10 Top Entry-level Jobs for Biology Majors

Most students after getting their biology bachelor’s degree face a problem of starting their career and don’t know what they should do next.

Also, there is a possibility that you haven’t chosen your major still and now you’d like to learn what career options are available for biology students.

The truth is that biology is a rather diverse area and there are lots of career options.

But still most these careers require Master’s degree or Ph.D. but still, there are pretty many offers for Bachelors of Biology.

Those who don’t want to continue their training or want to start earning right away will be able to find some career options.

This article will provide you with information on ten entry-level careers for majors in biology.

All these options are among the easiest jobs you can start after finishing your college education.

Moreover, each option guarantees your career growth and development so you have the possibility to earn more in the future.

Biological Technician

One of the entry-level jobs available after getting your Biology Bachelor degree is a biological technician.

This job will be especially convenient for those who already have some laboratory experience but it’s not an obligatory requirement.

Starting this career, you’ll be working as a scientists’ assistant during the lab researches.

Professional Duties

Daily duties of biological technician contain such points as:

• Cleaning and maintaining the laboratory as well as technical equipment and work surfaces;
• Preparing samples (microbial cultures, plant or animal matter, etc.) for their further analysis;
• Conducting basic experiments supervised by senior scientists that provide you with guidance;
• Analyzing and interpreting data got during the experiments that were held earlier;
• Preparing documentation and reports with information on the observations and findings.

Required Skills

If you want to work as a technician or an assistant, you need to have a bunch of important skills including:

• Analytical and critical skills, used for making analysis and providing logical conclusions;
• Technical abilities that are required for proper lab duties performance;
• Interpersonal skills, to provide appropriate communication with a team;
• Coordination and judgment so to make it possible to prioritize, understand and perform a variety of complex tasks.

Salary

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data shows that the average salary of a biological technician is about $43 800 per year.

Among the main factors that influence your salary are your experience and the company, you work for.

The minimal salary is about $29 120 while the maximum is about $70 560.

Microbiologist

Normally, microbiologists start their career working as biological technicians.

Nevertheless, if your training contained microbiology classes, you have an opportunity to get an entry-level microbiologist position.

Microbiologists held researches and studies related to microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi.

Professional Duties

Microbiologists have lots of various duties that can vary due to the numerous factors.

Among the possible duties there are:

• Samples analysis and any microorganisms identification;
• Microorganisms segregation and lab cultures maintenance;
• Research projects division and maintenance including such aspects as studying the effect of a drug on a bacterial disease;
• Studies about how microorganisms can influence the environment and other organisms;
• Reports and papers writing to document and present the findings.

Required Skills

If you want to work as a microbiologist you need to be able to perform numerous skills such as:

• Preservation: Researching microorganisms can be really challenging and there are maybe lots of errors. You should have incredible preservation to hold your researches;
• Team skills. This job requires a lot of teamwork so you should be able to communicate with your colleagues properly;
• Analytical and logical thinking. This job requires excellent statistical skills and the ability to make logical conclusions;
• Excellent time management. Microbiologists may have several projects simultaneously so you need to manage your time effectively so you can meet deadlines.

Also, if you are attentive and focused personality, it’ll give you some extra points while looking for a job.

Salary

In general, microbiologist earns about $69 960 per year.

Of course, as a beginner, you are going to have a smaller salary until you gain some experience.

The highest salary for a microbiologist is about $129 560 per year.

Occupational Health and Safety Specialist

Occupational health and safety specialist is one of the most significant professions in the workforce market.

It’s a professional that control the safety of workplaces and work procedures in order to determine there is no danger for health and life.

In fact, this profession isn’t biology-related but Biology Bachelor can apply for an entry-level position.

Professional Duties

Starting your career as an occupational health and safety specialist you should be able to perform such duties as:

• Workplace environments and procedures inspection to make sure that everything is safe and the government standards are met;
• Current workplace health and safety measures analysis;
• Developing strategies to resolve the reviled issues and the implementation of these procedures;
• Accidents and the investigation and prevention of their causes;
• Employers and employees’ health and safety education and knowledge testing.

Moreover, you should be able to hold inspections of such issues as fire procedures, ventilation systems, and protective equipment.

After it, you need to be able to write a report on the inspection.

Required Skills

If you want to work as occupational health and safety specialist, you should have such skills as:

• Physical stamina. Starting your career, you need to take into account that there is a lot of traveling and walking.
• Communication skills. Making an inspection you’ll meet various people and it’s really important to communicate with them properly.
• Technological abilities. As you need to check different equipment and its work, you should be familiar with it and understand its work principles.
• Perfectionism. Your work has an impact on other people health so it’s really important to perform your job on the highest level.

Salary

According to BLS, the average salary of occupational health and safety specialist is about $71 780 per year.

