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Career: a job or area of work that someone does for a long time, usually the majority of their working life.

What Jobs Are There for Biologists?

Here are some of the career options available to a biologist. While they may each require different amounts of education and training, each is important for helping to understand the diverse world of biology. This list does not contain all the possible careers, but gives an idea about the many unique career possibilities available. To give you a more detailed idea of what you could do as a biolfogist, we've highlighted several specific jobs or areas of study, often from researchers associated with Arizona State University's School of Life Sciences.

Many of these careers also overlap. For example, as part of an animal physiologist's job, he or she may write about research findings for the public (science writing), use research findings to help a species survive (conservation scientist), or communicate information about a species through art (biological illustrator). Once you have some ideas for what you are interested in, check out some job search tools under our Budding Biologists section of the Links page to see what types of jobs are available.

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Job Name    What They Study or Do
  • Anatomist
   the shape, size, and position of various parts of an organism
  • Animal behaviorist
  the behaviors of animals
  • Animal scientist
  non-wildlife animals, including those that are domestic or farmed
  human beings in both the present and the past
  • Archaeologist
  human activity in the past
  • Astrobiologist
  the origin, evolution, and future of life in the universe
Peter Marting working on electronics for the Flick-o-matic
 
Lone Azteca ant searching
 
Some animal behaviorists use a range of skills in research, from detailed observation skills, to skills in electronics and engineering. Click each photo for more detail.
 
Lipid bilayer micelle
 
 
Jess Corman and Jorge Ramos collecting microbes
 

Astrobiologists conduct a wide variety of studies to help them learn about how life began. Click each photo for more detail.  

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            Job Name   What They Study or Do
  • Biochemist
   the chemical processes within living organisms
  • Bioengineer        
  solves real-world problems (often related to human health) using knowledge from biology
  • Bioethicist
  moral issues that may occur as scientists make new discoveries in biology and medicine
  • Biogeographer
  the geographic distribution of organisms
  • Bioinformation scientist  
  creates new software, programs, or organization for scientists to understand large sets of information
  • Biological illustrator 
  uses creative illustrations to help people learn about biology
  • Biomechanic
  structure and function of biological systems in living things 
  • Biomedical researcher 
  develops new products or information that aids the field of medicine 
  • Biophysicist 
  physics involved in living systems 
  • Biostatistician 
  designs experiments and analyzes data 
  • Biotechnologist 
  uses a biological system or organism to create a new technology
  • Botanist 
  structure and function of plants 
 
Sabine Deviche working on the plant poster for Ask A Biologist
 
Beetle illustration by Sabine Deviche
 
Biological illustrators create illustrations that help people learn about biology or communicate biological information. Click each photo for more detail.
protein representation created by KL using Cn3D based on PDB 3o9m
 
Kathy Larrimore injects bacteria into a tobacco relative.
 





 

 
Some biotechnologists use plants to create technologies. Click each photo for more detail.

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             Job Name   What They Study or Do
  • Cellular biologist
   organisms, focusing on the processes that happen in or between cells
  • Conservation scientist
  Earth's biodiversity; main goal is to protect species and ecosystems from extinction
  • Dentist
  specialist in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases of the mouth
  • Developmental biologist
  how organisms' organs grow and develop
  • Doctor
  diagnoses and treats human disease, injury, and other ailments
Sea turtle tracking by Jesse Senko
 
Sea turtle caught in a net
 

Conservation scientists often focus on learning information to benefit the survival of a specific species or area. Click each photo for more detail.

Human head section
 
Doctor in surgery
 

Doctors focus on human health, whether they treat or prevent disease or injuries, or they study specific diseases. Click each photo for more detail.

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             Job Name   What they Study or Do
  • Ecologist
   organisms and their interaction with the environment
  • Embryologist
  development of the embryo between fertilization and the time the embryo becomes a fetus
  • Endocrinologist
  the endocrine system, the collection of glands in the body that produce and secrete hormones
  • Entomologist
  studies insects
  • Environmental lawyer
  create, implement, and defend laws and regulations relating to the effects of human activity on the natural environment
  • Environmental scientist
  environmental problems like pollution and climate change, as well as how humans see and feel about the environment
  • Epidemiologist
  causes and effects of health and disease on human or animal populations
  • Evolutionary biologist
  evolutionary processes of living things on Earth
 
Pierre Deviche retrieves a bird from  a bird net
 
 
Centipede parental care
 
Endocrinologists study how hormones affect physiology, behavior, and survival. Click each photo for more detail.
K2 in the Himalayas
 





 
Environmental lawyer
 
Environmental lawyers fight to protect the natural environment. Click each photo for more detail.

