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 453 Microbiologist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 7858 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 2016:
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 $89,198.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $91,156.
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 $76,069.
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 | 73.71% |
| Master's Degree | 22.97% |
| Doctoral Degree | 12.55% |
| Other | 4.22% |
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 | 55.85% |
| 3 to 5 years | 33.22% |
| 6 to 8 years | 7.79% |
| 9+ years | 3.14% |
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.
- Communication (33.74%)
- Quality Control (32.87%)
- Research (30.87%)
- Management (23.14%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (22.56%)
- Operations (21.23%)
- Detail Oriented (20.6%)
- Investigation (19.56%)
- Problem Solving (19.29%)
- Writing (17.43%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Endotoxin Testing (7.55%)
- Microbiology (74.44%)
- Environmental Monitoring (21.97%)
- Good Manufacturing Practices (36.75%)
- Biology (57.47%)
- Chemistry (23.27%)
- Microbiological Testing (19.16%)
- Virology (5.71%)
- Laboratory Experience (22.72%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Polymerase Chain Reaction (12.44%)
- Pharmaceuticals (20.88%)
- Project Management (8.78%)
- Laboratory Information Management Systems (10.34%)
- Laboratory Techniques (11.12%)
- Laboratory Testing (14.93%)
- Life Sciences (5.5%)
- Standard Operating Procedure (17.53%)
- Pathology (1.88%)
- Genetics (4.33%)
- Sterilization (7.23%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (6.44%)
- Reagent (9.03%)
- Immunology (9.99%)
- Medical Laboratory (12.8%)
- Calibration (4.36%)
- Corrective And Preventive Action (CAPA) (7.32%)
- Biochemistry (16.89%)
- Biotechnology (6.02%)
- Molecular Biology (17.11%)
- Data Analysis (12.38%)
- Asepsis (19.15%)
- Aseptic Processing (7.72%)
- Biochemical Assays (16.43%)
- Auditing (11.81%)
- Quality Management Systems (7.4%)
- Laboratory Equipment (22.02%)
- Analytical Testing (7.64%)
- Laboratory Procedures (11.63%)
- Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) (17.86%)
- Laboratory Safety (7.22%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Sterility (4.65%)
- Pharmaceutical Microbiology (1.21%)
- Gram Staining (4.71%)
- Medical Microbiology (2.57%)
- Bacterial Cultures (6.42%)
- Bacteriology (5.34%)
- Mycology (2.06%)
- Bioburden Testing (13.14%)
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.
- Endotoxin Testing (24.04%)
- Virology (18.19%)
- Microbiological Testing (61.04%)
- Gram Staining (15.01%)
- Sterility (14.8%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Microbiologist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Quality Control Microbiologist
- Scientist
- Medical Laboratory Scientist
- Associate Scientist
- Director of Microbiology
- Microbiology Specialist
- Microbiology Manager
- Research Microbiologist
- Clinical Microbiologist
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.
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 (446)
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (316)
- Eurofins (200)
- Kelly Services (144)
- University of Pennsylvania (73)
- Life Technologies (71)
- Tyson Foods (61)
- K&A Recruiting (56)
- Momentum Staffing Group (55)
- University of Colorado System Office (52)
North Carolina
- Actalent (95)
- Alcami Corporation (22)
- Eurofins (17)
- Grifols (17)
- Duke University (14)
- Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (13)
- Fujifilm (12)
- Baxter International (9)
- Kbi Biopharma (8)
- Eli Lilly (8)
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.