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Biologist

Overview and Key Facts

biologist with petri dish
Education
Education
Bachelor's degree
Median Pay
Median Pay
$82,530
Job Growth
Job Growth
3.80%
(US Average)
Jobs in 2031
Jobs in 2031
52,500

What Do They Do?

A biologist could...

Overview Listen to this section

Life is all around you in beauty, abundance, and complexity. Biologists are the scientists who study life in all its forms and try to understand fundamental life processes, and how life relates to its environment. They answer basic questions, like how do fireflies create light? Why do grunion fish lay their eggs based on the moon and tides? What genes control deafness? Why don't cancer cells die? How do plants respond to ultraviolet light? Beyond basic research, biologists might also apply their research and create new biotechnology. There are endless discoveries waiting to be found in the field of biology!
Watch this video to see how research in biologist Gabriel C. Lander's lab may lead to new ways of fighting neurodegenerative diseases.

Do You Have the Skills and Characteristics of a Biologist?


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Core Tasks

Think about if you'd like the typical tasks a Biologist might do:
  • Prepare technical and research reports, such as environmental impact reports, and communicate the results to individuals in industry, government, or the general public.
  • 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.
  • Collect and analyze biological data about relationships among and between organisms and their environment.
  • Program and use computers to store, process, and analyze data.
  • Supervise biological technicians and technologists and other scientists.
  • Identify, classify, and study structure, behavior, ecology, physiology, nutrition, culture, and distribution of plant and animal species.
  • Communicate test results to state and federal representatives and general public.
  • Prepare requests for proposals or statements of work.
  • Represent employer in a technical capacity at conferences.
  • Study basic principles of plant and animal life, such as origin, relationship, development, anatomy, and function.
  • 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.
  • Develop methods and apparatus for securing representative plant, animal, aquatic, or soil samples.

Salary & Job Openings

Steps to Get There: Becoming a Biologist

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