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     Job Name   What they Study or Do
  • Fisheries scientist
   works at a fishery, which can be wild fish habitat or a place where fish are bred for recreational or commercial purposes
  • Food scientist
  food, including creating new foods or improving the processes used to produce food
  • Forensic scientist
  gathers and studies information to understand events that have occurred in the past
  • Forester
  managing forests, including the use of forest resources for recreational purposes or commercial goods
  • Geneticist
  genetics, the study of genes
  • Genomicist
  the assembly, sequence, and function of genomes, the complete set of DNA within the cell of an organism
Mar Mancha interviews fishermen
 
Gillnet bycatch
 
Fisheries scientists may work to find a balance between protecting a species and supporting fishing communities. Click each photo for more detail.
 
Sugar cube carmelization
 
 
Louis Pasteur
 
Food scientists create or study new food, food-related safety measures, or preservation processes. Click each photo for more detail.

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             Job Name   What they Study or Do
  • Herpetologist
   amphibians (for example, frogs) and reptiles (for example, snakes)
  • Histologist
  the microscopic anatomy of cells and tissues of an organism
  • Histopathologist
  tissue on the microscopic scale in order to understand the effects of disease
  • Historian of biology
  documents the history of how the study of biology has happened and changed over time
  • Horticulturist
  improves the way that fruits, vegetables, and plant-based foods are produced
  • Ichthyologist
  fish
  • Immunologist
  the immune system, the body’s system that fights disease
  • Journal editor
  judge, edit, and monitor research publications
  • Kinesiologist
  human movement
  • Landscape architect
  planning and design of gardens and other landscapes
  • Limnologist
  the properties, such as chemical and physical, of inland bodies of water
 
scientist looking through microscope
 
Spongy bone histology slide
 
Histologists study the anatomy of cells and tissues of living organisms. Click each photo for more detail.
Gambusia marshi
 





 
Eric Moody taking water samples
 
Icthyologists study fish. Because this is a specialty on a specific type of organism, they might study many different things about fish, such as behavior, physiology, or ecology. Click each photo for more detail.

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             Job Name   What they Study or Do
  • Mammalogist
   mammals
  • Marine biologist
  organisms that live in the ocean or in brackish bodies of water 
  • Medical assistant
  performs administrative and other tasks in a doctor’s office
  • Medical illustrator
  records medical knowledge by creating illustrations
  • Mental health professional
  specializes in the services for treating and maintaining a person’s mental health
  • Microbiologist
  characteristics and growth of very small (microscopic) organisms such as fungi
  • Microscopist
  uses microscopes to study objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye
  • Molecular biologist
  interactions of various systems of a single cell
  • Morphologist
  internal and external features of organisms and their function
  • Mycologist
  fungi
Fish and wildlife marine bird
 
Mantis shrimp
 
Marine biologists work on organisms that live in or depend on the sea, such as seabirds, crustaceans, and microscopic plankton. Click each photo for more detail.
 
Morning Glory hot spring in Yellowstone
 
 
Microbiologists working for the USDA
 
Microbiologists study microbial life, including bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Microbiologists may work in the lab a lot, but many also get outside to study these organisms in the wild. Click each photo for more detail.

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             Job Name   What they Study or Do
  • Naturalist
  understands a variety of life and processes, usually of a particular area
  • Nature writer
   writing personal observations and scientific information to relay information about the natural environment
  • Neuroscientist
  the nervous system and how it controls the various systems and processes of an organism
  • Nurse
  cares for individuals, families, and communities so that they may maintain or recover a healthy quality of life
  • Ornithologist
  birds
  • Osteopath
  uses alternative health practices to treat patients, including postural, nutritional, and other health services
Neroscientists testing reaction speeds
 
A dog running through a maze
 
Neuroscientists focus their work on the nervous system, which includes mainly the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. Some neuroscientists study humans, but others work with different animal species. Click each photo for more detail.
Captured great bustard
 
Kessler and team observing bustards
 
Ornithologists study birds. Because this is a specialty on a specific type of organism, they might study many different things about birds, such as bird behavior or how to conserve a certain species. Click each photo for more detail.

