Computational Biologist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Computational Biologist uses biological data to develop models to better understand biological systems. Conducts analysis using computational and mathematical methods and large data sets.
Job Outlook
There were 39 Computational Biologist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 2721 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Biologist industry, which includes the Computational Biologist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new Computational 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 $117,447.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $85,564.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Computational Biologist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $83,788.
Education and Experience
Posted Computational 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 | 21.21% |
| Master's Degree | 27.2% |
| Doctoral Degree | 77.1% |
| Other | 1.32% |
Posted Computational 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 | 31.56% |
| 3 to 5 years | 45.14% |
| 6 to 8 years | 12.23% |
| 9+ years | 11.08% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Computational 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 (80.6%)
- Communication (40.39%)
- Innovation (23.23%)
- Writing (17.71%)
- Presentations (17.13%)
- Mentorship (17.05%)
- Leadership (15.4%)
- Mathematics (13.19%)
- Problem Solving (12.46%)
- Self-Motivation (12.35%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Statistics (22.53%)
- Systems Biology (11.96%)
- Machine Learning (45.14%)
- Python (Programming Language) (54.71%)
- Genomics (28.81%)
- R (Programming Language) (46.34%)
- Computer Science (40.73%)
- Computational Biology (56.84%)
- Bioinformatics (51.38%)
- Biology (58.67%)
- Data Analysis (38.49%)
- Artificial Intelligence (27.5%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Programming Languages (11.06%)
- Large Language Modeling (2.47%)
- Generative Artificial Intelligence (3.77%)
- Transformer (Machine Learning Model) (3.81%)
- Next-Generation Sequencing (8.67%)
- PyTorch (Machine Learning Library) (8.48%)
- Deep Learning (13.71%)
- Ribonucleic Acid Sequencing (23.54%)
- Data Science (18.76%)
- Scripting (6.91%)
- Informatics (4.6%)
- Structural Biology (5.61%)
- Software Engineering (6.76%)
- Scientific Literature (5.83%)
- TensorFlow (6.73%)
- Research Experiences (9.19%)
- Postdoctoral Research (8.59%)
- Pharmaceuticals (8.07%)
- Physics (9.04%)
- Neuroscience (10.65%)
- Project Management (5.04%)
- Oncology (13.38%)
- Life Sciences (4.6%)
- Scalability (6.43%)
- Pathology (4.6%)
- Genetics (24.4%)
- Whole Genome Sequencing (5.46%)
- Github (3.48%)
- Drug Discovery (14.31%)
- Drug Development (6.61%)
- Linux (10.24%)
- Data Integration (5.9%)
- Data Processing (5.75%)
- Image Analysis (4.11%)
- Immunology (19.81%)
- Cloud Computing (6.99%)
- Version Control (5.12%)
- Unix (5.87%)
- C++ (Programming Language) (7.74%)
- Automation (2.91%)
- DNA Sequencing (10.69%)
- Bash (Scripting Language) (2.65%)
- Biochemistry (11.29%)
- Biotechnology (10.39%)
- Molecular Biology (24.07%)
- Biostatistics (13.27%)
- Biophysics (3.96%)
- Amazon Web Services (5.23%)
- Cell Biology (13.23%)
- Chemistry (6.39%)
- Applied Mathematics (4.26%)
- Biochemical Assays (8.41%)
- Algorithms (16.97%)
- C (Programming Language) (5.42%)
- Java (Programming Language) (1.98%)
- Epigenetics (7.77%)
- Proteomics (17.19%)
- Phenotyping (7.44%)
- Workflow Management (15.13%)
- Git (Version Control System) (7.29%)
- Machine Learning Methods (3.7%)
- Biomarkers (13.94%)
- Statistical Analysis (5.57%)
- Laboratory Experience (3.77%)
- Cancer Biology (10.76%)
- Computational Tools (6.24%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Disease Biology (5.83%)
- Protein Structures (3.77%)
- Molecular Dynamics (3.21%)
- Functional Genomics (6.13%)
- Computational Genomics (3.44%)
- Cancer Genomics (3.85%)
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.
- Disease Biology (9.68%)
- Computational Biology (94.35%)
- Protein Structures (6.27%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Computational Biologist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- Computational Scientist
- Postdoctoral Associate
- Postdoctoral Research Associate
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow
- Principal Scientist
- Postdoctoral Researcher
- Research Scientist
- Bioinformatics Intern
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.
- Bioinformatician
- Research Scientist
- Biologist (General)
- Data Scientist
- Research Associate (General)
- Molecular Biologist
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Computational Biologist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Merck & Co. (101)
- Genentech (82)
- Broad Institute (56)
- Bristol-Myers Squibb (52)
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (42)
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (41)
- Beacon Hill Staffing Group (38)
- MD Anderson Cancer Center (36)
- TeMPus (31)
- Harvard University (31)
North Carolina
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (9)
- University of North Carolina Wilmington (7)
- University of North Carolina (5)
- North Carolina State University (3)
- Ramona Optics (2)
- TeMPus (1)
- Atrium Health (1)
- Agricultural Research Service (1)
- United States Department of Agriculture (1)
- Trucking People (1)
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.