Field guide

How to become a biologist

A biologist studies living things, from cells to whole ecosystems, and most of the work happens in university labs, drug companies, government agencies and field stations. A bachelor's degree gets you into technician and support roles. Leading your own research almost always takes a PhD.

Median pay (US)
$98,920
Middle 50%
$76,800 to $127,670
Employed (US)
55,850
Top 10% earn over
$168,010

BLS has no single code for "biologist". The pay here is for "biological scientists, all other", the broad group left after separately counted specialties such as microbiologists.

What the work looks like

Biology splits early. A cell biologist spends the week at a bench or a microscope, a plant ecologist spends a season outdoors and the winter on data, and a computational biologist may never touch a pipette. Choosing the sub-field matters more than choosing the word "biologist".

The route in

  1. Take a biology major with real lab and statistics courses.
  2. Get research experience as an undergraduate, in a lab or on a summer program.
  3. Work as a technician or research assistant if you want to test the fit before committing.
  4. Do a PhD if you want to set the research questions. Do a master's if you want a higher-level applied role.
The catch. There are many more biology graduates than research jobs that use the degree directly, so the bachelor's alone rarely leads to a job with the title "biologist". Coding and statistics widen your options more than a second lab module.

Pay in the US

The May 2025 national figures for biological scientists, all other run from $60,430 at the 10th percentile to $168,010 at the 90th, with a median of $98,920 and a mean of $106,330.

If you do a PhD in this area

In 2025 the median research doctorate recipient in biological and biomedical sciences took 8.0 years from bachelor's degree, 6.3 years from starting graduate school and 5.7 years from starting the doctoral program.

In 2025, of 9,950 research doctorate recipients in biological and biomedical sciences, 5,460 reported a definite postgraduation commitment and 3,588 of those were postdoctoral study positions in the United States. That is 65.7% of those with a commitment.

In the UK

In the UK, biological science degrees usually last three years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and four in Scotland. Many students add a one-year master's before a PhD, though strong graduates can often go straight to a funded PhD.

ONS ASHE 2026 (provisional) gives median annual gross pay of £49,001 for full-time employees in SOC 2020 group 2112, biological scientists. This is a provisional figure from a small sample, so treat it as a rough guide.

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Pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, SOC 19-1029, May 2025, national, all industries, retrieved 2026-11-03. NSF NCSES, Survey of Earned Doctorates 2025, Table 1-12 (NSF 26-326), retrieved 2026-11-03. NSF NCSES, Survey of Earned Doctorates 2025, Table 6-1 (NSF 26-326), retrieved 2026-11-03. ONS ASHE Table 14.7a (Occupation SOC20 4-digit, Annual pay - Gross, Full-Time sheet) and 14.7b (CV), retrieved 2026-11-03. Tasks from the O*NET 31.0 Database by USDOL/ETA, used under CC BY 4.0.