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             Job Name   What they Study or Do
  • Paramedic
   works in emergency medical situations
  • Parasitologist
  parasites, their hosts, and the interaction between them
  • Paleontologist
  fossils to determine the evolution of an organism, as well as its interaction with other organisms and the environment
  • Philosopher of biology
  ethical issues that may occur as a result of exploring different theories and concepts in the biological sciences
  • Photobiologist
  how light interacts with and affects organisms
  • Phycologist
  algae
  • Physical therapist
  promotes and restores the functional abilities of a person after an injury
  • Physiologist
  various systems (cells, tissues, organs) of an organism that work to carry out body functions
  • Plant scientist or plant ecologist
  plant life, plant species diversity and distribution.
  • Population biologist
  populations of organisms, such as the regulation of population size or the extinction of a particular population
  • Professor
  teach college biology courses
  • Proteomicist
  structure and function of proteins
Leaf litter photodegredation
 
triops swimming upside down
 
Photobiologists study how light affects organisms and biological processes. Click each photo for more detail.
La Cebadilla Cienega
 
Dustin Wolkis recording soil metrics
 
Plant scientists may study plant physiology, plant distribution, plant ecology, or more plant-related subjects. Click each photo for more detail.

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    Job Name   What they Study or Do
  • Radiologist
  diagnose disease using medical imaging 
  • Research scientist
  conducts a variety of research for a specific university or establishment
  • Science journalist
   takes very technical information written by scientists and rewrites it in a way that is easy for a nonscientist to read, while still including the important scientific information of the work
  • Science writer
  writes to convey information about science to the public
  • Soil scientist
  soil as a natural resource, including its biological properties and classification
  • Sustainability scientist
  works to understand the consequences of human actions on the Earth
  • Teacher
  teach students about biology
  • Technologist
  collects samples from humans and performs tests to analyze body fluids, tissues, and other substances
  • Theoretical biologist
  uses available data from known theories of biology in order to generate new theories
  • Thermal biologist
  how heat interacts with and affects living organisms
 
Science observations
 
 
Algae biofuel tubes
 
Science writers form a bridge between scientists and the public. They take difficult, often dense, information, and communicate it in a way that is interesting and understandable to people unfamiliar with the subject matter. Click each photo for more detail.
 
Thermal choice set up for Drosophila egg laying
 
Egg containers
 
Thermal biologists study how heat or temperature affects how living organisms behave, how their bodies work or develop, and how they evolve. Click each photo for more detail.

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             Job Name   What they Study or Do
  • Underwater photographer
  captures images of aquatic life
  • Veterinarian
   treats diseases and injuries of non-human animals
  • Virologist
  structure, classification, and evolution of viruses and virus-like agents
  • Wildlife manager
  balances the needs of humans with the needs of animals or other organisms in the wild
  • X-ray crystallographer
  atomic and molecular structures of crystals made from organic matter (protein crystals, for example)
  • ZooKeeper
  manages animals housed in a zoo for conservation purposes or to be viewed by the public
  • Zoologist
  animals
 
Virologist garb
 
HIV virus
 
Virologists study viruses, their evolution, development, and reproduction, and the effects that they have on their hosts. Click each photo for more detail.
Ocelot by Karla Moeller
 
Karla Moeller training a black rhinoceros at Fossil Rim Wildlife Park
 
Zookeepers are involved in the care, training, and breeding of exotic species, many of which are important to national breeding programs. Click each photo for more detail.

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Remember, we couldn't cover all the types of biologists and many of these jobs overlap. So if there is an organism or a biological process you are interested in studying, make sure to search for information on it.

Your perfect biology job is out there!


Additional images via Wikimedia Commons. 

Read more about: What's a Biologist?
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https://askabiologist.asu.edu/careers

Bibliographic details:

  • Article: Biology Careers A to Z
  • Author(s): Dr. Biology
  • Publisher: Arizona State University School of Life Sciences Ask A Biologist
  • Site name: ASU - Ask A Biologist
  • Date published: 17 Feb, 2015
  • Date accessed:
  • Link: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/careers

APA Style

Dr. Biology. (Tue, 02/17/2015 - 11:01). Biology Careers A to Z. ASU - Ask A Biologist. Retrieved from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/careers

American Psychological Association. For more info, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/

Chicago Manual of Style

Dr. Biology. "Biology Careers A to Z". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 17 Feb 2015. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/careers

MLA 2017 Style

Dr. Biology. "Biology Careers A to Z". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 17 Feb 2015. ASU - Ask A Biologist, Web. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/careers

Modern Language Association, 7th Ed. For more info, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/
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