Drug Safety Scientist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Drug Safety Scientist is responsible for managing adverse effects and interactions of drugs, increasing drug safety for users (aka pharmacovigilance). Conducts interactivity studies between pharmaceuticals, monitors study participants for adverse effects and controls access to drugs.
Job Outlook
There were 2 Drug Safety Scientist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 165 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Medical Scientist industry, which includes the Drug Safety Scientist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Drug Safety 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 $128,733.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $128,733.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Drug Safety Scientist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $105,346.
Education and Experience
Posted Drug Safety 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 | 48.48% |
| Master's Degree | 48.48% |
| Doctoral Degree | 76.36% |
| Other | 1.21% |
Posted Drug Safety 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 | 15.7% |
| 3 to 5 years | 28.93% |
| 6 to 8 years | 13.22% |
| 9+ years | 42.15% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Drug Safety 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.
- Research (40%)
- Management (40%)
- Communication (38.18%)
- Writing (23.64%)
- Planning (21.82%)
- Verbal Communication Skills (21.21%)
- Innovation (20%)
- Interpersonal Communications (18.18%)
- Microsoft Office (18.18%)
- Detail Oriented (18.18%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Detection Theory (20.12%)
- Risk Analysis (20.73%)
- Biology (31.71%)
- Risk Management (25%)
- Pharmaceuticals (26.83%)
- Chemistry (29.27%)
- Pharmacovigilance (45.73%)
- Clinical Trials (25%)
- Scientific Literature (22.56%)
- Biopharmaceuticals (24.39%)
- Pre-Clinical Development (21.95%)
- New Product Development (34.15%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Data Analysis (15.85%)
- Good Manufacturing Practices (11.59%)
- Quality Improvement (10.98%)
- Biochemical Assays (18.29%)
- Cell Biology (10.98%)
- Peer Review (10.98%)
- Molecular Biology (7.32%)
- Frequency Distribution (10.98%)
- Materials Science (7.32%)
- Due Diligence (14.02%)
- Process Development (13.41%)
- Nuclear Medicine (10.98%)
- Business Strategies (10.98%)
- Life Sciences (17.07%)
- Biochemistry (15.85%)
- Regulatory Affairs (18.9%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (10.98%)
- Pharmaceutical Sciences (13.41%)
- Mitigation (10.37%)
- Safety Standards (16.46%)
- Immunology (7.93%)
- Biotechnology (8.54%)
- Safety Science (4.88%)
- Small Molecules (9.76%)
- Biomedical Engineering (14.63%)
- Project Management (12.8%)
- Drug Development (18.29%)
- Medical Affairs (17.07%)
- Pharmacology (6.71%)
- High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (4.27%)
- Mergers And Acquisitions (10.98%)
- Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) (12.2%)
- Biologics License Applications (BLA) (6.1%)
- Surgery (8.54%)
- Building Automation (9.15%)
- Process Improvement (3.66%)
- Animal Handling (9.15%)
- Patent Applications (9.15%)
- Oncology (11.59%)
- Toxicology (17.07%)
- Chemical Engineering (12.8%)
- Information Privacy (9.15%)
- Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (6.71%)
- Marketing (14.02%)
- Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) (5.49%)
- Pharmacokinetics (17.07%)
- Drug Discovery (11.59%)
- Regulatory Filings (3.66%)
- Regulatory Documents (9.76%)
- Metabolism (11.59%)
- Biomarkers (3.66%)
- Automation (4.88%)
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.
- Pre-Clinical Development (52.94%)
- Clinical Trials (60.29%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Drug Safety Scientist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Safety Scientist
- Pharmaceutical Scientist
- Scientist
- Engineering Scientist
- Formulation and Drug Delivery Scientist
- Pharmacovigilance Scientist
- Metabolic Specialist
- Associate Scientist
- Process Development Scientist
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.
- Pharmacology Research Scientist
- Biomedical Scientist
- Chemist (General)
- Natural Science Research Manager (General)
- Manufacturing Chemist
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Drug Safety Scientist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Merck (18)
- Beacon Hill Staffing Group (18)
- Bristol-Myers Squibb (15)
- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (7)
- Spectraforce Technologies (5)
- Eurofins (4)
- Novo Nordisk (4)
- Gilead Sciences (4)
- AstraZeneca (4)
- Boehringer Ingelheim International (4)
North Carolina
- Biocryst Pharmaceuticals (1)
- Ribometrix (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.