Pharmaceutical Scientist
Impact: Patient outcomes and public health
Develops and tests new drugs and therapies, ensuring their safety and efficacy through rigorous research and experimentation.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Moderate
- Team vs solo
- 70% Team / 30% Solo
- Client facing
- Rarely
- Impact visibility
- Very High
- Travel
- Minimal
- Schedule flexibility
- Moderate
- Remote work
- Limited Remote
- Typical work hours
- 45-55 hours/week
- Stress level
- High
At a glance
- Median salary
- $120,000
- Entry-level
- $75,000 - $95,000
- Senior
- $160,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 6% (average)
- Demand
- Growing
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- High to 100-110% growth from entry to senior
- Typical student debt
- $100,000 - $200,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Pharmacology
- Analytical Chemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Data Analysis
- GMP/GLP
- Drug Discovery
- Clinical Trials
- Statistical Software
Soft skills
- Critical Thinking
- Problem Solving
- Attention to Detail
- 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 Scientist
- Senior Scientist
- Principal Scientist
- Research Director
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 15% to low risk
- AI disruption risk
- Moderate
- Demand trend
- Growing
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 3.9/10
- Meaning
- 4.2/10
- Work-life balance
- 3.2/10
- Prestige
- 8.5/10
- Social perception
- High