Medical Researcher
Impact: Patient outcomes and public health
Conducts rigorous scientific investigations to advance medical knowledge and develop new treatments. Designs experiments, analyzes data, and publishes findings to contribute to public health and patient care.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Moderate
- Team vs solo
- 70% Team / 30% Solo
- Client facing
- Rarely
- Impact visibility
- High
- Travel
- 5-15% for conferences and collaborations
- Schedule flexibility
- Flexible
- Remote work
- Limited Remote
- Typical work hours
- 45-55 hours/week
- Stress level
- High
At a glance
- Median salary
- $120,000
- Entry-level
- $70,000 - $90,000
- Senior
- $180,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 10% (faster than average)
- Demand
- Growing
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- High to 150% growth from entry to senior
- Typical student debt
- $100,000 - $200,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Statistical Analysis
- Scientific Writing
- Laboratory Techniques
- Data Interpretation
- Grant Writing
- Molecular Biology
Soft skills
- Critical Thinking
- Problem Solving
- Communication
- Collaboration
- Adaptability
Technical complexity: Very High
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Doctoral or Professional Degree
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 5-8 years
- Years to senior
- 10-15 years
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Research Assistant
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- Research Scientist
- Principal Investigator
- Department Head
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 20% to low risk
- AI disruption risk
- Moderate
- Demand trend
- Growing
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 3.9/10
- Meaning
- 4.5/10
- Work-life balance
- 3.2/10
- Prestige
- 8.5/10
- Social perception
- High