Pharmacology Research Scientist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Pharmacology Research Scientist performs scientific research with the aim of discovering new solutions or improving existing ones within the field of use and effects of drugs.
Job Outlook
There were 62 Pharmacology Research Scientist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 3397 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Medical Scientist industry, which includes the Pharmacology Research Scientist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new Pharmacology Research Scientist jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $144,160.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $144,160.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Pharmacology Research Scientist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $99,446.
Education and Experience
Posted Pharmacology Research Scientist jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 35.68% |
| Master's Degree | 35.94% |
| Doctoral Degree | 70.86% |
| Other | 2.03% |
Posted Pharmacology Research Scientist jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 17.8% |
| 3 to 5 years | 34.21% |
| 6 to 8 years | 20.43% |
| 9+ years | 27.55% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Pharmacology Research Scientist positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (47.22%)
- Research (46.98%)
- Leadership (32.71%)
- Verbal Communication Skills (28.08%)
- Presentations (27.91%)
- Decision Making (24.05%)
- Mathematics (23.64%)
- Problem Solving (22.76%)
- Mentorship (20.9%)
- Interpersonal Communications (20.67%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Small Molecules (29.9%)
- Data Analysis (28.9%)
- Biology (35.85%)
- Chemistry (29.05%)
- Biopharmaceuticals (30.36%)
- R (Programming Language) (31.6%)
- Pre-Clinical Development (22.13%)
- Clinical Trials (39.04%)
- Drug Development (41.65%)
- Drug Discovery (31.36%)
- Pharmaceutical Sciences (36.98%)
- Pharmacokinetics (53.76%)
- Pharmaceuticals (53.49%)
- Pharmacodynamics (46.21%)
- Pharmacology (34.43%)
- Clinical Pharmacology (30.57%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Regulatory Documents (27.93%)
- Biomarkers (14.45%)
- Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) (6.07%)
- Cell Biology (8.96%)
- Molecular Biology (6.56%)
- Cell Cultures (8.99%)
- Biochemistry (17.64%)
- Biostatistics (21.74%)
- Metabolism (11.41%)
- Immunology (11.38%)
- Clinical Study Design (10.08%)
- Clinical Study Reports (10.14%)
- Biotechnology (11.96%)
- Biomedical Engineering (26.5%)
- Biochemical Assays (17.15%)
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent (ELISA) Assay (6.5%)
- Clinical Research (3.04%)
- Life Sciences (5.8%)
- Oncology (20.67%)
- MATLAB (16.73%)
- Flow Cytometry (6.68%)
- Marketing (7.19%)
- Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (6.25%)
- Project Management (5.56%)
- Translational Medicine (7.07%)
- Statistics (26.26%)
- Scientific Literature (6.25%)
- Toxicology (8.99%)
- Research Experiences (4.55%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Clinical Translation (3.04%)
- Bioanalysis (4.64%)
- Response Models (8.35%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Clinical Pharmacology (43.97%)
- Response Models (12.01%)
- Pre-Clinical Development (31.83%)
- Drug Development (59.91%)
- R (Programming Language) (45.46%)
- Pharmaceuticals (76.94%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Pharmacology Research Scientist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Director of Pharmacology
- Principal Scientist
- Pharmacologist
- Scientist
- Clinical Pharmacologist
- Associate Scientist
- Pharmaceutical Scientist
- Associate Director of Pharmacy
- Director of Clinical Pharmacology
- Pharmacokinetics Manager
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Assay Development Scientist
- Biologist (General)
- Infectious Disease Scientist
- Biochemist
- Research Associate (General)
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Pharmacology Research Scientist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Merck & Co. (709)
- Johnson & Johnson (222)
- AbbVie (103)
- Pfizer (84)
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (72)
- GlaxoSmithKline (61)
- Amgen (60)
- AstraZeneca (51)
- Eli Lilly (44)
- Actalent (39)
North Carolina
- Merck & Co. (9)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (7)
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (7)
- Actalent (5)
- GlaxoSmithKline (3)
- Proclinical Staffing (3)
- McGuireWoods LLP (3)
- Johnson & Johnson (3)
- Ihire (2)
- Campbell University (2)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.