Most common destination first. Every card carries the national median annual wage, projected employment change and openings over 2024–2034, and the typical education people already in the job hold.
What Can You Do With a Biology Degree?
Below are 14 occupations that biology graduates commonly move into, most common first. Biological Technician leads at $57,510 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025); across the whole list the middle occupation pays $93,455 and 4 of 14 typically need a graduate degree. A major is a body of study, not a job assignment, so treat every entry as a common destination rather than a promise.
What the degree actually involves: Cell biology, genetics, ecology, and long lab sessions with careful protocols.
Biology is the standard pre-health major, so a large share of its graduates are aiming past the degree at medical, dental or physician assistant school. The graduates who stop at the bachelor most often land in laboratory, technical and field roles; the research careers below need a doctorate.
- Common destinations
- 14
- Median pay range
- $57,510–$135,880
- Projected to grow
- 13 of 14
- Need a graduate degree
- 4 of 14
5 with a full profile page
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP typical entry, 2024–2034
How this list was built
- The destinations are the occupations biology graduates commonly move into. They are ordered by how common the destination is, not by what it pays, so the ordinary outcomes sit at the top where they belong rather than being buried under the flattering ones.
- Every destination is matched to a real occupation in the 923-occupation NueCareer career bank. A destination that does not resolve to a bank occupation is dropped rather than shown without data.
- All pay, growth, openings and education figures come from that bank: BLS OEWS May 2025 for wages, BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 for projected change, annual openings and the typical education needed for entry, and O*NET 30.3 Database for what the work involves. Nothing is estimated and no figure here is generated by an AI model.
- Destinations whose BLS typical entry education is a master’s or a doctoral or professional degree are marked Graduate study on the list. That flag is read from the federal data, not asserted by us.
- What this list is not: a ranking of which destination you should pick, a statement of how many graduates reach each one, or a promise that the degree entitles you to any of them. Read the full methodology.
14 careers a biology degree commonly leads to
1. Biological Technician
Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Median pay
- $57,510
- Growth
- +3.5%
- Openings/yr
- 9,100
- Education
- Bachelor's
Assist biological and medical scientists.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
2. Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologist
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Median pay
- $62,930
- Growth
- +1.7%
- Openings/yr
- 22,600
- Education
- Bachelor's
Perform complex medical laboratory tests for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologist salary & outlook →3. High School Teacher
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $72,040
- Growth
- -1.6%
- Openings/yr
- 66,200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Teach one or more subjects to students at the secondary school level.
High School Teacher salary & outlook →- Median pay
- $104,920
- Growth
- +1.9%
- Openings/yr
- 27,200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers where technical or scientific knowledge is required in such areas as biology, engineering, chemistry, and electronics, normally obtained from at least 2 years of postseconda…
Sales Representative, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Product salary & outlook →5. Environmental Scientist and Specialist, Including Health
Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Median pay
- $82,220
- Growth
- +4.4%
- Openings/yr
- 8,500
- Education
- Bachelor's
Conduct research or perform investigation for the purpose of identifying, abating, or eliminating sources of pollutants or hazards that affect either the environment or public health.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
6. Microbiologist
Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Median pay
- $87,990
- Growth
- +4.1%
- Openings/yr
- 1,700
- Education
- Bachelor's
Investigate the growth, structure, development, and other characteristics of microscopic organisms, such as bacteria, algae, or fungi.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
- Graduate study
7. Physician Assistant
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Median pay
- $135,880
- Growth
- +20.4%
- Openings/yr
- 12,000
- Education
- Master's
Provide healthcare services typically performed by a physician, under the supervision of a physician.
