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 biologist, 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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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.
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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Biological illustrators create illustrations that help people learn about biology or communicate biological information. Click each photo for more detail.
Some biotechnologists use plants to create technologies. Click each photo for more detail.

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Conservation scientists often focus on learning information to benefit the survival of a specific species or area. Click each photo for more detail.
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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Endocrinologists study how hormones affect physiology, behavior, and survival. Click each photo for more detail.
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

Fisheries scientists may work to find a balance between protecting a species and supporting fishing communities. Click each photo for more detail.

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

Histologists study the anatomy of cells and tissues of living organisms. Click each photo for more detail.
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

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.
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

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.
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

Photobiologists study how light affects organisms and biological processes. Click each photo for more detail.
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 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 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

Virologists study viruses, their evolution, development, and reproduction, and the effects that they have on their hosts. Click each photo for more detail.
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!

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Additional images via Wikimedia Commons.