How to Become a Biotechnologist
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a biotechnologist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $26.08 an hour? That's $54,255 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 5,700 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Biotechnologist Do
There are certain skills that many biotechnologists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed technical skills, communication skills and analytical skills.
How To Become a Biotechnologist
If you're interested in becoming a biotechnologist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 64.4% of biotechnologists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 26.7% of biotechnologists have master's degrees. Even though most biotechnologists have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a biotechnologist. When we researched the most common majors for a biotechnologist, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on biotechnologist resumes include associate degree degrees or diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a biotechnologist. In fact, many biotechnologist jobs require experience in a role such as laboratory technician. Meanwhile, many biotechnologists also have previous career experience in roles such as medical laboratory technician or research assistant.
Biotechnologist Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a biotechnologist can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as scientist, progress to a title such as senior scientist and then eventually end up with the title principal scientist.
Average Salary for a Biotechnologist
What Am I Worth?
Top Colleges for Biotechnologists
1. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
2. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
3. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
4. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
5. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
6. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
7. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
8. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
9. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
10. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
Top Skills For a Biotechnologist
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 16.5% of biotechnologists listed gmp on their resume, but soft skills such as technical skills and communication skills are important as well.
Biotechnologist Demographics
Biotechnologist Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among biotechnologists, 44.9% of them are women, while 55.1% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among biotechnologists is White, which makes up 64.1% of all biotechnologists.
- The most common foreign language among biotechnologists is Thai at 50.0%.
Online Courses For Biotechnologist That You May Like
The Essentials of Clinical Trials - Clinical Research for Beginners...
An Introduction to Good Clinical Practice ICH GCP E6 (R2) for Investigators & Clinical Research Staff...
Your Complete Guide to Starting and Understanding Biotechnology Companies: Business, Law, Regulations, Policy & Science...
Best States For a Biotechnologist
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a biotechnologist. The best states for people in this position are Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, and New Jersey. Biotechnologists make the most in Connecticut with an average salary of $109,460. Whereas in New Hampshire and New York, they would average $106,295 and $96,141, respectively. While biotechnologists would only make an average of $94,313 in New Jersey, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Rhode Island
$89,064
Avg. Salary
2. New York
$96,141
Avg. Salary
3. Massachusetts
$86,829
Avg. Salary
How Do Biotechnologist Rate Their Jobs?
Top Biotechnologist Employers
Most Common Employers For Biotechnologist
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merck | $99,213 | $47.70 | 2 |
| 2 | Johnson & Johnson | $98,926 | $47.56 | 1 |
| 3 | Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute | $98,361 | $47.29 | 1 |
| 4 | AbbVie | $94,240 | $45.31 | 2 |
| 5 | Abbott | $92,254 | $44.35 | 1 |
| 6 | Renaissance Learning | $87,769 | $42.20 | 1 |
| 7 | Cargill | $84,319 | $40.54 | 2 |
| 8 | Centocor | $80,562 | $38.73 | 2 |
| 9 | Hilmar Cheese Company | $73,715 | $35.44 | 1 |
| 10 | J. Craig Venter Institute | $72,182 | $34.70 | 2 |
What are the best companies to work for a Biotechnologist?
Cary Lai Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biology, University of San Francisco
Ranking which company is the best to work for is very subjective and student dependent. For students who do well in a more structured environment, with excellent training and facilities, working at a large, established company like Genentech or Amgen may be ideal. For students who thrive in a less structured environment and want to have more control over the direction of their work, working at a biotech start-up may be best.Show more