In case you want a really high salary, it would be better to start your career at a hospital as their average salary is $73 270 per year.

Food Scientist

Everyone likes delicious food and if you want to start your career as a food scientist and have a Bachelor degree there are lots of available options.

Working in this area you should hold some researches in order to analyze and develop various food types.

There is even a possibility to study food on the molecular level.

Professional Duties

Working as a food scientist you’ll have a bunch of various duties. Among the main duties there are:

• Food testing and analysis to get data about its nutritional characteristics;
• Food contaminants detection with the help of special equipment;
• Discovering and developing new ways to manufacture and package food;
• Working on such issues as food shelf life, safe and healthy food production and its low cost;
• Food preparation and processing areas inspections to check whether all government standards are kept.

Required Skills

Food scientists require, more or less, the same sorts of skills that most scientists and technologists have.

In fact, food scientists should be able to perform the same skills that any scientist or technologist should have.

There such important skills as:

• Critical-thinking: This skill is absolutely important for making researches and providing its analysis and results.
• Mathematical skills: This job deals with lots of statistics so you should be able to analyze it and make some calculations.
• Independence: One of the main points is that it’s important to be able to work alone without any help or supervision.
• Presentation skills: After finishing your researches you need to present its results properly with all necessary explanations.

If you are really passionate about food, you’ll for sure get some extra points looking for a job.

Salary

Food scientist can get a rather high salary that is $63 000 per year in general.

Of course, at the very beginning, you’ll be earning less but it will grow together with your experience.

If you succeed in your career, you’ll be able to earn up to $116 520 per year.

Medical Laboratory Technician

Those biology students who want to work in the healthcare field but don’t want to start with such low-paying options as phlebotomy can become medical laboratory technicians.

To start your career, you need to have your biology degree but in some states, a license is among the main requirements.

You can get more information on the issue addressing the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science.

For more info about this career path:

How to Become a Medical Technologist: The Definitive Guide

Professional Duties

Typically, working as a medical laboratory technician need to perform such duties as:

• Skin and bone samples, biopsies, blood, and urine analysis with the help of special equipment;
• Findings documentation and its recording to patients’ medical records;
• Findings analysis discussing it with doctors and other medical staff.

Moreover, sometimes medical laboratory technicians may need to collect samples from patients.

As soon as you get enough experience, you’ll be asked to choose some specific area such as blood bank technologist.

This specialist performs such duties as a collection, analysis, and preparation of blood for further operations.

Necessary Skills

If you want to succeed as a medical laboratory technician you need:

• A strong stomach. Working as a laboratory technician you may work with various samples including fecal or urine.
• Excellent dexterity. It’s an absolutely important skill considering the fact you must work with a bunch of really small objects.
• Technological skills. You need to be familiar with some specific equipment and software.
• Attention to detail. In this profession, instructions and data changes have a big significance and you need to be able to take it into consideration.

Salary

Starting your career as a medical laboratory technician you can earn about $29 640.

Your salary will increase as soon as your experience grows.

The average salary in this area is $51 770 per year.

Environmental Scientist

Those who have a biology degree and interested in environmental protection can become an environmental scientist.

These specialists make environment researches and reveal ways of its protection.

Those who have a Biology degree have an opportunity to apply for this job.

Professional Duties

As an environmental scientist, you’ll gather data, analyze it and use it to learn about our environment.

You’ll help to develop plans to reduce harm to the environment and ensure that environmental regulations are being followed correctly.

Working as an environmental scientist you need to collect, analyze and use data to get more information on the environment.

This data is used for plans of environment protection and improvement.

To perform this job well you need such skills as:

• Research projects development, environment protection, and harmful effect reduction;
• Air, soil and water samples collection;
• Samples analysis and information extrapolation;
• Preparation of reports, presentations, and articles about researches and results;

Required Skills

Starting your career an environmental scientist, there are such required skills:

• Mathematical and analytical skills. You need to be able to collect, analyze and calculate a lot of data.
• Communication and oratory skills. It’s really important to present the results of your researches properly.
• Technological skills. You need to be able to use various software to keep and analyze data.
• The flexibility so you can work both independently and in a team.

Salary

According to the data provided by the BLS, environmental scientist earns about $69 400 per year.

The minimal salary is about $41 580 while the maximum salary is $122 510 per year.

Pharmaceutical Sales Representative

Getting your biology degree and thinking about your career, you may not think about such an option as a sales representative.

Nevertheless, you can become a pharmaceutical sales representative and sell and promote various medications.

Professional Duties

A pharmaceutical sales representative should perform such duties as:

• Appointments, meetings and clients’ database arrangement and management.
• Meetings with clients.
• Communication with clients and making presentation providing information about new products.
• Giving information on the products and services offered by the company your work at.
• Sales and expense report preparation.

