Anatomy
CIP 26.0403
Developmental Biology and Embryology
CIP 26.0404
Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology
CIP 26.0406
Cell Biology and Anatomy
CIP 26.0407
Medical Microbiology and Bacteriology
CIP 26.0503
Virology
CIP 26.0504
Parasitology
CIP 26.0505
Mycology
CIP 26.0506
Immunology
CIP 26.0507
Microbiology and Immunology
CIP 26.0508
Infectious Disease and Global Health
CIP 26.0509
Entomology
CIP 26.0702
Animal Physiology
CIP 26.0707
Genetics, General
CIP 26.0801
Molecular Genetics
CIP 26.0802
Microbial and Eukaryotic Genetics
CIP 26.0803
Animal Genetics
CIP 26.0804
Plant Genetics
CIP 26.0805
Genome Sciences/Genomics
CIP 26.0807
Genetics, Other
CIP 26.0899
Pathology/Experimental Pathology
CIP 26.0910
Pharmacology
CIP 26.1001
Toxicology
CIP 26.1004
Biometry/Biometrics
CIP 26.1101
Biostatistics
CIP 26.1102
Computational Biology
CIP 26.1104
Biotechnology
CIP 26.1201
Ecology
CIP 26.1301
Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography
CIP 26.1302
Evolutionary Biology
CIP 26.1303
Aquatic Biology/Limnology
CIP 26.1304
Environmental Biology
CIP 26.1305
Population Biology
CIP 26.1306
Conservation Biology
CIP 26.1307
Systematic Biology/Biological Systematics
CIP 26.1308
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
CIP 26.1310
Epidemiology and Biostatistics
CIP 26.1311
Neuroscience
CIP 26.1501
Neuroanatomy
CIP 26.1502
Neurobiology and Anatomy
CIP 26.1503
Neurobiology and Behavior
CIP 26.1504
Neurobiology and Neurosciences, Other
CIP 26.1599
Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other
CIP 26.9999
Mathematical Biology
CIP 27.0306
Nutrition Sciences
CIP 30.1901
Human Biology
CIP 30.2701
Marine Sciences
CIP 30.3201
Behavioral Neuroscience
CIP 42.2706