Physician Assistant salary & outlook → 8. Biologist
Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Median pay
- $98,920
- Growth
- +1.2%
- Openings/yr
- 4,800
- Education
- Bachelor's
Research or study basic principles of plant and animal life, such as origin, relationship, development, anatomy, and functions.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
9. Wildlife Biologist
Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Median pay
- $76,780
- Growth
- +1.6%
- Openings/yr
- 1,400
- Education
- Bachelor's
Study the origins, behavior, diseases, genetics, and life processes of animals and wildlife.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
10. Molecular and Cellular Biologist
Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Median pay
- $98,920
- Growth
- +1.2%
- Openings/yr
- 4,800
- Education
- Bachelor's
Research and study cellular molecules and organelles to understand cell function and organization.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
- Graduate study
11. Biochemist and Biophysicist
Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Median pay
- $127,410
- Growth
- +5.8%
- Openings/yr
- 2,900
- Education
- Doctorate
Study the chemical composition or physical principles of living cells and organisms, their electrical and mechanical energy, and related phenomena.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
12. Geneticist
Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Median pay
- $98,920
- Growth
- +1.2%
- Openings/yr
- 4,800
- Education
- Bachelor's
Research and study the inheritance of traits at the molecular, organism or population level.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
- Graduate study
13. Medical Scientist, Except Epidemiologists
Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Median pay
- $103,410
- Growth
- +8.7%
- Openings/yr
- 9,600
- Education
- Doctorate
Conduct research dealing with the understanding of human diseases and the improvement of human health.
Medical Scientist, Except Epidemiologists salary & outlook → - Graduate study
14. Biological Science Teacher, Postsecondary
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $84,620
- Growth
- +7.3%
- Openings/yr
- 5,400
- Education
- Doctorate
Teach courses in biological sciences.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
Does a biology degree decide your career?
For most people, no. Federal survey data has consistently found that only a minority of US graduates work in a job closely related to their degree field, and that share falls further with each year after graduation. The exceptions are the fields where a licence sits at the end of the degree, and they are exceptions precisely because the route is fixed.
The practical reading of the list above is this: 10 of the 14 destinations are typically entered with a bachelor's degree or less, and 4 typically need a master's or a doctoral or professional degree (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034). If the destination you want is in the second group, the extra years are part of the decision from day one, not a detail to sort out later.
Not sure this is the right major in the first place? Take the free college major quiz — fifteen questions that score what you like doing against what each major actually asks of you, and show the same real occupations underneath every match.
Biology degrees: FAQ
Do you need a master's degree after a biology degree?
For 10 of the 14 destinations on this page, no: BLS Employment Projections (2024–2034) list a bachelor's degree or less as the typical entry requirement. The other 4 typically need a master's or a doctoral or professional degree, and each is marked on the list below. "Typical" describes what people already in the job hold, not an admissions rule.
What is the highest-paying career a biology degree leads to?
Of the 14 destinations on this page, Physician Assistant has the highest national median wage at $135,880 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), against $50,980 for all US occupations. Typical entry education for it is master's, so it usually means further study after the degree. A median is the midpoint of everyone in the job today, so a first salary normally sits well below it.
Which of these careers hires the most people each year?
High School Teacher, with about 66,200 projected openings a year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034). Across all 14 destinations on this page the combined figure is roughly 181,000 openings a year. Openings include replacing people who leave, not just new jobs, which is why a slow-growing occupation can still hire heavily.
Is a biology degree worth it?
That depends on the price you pay for it, which this page cannot know. What it can tell you is where the destinations sit: the middle occupation on this list pays $93,455 a year against $50,980 for all US occupations, the range runs $57,510–$135,880, and 13 of the 14 are projected to grow over 2024–2034 (BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034).
How was this list of careers put together?
The destinations were curated as the occupations biology graduates commonly move into, ordered by how common rather than by pay, then matched against the 923-occupation NueCareer career bank. Every figure shown comes from that bank: wages from BLS OEWS May 2025, projected change and annual openings and typical entry education from BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, and occupation descriptions from O*NET 30.3 Database. Nothing is estimated, and no figure on this page is generated by an AI model.
What can you do with other degrees?
- Computer Science
- Nursing
- Mechanical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Business Administration
- Finance and Accounting
- Marketing
- Psychology
- Chemistry
- Education
- Communications and Journalism
- Graphic Design
- Political Science and Pre-Law
- Environmental Science
- Kinesiology and Exercise Science
- Social Work
- Mathematics and Statistics
- Hospitality and Event Management
- Criminal Justice
- Sociology
- Public Health
- Philosophy
- Health Science
- History
- Anthropology
- English
- Nutrition and Dietetics
- Art History
- Information Technology
- Human Resources
- Economics