Necessary Skills

This job requires such skills as:

• Physical stamina, as you need to travel a lot.
• Organizational skills so you can organize appointments, manage your working hours and databases.
• Customer service skills. It’s important to understand your clients’ needs and meet their expectations.
• Confidence. To promote some products and services you should be able to convince the clients to buy it.

One another significant skill is an excellent understanding of medical issues so you can provide appropriate information on various drugs and pills.

Salary

As it is mentioned by BLS, the median salary of the sales representative is $78 830 but it can vary significantly as it depends on your professional performance and based on commission.

Forensic Science Technician

Looking for some entry-level biology jobs, you should know that a forensic science technician is one of the most interesting options.

These people work in police to help to solve crimes by collecting and analyzing shreds of evidence.

You can get more information about the job at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Professional Duties

Working as a forensic science technician you’ll be working in a laboratory as well as at crime scenes and your duties will be:

• Crime scene analysis and shreds of evidence collection;
• Making photos, sketches, and notes at crime scenes;
• Crime scenes reconstruction;
• Making shreds of evidence analysis and drawing conclusions to reveal suspects;
• Providing reports with all details about each evidence.

Consider the fact that starting your career you’ll be working under the supervision.

Required Skills

If you want to become a successful forensic science technician you need to have specific skills such as:

• Attention to detail. It’s important to observe and analyze crime scenes and find shreds of evidence.
• Mathematical abilities. There are lots of statistics you need to work with so mathematical abilities are among the most significant skills.
• Problem-solving skills. You should be able to reveal the meaning of every evidence and connect it with other shreds of evidence to find suspects.
• A strong mental constitution. This job can be really stressful so it’s absolutely important to be emotionless.

Among other significant aspects, there is an ability to travel, work odd hours and learn new technologies.

Salary

The average salary in this field is $57 850 per year.

As a beginner, you can earn about $33 880 while the biggest salary is $95 600.

Zoologist or Wildlife Biologist

Zoologists and wildlife biologists are rather similar entry-level jobs that work with animals.

Zoologists work with specific animal species, while wildlife biologists study whole populations and ecosystems.

Professional Duties

Working in this area you need to hold lots of various experiments which require numerous skills including:

• Studying and researching animal characteristics, habitat, behaviors and interactions;
• Monitoring wild animals’ populations and tracking their’ movement;
• Examining and helping to reduce humans’ influence on wild animals’ life.

Consider the fact that you need to held researches of animals’ life and provide reports on your findings.

Required Skills

Starting this career you need to have a bunch of specific skills including:

• Outdoor skills.  Working with wild animals you need to be able to work in their natural environment.
• Interpersonal skills. Working in a team you should be able to create an appropriate atmosphere in your group.
• Observation skills. You need to be able to spend hours observing animals and mention all the details.
• Reasoning skills. It’s important to analyze data and make conclusions.

Also, such skills as problem-solving and mathematical skills, mental stamina and a love of animals are really important.

Salary

An average salary of zoologist or wildlife biologist is about $62 290.

The lowest salary is $39 620 2hile the highest salary is $99 700 per year.

High School Biology Teacher

Are you passionate about biology?

You can try to become a high school biology teacher but consider the fact that it’s a really challenging and tiring job.

Nevertheless, it’s absolutely rewarding.

According to the studies held by the Institute of Labor, Economics teachers are among those individuals who are s the most satisfied with their career.

Professional Duties

Teacher professional duties involve:

• Students teaching;
• Classes planning;
• Assessing students, grading assignments and exams;
• Communicating with parents;
• Supervising students.

Moreover, you should be able to take into account your students’ needs, their age specifics, and interests.

As a result, most of your free time may be taken by lessons’ planning but you get more free time during vacations.

Required Skills

To begin with, if you want to become a teacher, you need not only a degree but also a license.

You can find more information on the issue at the website Teach.org.

Among the required skills there are:

• People skills. The main part of your job is related to communication with students, parents, and colleagues and it’s important to do it properly.
• Confidence. This job is really hard and it’s absolutely important to assert authority so you can control classes and groups of students.
• Self-discipline. It’s important to be able to organize your time properly as you need to do a lot of planning, reviewing and so on.
• Patience. Teaching is really stressful so you need a lot of patience to deal with your students.

Along with the above, great teachers also have humor, imagination, and resourcefulness.

Salary

Average biology teacher salary is $59 170.

Consider that beginners earn about $ 39 080 while the most experienced teachers earn up to $95 380 per year.

After learning about 10 the most popular entry-level job for biology bachelors you know where to look for your first job.

However, there are lots of other options.

You just need to take your time and search for all available options to start your career.

One another opportunity to get more career options you can continue your education.

Master’s degree will provide you with more opportunities to start a successful career.

Also, you can look for some internship as an opportunity to gain your first job getting enough experience.