Geneticist

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A Geneticist studies genes and the role that genes and heredity play in health and disease or in populations. May diagnose, counsel and treat patients with genetic diseases and disorders, or conduct research to identify genetic disorders. May research genetic interactions with environmental factors or research and develop genetic modification in plant populations.

Job Outlook

There were 17 Geneticist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 755 in the United States.

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

Salary

Many new Geneticist 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 $137,210.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $137,210.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Geneticist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $108,616.

Education and Experience

Posted Geneticist 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	4.11%
Master's Degree	11.13%
Doctoral Degree	62.91%
Other	0.66%

Posted Geneticist 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	57.72%
3 to 5 years	30.87%
6 to 8 years	6.71%
9+ years	4.7%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Geneticist 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 (64.24%)
Teaching (37.09%)
Management (25.83%)
Communication (20.66%)
Writing (15.36%)
Leadership (13.64%)
Presentations (10.73%)
Quality Assurance (10.6%)
Mentorship (10.46%)
Operations (10.46%)

Defining Skills

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

Biochemical Genetics (10.53%)
Pediatrics (38.62%)
Immune Disorder (0.28%)
Genetics (59.69%)
Genomics (47.19%)
Medical Genetics (42.84%)

Necessary Skills

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

Statistical Analysis (2.67%)
Clinical Experience (4.21%)
Genotyping (6.88%)
Phenotyping (8.57%)
Clinical Research (12.5%)
Molecular Biology (13.62%)
Quality Improvement (3.23%)
Clinical Practices (1.54%)
DNA Sequencing (5.9%)
Genetic Counseling (13.2%)
Biochemistry (11.8%)
Metabolism (9.83%)
Biostatistics (3.79%)
Biology (20.08%)
Data Integrity (0.42%)
Python (Programming Language) (9.13%)
Bioinformatics (10.81%)
Data Sharing (0.28%)
Medical Records (1.4%)
R (Programming Language) (10.96%)
Data Analysis (8.15%)
Pathology (3.79%)
Genome-Wide Association Study (4.35%)
Genetics Testing (7.72%)
Genetic Mutations (1.12%)
Scientific Literature (12.78%)
Cytogenetics (7.3%)
Polymerase Chain Reaction (2.25%)
Next-Generation Sequencing (4.35%)
Translational Research (4.35%)
Effective Communication (0.84%)
Molecular Genetics (16.29%)
Genetic Disorders (7.44%)

Distinguishing Skills

A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.

Clinical Cytogenetics (3.93%)
Genetic Markers (1.26%)
Population Genetics (6.04%)

Alternative Job Titles

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

Clinical Geneticist
Molecular Genetics Technologist
Pediatric Genetic Counseling Intern
Medical Geneticist
Research Geneticist
Metabolic Specialist
Statistical Geneticist
Cytogenetic Technician
Physics Faculty

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 Geneticist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

Caris Life Sciences (52)
University of California (29)
Agricultural Research Service (24)
AMN Healthcare (21)
University of Chicago (21)
United States Department of Agriculture (19)
Baylor College of Medicine (15)
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (13)
Hackensack Meridian Health (13)
CompHealth (12)

North Carolina

University of North Carolina (4)
RTI International (3)
Kelly Services (2)
East Carolina University (1)
Caris Life Sciences (1)
Duke University (1)
North Carolina State University (1)
North Carolina State Of (1)
HCA Healthcare (1)
Syngenta Group (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