Biological Scientist By: Dr. Frank Flanders and Asha Wise Georgia Agricultural Education Curriculum Office Georgia Department of Education May 2006 Agricultural Careers

Job Duties & Responsibilities Field work collecting data on research projects Laboratory management Write and apply for grants Research product development Travel to research sites, conferences and workshops Develop new product technologies for biological use In industry, biological scientist may oversee production of a biological product such as animal medicines Must follow strict safety procedures

Qualities and Skills A biological scientist must be intelligent, a self-starter, inquisitive and a good problem solver Typically, most of their time is spent conducting tests, running experiments, recording results and compiling data Biological scientists need to be able to perform under occasional pressure to meet deadlines and conform to grant specifications Those with teaching duties must be able to organize for classes and speak well

Salary The median annual income was $60,390 in 2002 The middle 50% earned between $43,110 and $82,080 The lowest 10% earned less than $33,930 The highest 10% earned more than $102,930

Work as part of research or production teams Work in laboratories and out-of-doors Use electron microscopes, computers, thermal cycles, or a wide variety of other equipment Conduct experiments using laboratory animals or greenhouse plants Manage animal facilities or greenhouses Work Environment

Education A Ph.D. degree usually is required for independent research A Master’s degree is sufficient for some jobs in applied research or product development A Bachelor’s degree is adequate for some non-research jobs.

Career Resources American Institute of Biological Sciences Suite 200, 1444 I St. NW. Washington, DC Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology 9650 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD Biology Online