Median annual wage$93,750
Job growth, 2025-2035+6.3%
Mean annual wage$107,860
Typical educationBachelor's degree
Employed today (2025)8,000
Annual openings (nat'l)400

All life scientists not listed separately.

Explore this career interactively, with full detail →

Licensing, certifications and working conditions

State licensing. CareerOneStop's licensing data records no state license for Life Scientists, All Other, which usually means it is not a licensed occupation. Requirements can still vary by employer and state.

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 life scientists, all other are Scientific Research and Development Services (27% of the jobs counted, median pay $110,150), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (25% of the jobs counted, median pay $74,710), State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (17% of the jobs counted, median pay $79,800), Employment Services (11% of the jobs counted, median pay $96,360) (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 ($110,150), Employment Services ($96,360), State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals ($79,800). 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 life scientists, all other.

Wages employers offered H-1B workers. For life scientists, all other, employers filed 55 certified Labor Condition Applications for H-1B workers covering 55 worker positions in FY2025, with a median lower-bound wage offered of $75,000 (the middle half ran from $60,700 to $98,700) (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 life 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).

Compare life 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 →

Ecology

CIP 26.1301

Natural Sciences

CIP 30.1801

Geobiology

CIP 30.4301