Cell Biologist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Cell Biologist studies plant and animal life and conducts research to understand cells and cell systems. May teach cell biology or specialize in clinical research, cell culture, medical research and treatment, pharmaceutical, biotechnology or plant research. Directs research experiments and staff, operates specialized equipment and analyzes and reports research results.
Job Outlook
There were 74 Cell Biologist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 3207 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Biologist industry, which includes the Cell Biologist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new Cell Biologist 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 $105,512.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $104,384.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Cell Biologist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $80,319.
Education and Experience
Posted Cell Biologist 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 | 50.39% |
| Master's Degree | 28.53% |
| Doctoral Degree | 39.01% |
| Other | 3.43% |
Posted Cell Biologist 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 | 43.53% |
| 3 to 5 years | 45.69% |
| 6 to 8 years | 5.95% |
| 9+ years | 4.84% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Cell Biologist 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.
- Research (61.02%)
- Communication (30%)
- Detail Oriented (19.77%)
- Writing (18.15%)
- Management (15.84%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (15.28%)
- Organizational Skills (15.06%)
- Operations (14.72%)
- Self-Motivation (14.62%)
- Innovation (13.38%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Cell Biology (66.79%)
- Cell Cultures (52.93%)
- Biology (54%)
- Molecular Biology (38.96%)
- Biochemical Assays (34.99%)
- Immunology (28.57%)
- Flow Cytometry (25.67%)
- Biochemistry (26.04%)
- Mammalian Cell Cultures (18.81%)
- Stem Cell Biology (6.29%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Data Analysis (17.26%)
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent (ELISA) Assay (16.08%)
- Cell Therapy (13.63%)
- Biotechnology (14.17%)
- Asepsis (14.77%)
- Ribonucleic Acid Sequencing (13.43%)
- Polymerase Chain Reaction (12.82%)
- Western Blot (12.42%)
- Good Manufacturing Practices (14.67%)
- Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reactions (11.88%)
- Laboratory Experience (11.57%)
- Microscopy (12.82%)
- Tissue Culture (10.33%)
- Laboratory Equipment (9.35%)
- Chemistry (7.91%)
- Process Development (7.23%)
- Research Experiences (8.98%)
- Transfection (7.84%)
- Microbiology (9.15%)
- Genome Editing (6.66%)
- Oncology (8.24%)
- Clinical Trials (10.3%)
- Pharmaceuticals (8.85%)
- Standard Operating Procedure (7.44%)
- Reagent (6.86%)
- Genetics (6.73%)
- Biopharmaceuticals (7.81%)
- Life Sciences (6.93%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Cytotoxicity (3.2%)
- Cell Growth (3.5%)
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.
- Transgenic Animals (11.56%)
- Stem Cell Biology (31.8%)
- Cell Growth (17.69%)
- Cell Sorting (14.46%)
- Cryopreservation (10.54%)
- Transduction (22.62%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Cell Biologist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Cytologist
- Cell Therapy Specialist
- Scientist
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- Research Assistant
- Research Associate
- Cell Culture Scientist
- Biologist
- Assistant Professor of Biology
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.
- Molecular Biologist
- Assay Development Scientist
- Biologist (General)
- Biochemist
- Infectious Disease Scientist
- Medical Research Scientist
- Physiologist
- Research Associate (General)
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Cell Biologist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- National Medical Fellowships (68)
- Actalent (65)
- Eurofins (63)
- Geisinger Health System (62)
- University of Pennsylvania (61)
- Fujifilm (55)
- Johnson & Johnson (54)
- Health Advocates Network (49)
- University of Alabama at Birmingham (43)
- Harvard University (43)
North Carolina
- WakeMed (11)
- North Carolina State University (10)
- North Carolina State Of (5)
- East Carolina University (4)
- Greene Resources (4)
- Actalent (3)
- ProKidney Corp. (3)
- Atrium Health (3)
- Insight Global (3)
- University of North Carolina (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.