Science and Research
Geneticist
Career Area: Science and Research
Occupation Group: Biological Science
Salary
Percentile wages tell how much a certain percentage of an overall population in a geographic area or within a given industry or field makes. The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
An example would be the 25th percentile, 25 percent of workers employed in that occupation earn less and 75 percent earn more than the estimated wage value. At the 75th percentile, 75 percent of workers employed in that occupation earn less and 25 percent earn more than the estimated wage value.
A typical Geneticist earns the following wages (national and state):
State
The average salary in North Carolina for those pursuing this career is $68,812
National
The average salary in the United States for those pursuing this career is $76,749
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
Studies genes and the role that genes and heredity play in health and disease or in populations. May diagnose, counsel and treat patients with genetic diseases and disorders, or conduct research to identify genetic disorders. May research genetic interactions with environmental factors or research and develop genetic modification in plant populations.
Employment Trends
The job demand and job growth statistics shown here were derived from job posts over the past year. Expected job growth projections are extrapolated from year-over-year job post listing history.
Job demand and job growth is expected at the following rates:
| Location | Growth | |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 42 | +9.8% |
| Nationwide | 940 | +8% |
Skills
A professional in this position typically utilizes the following skills in the course of everyday work in this exciting and challenging field:
Baseline Skills
The following are baseline skills every Geneticist is expected to have in order to experience success in this field:
- Research: Experience performing creative and systematic work to understand a product, market, or customer, either before building a new solution, or to troubleshoot an existing issue
- Communication Skills: The ability to convey information to another effectively and efficiently.
- Teamwork / Collaboration: Experience working in collaborative efforts with a team to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in the most effective and efficient way.
- Troubleshooting: Troubleshooting or dpanneuring is a form of problem solving, often applied to repair failed products or processes on a machine or a system.
- Detail-Oriented: A detail oriented person is someone who pays attention to the details and can make a conscious effort to understand causes instead of just the effects, and that does this in a second nature type of way.
Specialized Skills
These skills are specific to working in this career:
- Biology: Biology is the natural science that involves the study of life and living organisms, including their physical and chemical structure, function, development and evolution.
- Molecular Biology: Working experience of Molecular Biology. Molecular biology is a branch of biochemistry which concerns the molecular basis of biological activity between biomolecules in the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between DNA, RNA, and proteins and their biosynthesis, as well as the regulation of these interactions.
- Genomics: Within the field of molecular biology, genomics is the study of genomes, the complete set of genetic material within an organism.
- Genetics: Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in living organisms.
- Gene Therapy: Gene therapy is the therapeutic delivery of nucleic acid polymers into a patient's cells as a drug to treat disease.
Distinguishing Skills
Any Geneticist that possesses the following skills will stand out against the competition:
- Molecular Genetics: Molecular genetics is the field of biology that studies the structure and function of genes at a molecular level and thus employs methods of both molecular biology and genetics.
- Mammalian Cell Culture: Mammalian cell culture is at the core of biomanufacturing therapeutic proteins and viral vaccines. Find out how mammalian cells are derived and cultivated, and what opportunities this field holds.
- Virology: Virology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal in virology.
- Human Genetics: Human genetics is the study of inheritance as it occurs in human beings.
- Genome Sequencing: Genome sequencing is figuring out the order of DNA nucleotides, or bases, in a genomethe order of As, Cs, Gs, and Ts that make up an organism's DNA.
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills:
- CRISPR: Working experience of CRISPR, which is a family of DNA sequences in bacteria. The sequences contain snippets of DNA from viruses that have attacked the bacterium. These snippets are used by the bacterium to detect and destroy DNA from similar viruses during subsequent attacks.
- Immunology Research: Immunology is a branch of biology that covers the study of immune systems in all organisms.
Education
This career typically requires the following level of education. The numbers presented in the pie charts below were derived from actual job posts over the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
.| Education Level | % |
| Bachelor's Degree | 35% |
| Master's Degree | 35% |
| Doctoral Degree | 24% |
Experience
This position typically requires the following level of experience. The numbers presented in the pie charts below were derived from actual job posts over the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Experience Required | % |
| 0 to 2 years | 31% |
| 3 to 5 years | 46% |
| 6 to 8 years | 14% |
Many of the programs offered through NC State are designed for working professionals who need additional credentials to enhance existing work experience.
Students who do not have the expected level of experience may wish to look into internship and employment opportunities.
Common Job Titles
It is possible to find work in this field in positions commonly listed as the following job titles:
- Associate Scientist
- Geneticist
- Clinical Geneticist
- Senior Scientist
- Biologist
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring similar occupations, you may want to research the following job titles:
The wage and employment trend information shown here represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is downloaded regularly from Burning Glass Technologies. For more information about how they gather data and what it represents, see Burning Glass Technologies - Frequently Asked Questions.