Salary and Outlook

According to the US Department of Labor, there are 37,500 people employed as biochemists and biophysicists in the United States. The median annual salary is $102,270. Entry level employees earn approximately $61,090 per year and senior employees earn approximately $167,210 per year.

Estimates do not include other potential benefits such as health insurance, overtime pay, or retirement benefits that may be offered by employers.

Job Duties

• Study physical principles of living cells or organisms and their electrical or mechanical energy, applying methods and knowledge of mathematics, physics, chemistry, or biology.
• Manage laboratory teams or monitor the quality of a team's work.
• Research how characteristics of plants or animals are carried through successive generations.
• Prepare pharmaceutical compounds for commercial distribution.
• Develop methods to process, store, or use foods, drugs, or chemical compounds.
• Investigate the nature, composition, or expression of genes or research how genetic engineering can impact these processes.
• Determine the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules.
• Design or build laboratory equipment needed for special research projects.
• Prepare reports or recommendations, based upon research outcomes.
• Study spatial configurations of submicroscopic molecules, such as proteins, using x-rays or electron microscopes.
• Study the chemistry of living processes, such as cell development, breathing and digestion, or living energy changes, such as growth, aging, or death.
• Study the mutations in organisms that lead to cancer or other diseases.
• Research the chemical effects of substances, such as drugs, serums, hormones, or food, on tissues or vital processes.
• Research transformations of substances in cells, using atomic isotopes.
• Develop or execute tests to detect diseases, genetic disorders, or other abnormalities.
• Develop or test new drugs or medications intended for commercial distribution.
• Develop new methods to study the mechanisms of biological processes.
• Write grant proposals to obtain funding for research.
• Design or perform experiments with equipment, such as lasers, accelerators, or mass spectrometers.
• Produce pharmaceutically or industrially useful proteins, using recombinant DNA technology.
• Share research findings by writing scientific articles or by making presentations at scientific conferences.
• Teach or advise undergraduate or graduate students or supervise their research.
• Isolate, analyze, or synthesize vitamins, hormones, allergens, minerals, or enzymes and determine their effects on body functions.
• Examine the molecular or chemical aspects of immune system functioning.

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