Cell Biologist

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A Cell Biologist studies plant and animal life and conducts research to understand cells and cell systems. May teach cell biology or specialize in clinical research, cell culture, medical research and treatment, pharmaceutical, biotechnology or plant research. Directs research experiments and staff, operates specialized equipment and analyzes and reports research results.

Job Outlook

There were 59 Cell Biologist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 2279 in the United States.

In combination with other careers in the Biologist industry, which includes the Cell Biologist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:

Salary

Many new Cell Biologist 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 $103,405.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $83,493.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Cell Biologist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $80,704.

Education and Experience

Posted Cell Biologist 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	55.59%
Master's Degree	33.04%
Doctoral Degree	29.93%
Other	10.84%

Posted Cell Biologist 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	45.37%
3 to 5 years	36.82%
6 to 8 years	12.38%
9+ years	5.43%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Cell Biologist 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 (38.31%)
Communication (36.38%)
Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (22.9%)
Detail Oriented (18.03%)
Writing (16.76%)
Management (15.75%)
Problem Solving (13.87%)
Self-Motivation (13.73%)
Innovation (12.68%)
Organizational Skills (12.42%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

Stem Cell Biology (5.04%)
Molecular Biology (25.94%)
Cell Biology (47.2%)
Biochemical Assays (24.46%)
Cell Cultures (43.18%)
Biology (48.68%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

Workflow Management (6.01%)
Genome Editing (4.58%)
Statistical Analysis (2.96%)
Assay Development (5.96%)
Laboratory Experience (13.92%)
Laboratory Equipment (11.1%)
Biotechnology (11.28%)
Tissue Culture (7.44%)
Analytical Techniques (3.14%)
Asepsis (11.6%)
Automation (7.44%)
Biological Engineering (4.99%)
Biopharmaceuticals (8.09%)
Chemistry (7.95%)
Biochemistry (21.13%)
Microscopy (6.93%)
Immunology (11.6%)
Bioprocess (4.35%)
Flow Cytometry (13.82%)
Drug Discovery (4.16%)
Good Manufacturing Practices (9.85%)
Cytology (21.04%)
Data Collection (3.74%)
Data Entry (4.53%)
Field Research (3.19%)
Environmental Science (4.25%)
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent (ELISA) Assay (9.99%)
Data Analysis (15.77%)
Pathology (9.57%)
Gynecology (8.97%)
Life Sciences (5.41%)
Scientific Literature (3.24%)
Western Blot (7.3%)
Process Development (9.75%)
Project Management (9.34%)
Polymerase Chain Reaction (8.23%)
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reactions (8.41%)
Pharmaceuticals (5.78%)
Technical Writing (5.59%)
Ribonucleic Acid Sequencing (7.67%)
Mammalian Cell Cultures (18.77%)

Distinguishing Skills

A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.

Cell Growth (2.08%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with Cell Biologist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

Cytologist
Scientist
Cell Culture Scientist
Associate Scientist
Biologist
Assistant Professor of Biology
Postdoctoral Fellow
Cell Culture Technician
Molecular Biologist

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.

Common Employers

Here are the employers that have posted the most Cell Biologist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

Stantec (87)
Eurofins (67)
University of California (58)
Thermo Fisher Scientific (54)
Actalent (53)
Healthcare Connections (48)
Geisinger Health System (37)
Fladger Associates (36)
Health Advocates Network (32)
Tellus Solutions (31)

North Carolina

WakeMed (10)
Greene Resources (5)
East Carolina University (4)
Actalent (3)
United Therapeutics Corporation (3)
University of North Carolina (2)
TGI Friday's (2)
Western Carolina University (2)
ASGN (2)
Tune Therapeutics (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.

Science and Research