Annual Salary
£24,000 to £40,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
Swap to Maths or Science or go back to all job sectors or go to green jobs
Swap to Maths or Science or go back to all job sectors or go to green jobs
Biologists study living things, including people, animals and plants, along with the environments they live in.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; occasionally
There will be
2.4% more Biologist jobs in 2027.
Your tasks will depend on your specialism but you could:
Possible green job
This job could help the environment.
For a biologist to be a green job, you could:
Find out more about green careers
You may need to wear protective clothing.
You could work in a laboratory, at a research facility or at a university.
Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time.
You can get into this job through:
You'll usually need a relevant degree and often a postgraduate master's qualification in a life science subject like:
Employers may also want you to have experience in your area of interest and possibly a PhD.
You'll usually need:
You could begin by doing a degree apprenticeship.
For example:
The Level 6 apprenticeship takes around 5 years to complete.
The Level 7 apprenticeships are likely to have a higher entry criteria and typically take 2 to 3 years.
You'll usually need:
You could start as a laboratory technician and train as a biologist by working and studying for a relevant qualification at the same time.
You can learn more about the latest biological research projects from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
This can be useful to talk about when it comes to course and job interviews.
You could join the Royal Society of Biology for your professional development.
You can find more details about careers, courses and training in biology from the Royal Society of Biology.
With experience you could:become a commercial research project manager; teach in schools, colleges or universities; work in science licensing, patent and trademark rights; advise organisations on policy as a freelance scientific consultant; go into science communication, such as media and scientific journalism
If you work in academic research, you could also lead projects and become a senior research fellow or professor.
Another related job is as a marine biologist:
Marine biology is the study of organisms and ecosystems in the oceans and other saltwater environments. This includes marine plants, animals and other organisms, both vertebrate and invertebrate, in deep oceans, shallow seas and the laboratory. The main aims of marine biology are to improve understanding of the marine world and to understand and predict changes in ecosystems affected by human and natural disturbances.
Marine biology is a broad-ranging career. You could go into field work, academic research, laboratory work, consulting, charity, outreach or policy making.
Find out more:
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/marine-biologist
https://www.exeter.ac.uk/careers/research/sector/marinebiology/
https://www.conservation-careers.com/how-to-become-a-marine-biologist/
You'll need: