Salary Range for Biotechnology Majors with 4-Year Degrees
Career News April 22, 2014Biotechnology refers to the utilization of organisms for technological advancement in agriculture, medicine, and other fields. Over the past few decades, biotechnology has changed from domesticating farm animals and crops to using molecules and living cells to make food, vaccines, varied commercial products, and pharmaceuticals. Degree, industry, work experience, and employer all affect the salaries of biotechnology graduates.
Salary Range of a 4-Year Biotechnology Degree Graduate
Biotechnology majors are hired by companies that engage in the development of pharmaceuticals, livestock production, genetic engineering, food production, industrial chemicals, agriculture, energy and herbicides and pesticides.
While there are many industries they can choose to work in, many biotechnology majors opt to become research associates. In this article, we have listed salary ranges for biology majors, categorized by degree, industry, work experience and employer.
Biotechnology Salary Categorized by Degree
PayScale shows that as of May 2010, biotechnology research associates categorized by degree took home an average annual salary as detailed below:
•Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Biology: $37,765-$55,048
•Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Biochemistry: $35,841-$58,274
•Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Biotechnology: $41,574-$63,044
•Bachelor of Art (B.A.) in Biology: $36,231-$53,609
Biotechnology Salary Categorized by Industry
A former biotechnology major can seek employment with a wide range of industries. PayScale shows the following median annual salary ranges that these professionals are paid in some popular businesses:
•Research and Development: $39,816-$59,731
•Academics: $30,966-$43,744
•Pharmaceuticals: $47,017-$68,851
•Medical Research: $32,510-$48,887
Biotechnology Salary Categorized by Work Experience
According to PayScale, individuals with work experience of four years or less hold over half of research associate biotechnology jobs. Those with 20 years or more of work experience comprise less than 3% of these experts in employment. The corresponding average annual salary ranges are:
•1-4 years: $36,889-$51,477
•5-9 years: $45,073-$64,727
•10-19 years: $52,252-$74,462
•20+ years: $53,951-$88,054
Biotechnology Salary Categorized by Employer
Former biotechnology majors are hired by a range of organizations including government agencies, universities, hospitals, private firms and research companies.
