Microbiologist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Microbiologist studies microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and parasites. Collects samples and grows cultures; isolates and classifies microorganisms and studies their structure, growth and development; monitors the effect of microorganisms on other organisms and the environment.
Job Outlook
There were 299 Microbiologist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 5245 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Microbiologist industry, which includes the Microbiologist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Microbiologist 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 $91,079.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $95,609.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Microbiologist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $77,818.
Education and Experience
Posted Microbiologist 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 | 73.92% |
| Master's Degree | 20.04% |
| Doctoral Degree | 12.81% |
| Other | 4.5% |
Posted Microbiologist 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 | 58.5% |
| 3 to 5 years | 31.72% |
| 6 to 8 years | 6.97% |
| 9+ years | 2.81% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Microbiologist 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.
- Quality Control (38.86%)
- Communication (30.28%)
- Research (22.71%)
- Management (21.98%)
- Operations (20.44%)
- Investigation (19.03%)
- Detail Oriented (18.67%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (17.75%)
- Problem Solving (16.43%)
- Writing (15.82%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Biology (47.74%)
- Environmental Monitoring (20.85%)
- Microbiological Testing (20.54%)
- Good Manufacturing Practices (31.49%)
- Medical Microbiology (4.11%)
- Microbiology (89.05%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Laboratory Experience (19.66%)
- Laboratory Safety (7.67%)
- Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) (14.71%)
- Virology (5.3%)
- Bacteriology (6.18%)
- Food Science (4.4%)
- Laboratory Equipment (20.11%)
- Analytical Testing (5.87%)
- Laboratory Procedures (13.1%)
- Biochemical Assays (15.26%)
- Data Analysis (9.8%)
- Quality Management Systems (7.35%)
- Housekeeping (4.26%)
- Molecular Biology (11.27%)
- Clinical Laboratory Science (10.11%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (6.24%)
- Calibration (4.52%)
- Immunology (7.86%)
- Health Technology (7.71%)
- Chemistry (19.42%)
- Biochemistry (14.36%)
- Auditing (11.5%)
- Corrective And Preventive Action (CAPA) (9.43%)
- Change Control (3.72%)
- Reagent (7.28%)
- Pathology (2.31%)
- Medical Laboratory (16.64%)
- Asepsis (17.9%)
- Pharmaceuticals (15.98%)
- Data Entry (7.43%)
- Standard Operating Procedure (17.43%)
- Sterilization (7.26%)
- Polymerase Chain Reaction (13.08%)
- Infection Control (2.01%)
- Infectious Diseases (5.12%)
- Laboratory Testing (15.76%)
- Laboratory Techniques (8.18%)
- Laboratory Information Management Systems (10.11%)
- ISO/IEC 17025 (3.36%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Bioburden Testing (12.71%)
- Mycology (3.01%)
- Gram Staining (3.97%)
- Bacterial Cultures (5.36%)
- Pharmaceutical Microbiology (1.49%)
- Sterility (3.85%)
- Endotoxin Testing (6.61%)
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.
- Good Manufacturing Practices (83.9%)
- Medical Microbiology (10.94%)
- Gram Staining (10.58%)
- Sterility (10.27%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Microbiologist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Quality Control Microbiologist
- Clinical Laboratory Scientist
- Medical Laboratory Scientist
- Research Microbiologist
- Microbiology Supervisor
- Microbiology Specialist
- Lead Microbiologist
- Clinical Microbiologist
- Director of Microbiology
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.
- Biological Technician
- Microbiology Medical Technologist
- Laboratory Manager
- Clinical Laboratory Technician
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Microbiologist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Actalent (377)
- Eurofins (121)
- The Judge Group (112)
- Kelly Services (68)
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (63)
- Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (49)
- Abbott Laboratories (47)
- University of Pennsylvania (37)
- University of California (37)
- Agricultural Research Service (36)
North Carolina
- Actalent (81)
- Duke University (34)
- Zachary Piper Solutions (18)
- Eurofins (10)
- Baxter International (8)
- Azzur Group (6)
- Eli Lilly (6)
- System One (5)
- Johnson & Johnson (5)
- Piper Companies (5)
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.