Pharmacology Research Scientist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Pharmacology Research Scientist performs scientific research with the aim of discovering new solutions or improving existing ones within the field of use and effects of drugs.
Job Outlook
There were 27 Pharmacology Research Scientist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 1510 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Medical Scientist industry, which includes the Pharmacology Research Scientist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Pharmacology Research Scientist jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $141,191.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $141,191.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Pharmacology Research Scientist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $95,654.
Education and Experience
Posted Pharmacology Research Scientist jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 38.01% |
| Master's Degree | 38.28% |
| Doctoral Degree | 67.88% |
| Other | 1.66% |
Posted Pharmacology Research Scientist jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 26.77% |
| 3 to 5 years | 38.02% |
| 6 to 8 years | 17.66% |
| 9+ years | 17.55% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Pharmacology Research Scientist positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Research (48.01%)
- Communication (38.41%)
- Presentations (25.03%)
- Writing (24.7%)
- Innovation (24.3%)
- Leadership (24.11%)
- Management (20.73%)
- Decision Making (17.42%)
- Verbal Communication Skills (16.03%)
- Mentorship (15.43%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Biology (41.53%)
- Pharmacology (27.34%)
- Good Manufacturing Practices (8.13%)
- Drug Development (36.78%)
- Pharmaceuticals (40.01%)
- Clinical Trials (27.41%)
- R (Programming Language) (24.52%)
- Pharmacodynamics (42.77%)
- Pharmacokinetics (47.66%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Assay Development (3.51%)
- Laboratory Experience (5.99%)
- Biomarkers (14.53%)
- Regulatory Documents (15.56%)
- Statistical Analysis (3.79%)
- Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) (4.2%)
- Laboratory Equipment (4.48%)
- Small Molecules (15.43%)
- Biochemical Assays (18.32%)
- Data Analysis (27.07%)
- Biopharmaceuticals (18.94%)
- Biostatistics (10.12%)
- Molecular Biology (11.5%)
- Biomedical Engineering (16.6%)
- Chemical Engineering (7.3%)
- Immunology (8.95%)
- Metabolism (8.33%)
- Clinical Study Design (11.57%)
- High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (5.92%)
- Marketing (9.85%)
- Cell Biology (11.57%)
- Chemistry (19.49%)
- Biochemistry (19.77%)
- MATLAB (15.36%)
- Medicinal Chemistry (4.06%)
- Biotechnology (9.92%)
- Cell Cultures (10.81%)
- Statistics (13.02%)
- Pre-Clinical Development (15.77%)
- Clinical Research (3.1%)
- Pharmaceutical Sciences (44.97%)
- Translational Medicine (8.26%)
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent (ELISA) Assay (8.06%)
- Flow Cytometry (6.82%)
- Drug Discovery (22.45%)
- Western Blot (6.96%)
- Laboratory Techniques (3.44%)
- Project Management (6.27%)
- Clinical Pharmacology (34.23%)
- Life Sciences (6.06%)
- New Product Development (11.85%)
- Oncology (11.23%)
- Scientific Literature (8.88%)
- Toxicology (6.4%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Response Models (8.82%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Response Models (13.5%)
- Drug Development (56.33%)
- Pharmaceutical Sciences (68.88%)
- Pharmacokinetics (73%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Pharmacology Research Scientist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Pharmacologist
- Clinical Pharmacologist
- Pharmaceutical Scientist
- Director of Pharmacology
- Scientist
- Director of Clinical Pharmacology
- Associate Scientist
- Research Pharmacologist
- Principal Scientist
- Sales Intern
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Biomedical Scientist
- Biologist (General)
- Drug Safety Scientist
- Assay Development Scientist
- Natural Science Research Manager (General)
- Research Associate (General)
- Cell Biologist
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Pharmacology Research Scientist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- AbbVie (139)
- Johnson & Johnson (113)
- Merck KGaA Darmstadt Germany (76)
- Eli Lilly (65)
- Pfizer (47)
- State University of New York (33)
- Actalent (29)
- University of Minnesota (29)
- Gilead Sciences (20)
- Merck & Co. (20)
North Carolina
- Eli Lilly (4)
- Catalent (3)
- Actalent (2)
- Xyzagen (2)
- Merck KGaA Darmstadt Germany (1)
- King & Spalding (1)
- Icon (1)
- Research Triangle Institute (1)
- University of North Carolina (1)
- Campbell University (1)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.