Biological Scientists, All Other
All biological scientists not listed separately.
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What the data says: Jobs are projected to grow 4.7% by 2035. Its tasks haven't been rated for what AI could do. In the most exposed occupations, the squeeze shows up first among early-career workers. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
BLS figures cover the broader occupation “Biological scientists, all other”, which includes this one and others.
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 1.7% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Biological scientists”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 7.9 hires for every 10 job openings in professional and business services, which employs about 39% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.7.9 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $87,260 | $68,460 to $103,700 | 340 |
| Alaska | $106,870 | $89,170 to $120,240 | 370 |
| Arizona | $90,290 | $76,990 to $106,080 | 760 |
| Arkansas | $76,400 | $56,040 to $97,470 | 360 |
| California | $113,530 | $86,090 to $154,150 | 11,880 |
| Colorado | $93,970 | $79,480 to $108,680 | 850 |
| Connecticut | $111,940 | $83,480 to $138,900 | 170 |
| Delaware | $113,400 | $81,470 to $151,710 | not published |
| District of Columbia | $84,590 | $64,480 to $147,890 | 850 |
| Florida | $83,780 | $54,000 to $107,120 | 1,920 |
| Georgia | $96,820 | $79,440 to $106,200 | 1,230 |
| Guam | $78,850 | $61,110 to $94,520 | 50 |
| Hawaii | $95,600 | $82,330 to $113,670 | 370 |
| Idaho | $83,320 | $63,130 to $97,470 | 430 |
| Illinois | $82,640 | $64,010 to $106,020 | 1,300 |
| Indiana | $84,570 | $68,360 to $141,790 | 640 |
| Iowa | $82,720 | $67,000 to $101,540 | 550 |
| Kansas | $76,400 | $62,790 to $104,870 | 760 |
| Kentucky | $79,400 | $63,130 to $96,100 | 260 |
| Louisiana | $69,590 | $54,510 to $91,170 | 580 |
| Maine | $104,570 | $82,490 to $118,430 | 340 |
| Maryland | $121,680 | $98,700 to $144,890 | 4,970 |
| Massachusetts | $107,100 | $84,390 to $162,180 | 2,930 |
| Michigan | $81,540 | $65,170 to $106,330 | 860 |
| Minnesota | $76,400 | $56,050 to $97,470 | 750 |
| Mississippi | $91,170 | $71,260 to $109,300 | 320 |
| Missouri | $63,290 | $50,090 to $94,520 | 1,120 |
| Montana | $91,560 | $73,320 to $103,380 | 550 |
| Nebraska | $82,770 | $61,710 to $98,640 | 240 |
| Nevada | $74,210 | $57,150 to $93,540 | 410 |
| New Hampshire | $83,740 | $73,240 to $110,410 | 310 |
| New Jersey | $104,750 | $82,690 to $128,790 | 540 |
| New Mexico | $84,120 | $67,200 to $98,530 | 420 |
| New York | $104,120 | $83,420 to $133,750 | 2,520 |
| North Carolina | $100,070 | $79,960 to $124,510 | 2,780 |
| Ohio | $95,560 | $65,770 to $121,860 | 610 |
| Oklahoma | $79,950 | $63,130 to $97,470 | 300 |
| Oregon | $86,260 | $68,040 to $103,380 | 700 |
| Pennsylvania | $100,780 | $77,520 to $123,920 | 1,810 |
| Puerto Rico | $76,400 | $48,380 to $97,470 | 260 |
| Rhode Island | $101,750 | $89,520 to $130,480 | 100 |
| South Carolina | $91,560 | $76,400 to $109,300 | 240 |
| South Dakota | $73,920 | $61,110 to $91,170 | 170 |
| Tennessee | $80,500 | $61,460 to $96,950 | 420 |
| Texas | $80,870 | $64,400 to $105,560 | 2,480 |
| Utah | $93,250 | $78,900 to $110,390 | 590 |
| Vermont | $77,960 | $62,360 to $97,470 | 90 |
| Virginia | $96,030 | $78,540 to $113,570 | 1,650 |
| Washington | $108,110 | $83,100 to $131,780 | 2,620 |
| West Virginia | $84,590 | $67,200 to $100,420 | 230 |
| Wisconsin | $78,480 | $65,170 to $98,050 | 740 |
| Wyoming | $91,560 | $76,400 to $99,470 | 170 |
Nationally: $98,920. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for biological scientists, all other specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 2,062 moves out
- 1 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 12%
- 2 Software Developers, Applications (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 12%
- 3 Postsecondary Teachers, All Other Very high +2.0% 10%
- 4 Operations Research Analysts Very high +11.9% 8%
- 5 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
Where people moved in from
of 1,849 moves in
- 1 Operations Research Analysts Very high +11.9% 14%
- 2 Software Developers, Applications (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 7%
- 3 Computer Occupations, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 4 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 4%
- 5 Postsecondary Teachers, All Other Very high +2.0% 4%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 47% bachelor's
- 30% master's
- 3% professional degree
- 20% doctorate
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Biological scientists” · 1,217 people surveyed.
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Biological scientists”
64 programs, such as Biology/Biological Sciences, General, Molecular Biology and Structural Biology.
See all
- Biology/Biological Sciences, General
- Molecular Biology
- Structural Biology
- Photobiology
- Radiation Biology/Radiobiology
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Other
- Botany/Plant Biology
- Plant Pathology/Phytopathology
- Plant Physiology
- Plant Molecular Biology
- Botany/Plant Biology, Other
- Cell/Cellular Biology and Histology
- Anatomy
- Developmental Biology and Embryology
- Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology and Anatomy
- Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Other
- Medical Microbiology and Bacteriology
- Virology
- Parasitology
- Mycology
- Immunology
- Microbiology and Immunology
- Infectious Disease and Global Health
- Entomology
- Animal Physiology
- Genetics, General
- Molecular Genetics
- Microbial and Eukaryotic Genetics
- Animal Genetics
- Plant Genetics
- Genome Sciences/Genomics
- Genetics, Other
- Pathology/Experimental Pathology
- Pharmacology
- Toxicology
- Biometry/Biometrics
- Biostatistics
- Computational Biology
- Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Other
- Biotechnology
- Ecology
- Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography
- Evolutionary Biology
- Aquatic Biology/Limnology
- Environmental Biology
- Population Biology
- Conservation Biology
- Systematic Biology/Biological Systematics
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Epidemiology and Biostatistics
- Ecology, Evolution, Systematics and Population Biology, Other
- Neuroscience
- Neuroanatomy
- Neurobiology and Anatomy
- Neurobiology and Behavior
- Neurobiology and Neurosciences, Other
- Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other
- Mathematical Biology
- Nutrition Sciences
- Human Biology
- Marine Sciences
- Behavioral Neuroscience
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS · Brynjolfsson, Chandar and Chen, Stanford (Aug 2026)
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/19-1029.00