Two commercial real estate firms with a significant presence in the marketing of life sciences properties have issued reports over the past 12 months that illustrate the growth in industry employment in recent years.
One life sciences segment, “Research and Development in Biotechnology” (NAICS code 541714), has largely driven that growth, with its number of jobs more than doubling over the past decade, to 204,800 as of 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data cited by Cushman & Wakefield in “Life Sciences 2020: The Future Is Here,” a report released February 6. Between 2010 and 2019, biotech R&D employment grew 5.1%, compared with 1.6% for total employment. Most of the increase, more than 70,000 jobs, occurred between 2013 and 2019.
In its report highlighting “2019 U.S. Life Sciences Clusters: Markets Positioned for ‘Century of Biology’,” CBRE recorded an 88% jump in biotech R&D jobs between 2001 and 2018, fueling a 42% increase to 1.7 million jobs across the broader life sciences industries—including manufacturing and testing laboratory jobs.
In Massachusetts—home to the nation’s top regional biocluster centered in Boston and Cambridge, MA—the life sciences workforce is projected to grow by 16% or 12,000 jobs by 2024 after rising 35% in the decade ending last year. Yet as the Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation (MassBioEd) noted in its “2019 Massachusetts Life Sciences Employment Outlook,” and GEN Edge reported in December, a gap persists between the growing number of jobs and people skilled enough to fill them.
Below is a list of 10 research and clinical biotech occupations projected to add jobs through 2028, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’Occupational Outlook Handbook updated last September, ranked in order of the number of expected additional jobs to be created between 2018 and 2028. Each occupation also lists the number of jobs in 2018 as counted by BLS, the percentage increase between 2018 and 2028, the median pay per year in 2019, and a description of the position.
Interestingly, for all 10 occupations highlighted in the Handbook, BLS projected smaller increases in jobs from 2018 to 2028 than it did between 2016 and 2026, the 10-year period BLS examined in the previous edition of its Handbook, the basis for GEN’s 2018 A-List of top-10 biotech jobs most in demand. GEN published its first A-List of top-10 jobs in 2014, and published an updated A-List in 2016.
10. Epidemiologists
Projected Employment change, 2018–28: 400 more jobs
Job outlook, 2018–28: 5% (As fast as average)
Number of jobs, 2018: 7,600 jobs
Median pay, 2018: $69,660 per year
About the position: Epidemiologists are public health professionals who investigate patterns and causes of disease and injury in humans. They seek to reduce the risk and occurrence of negative health outcomes through research, community education, and health policy.
9. Biomedical Engineers
Projected employment change, 2018–28: 700 more jobs
Number of jobs, 2018: 19,800 jobs
Job outlook, 2018–28: 4% (As fast as average)
Median pay, 2018: $88,550 per year
About the position: Biomedical engineers combine engineering principles with medical sciences to design and create equipment, devices, computer systems, and software used in healthcare.
8. Genetic Counselors
Projected employment change, 2018–28: 800 more jobs
Number of jobs, 2018: 3,000 jobs
Job outlook, 2018–28: 27% (Much faster than average)
Median pay, 2018: $80,370 per year
About the position: Genetic counselors assess individual or family risk for a variety of inherited conditions, such as genetic disorders and birth defects. They provide information and support to other healthcare providers, or to individuals and families concerned with the risk of inherited conditions.
7. Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists
Employment change, 2018–28: 900 more jobs
Number of jobs, 2018: 19,300 jobs
Job outlook, 2018–28: 5% (As fast as average)
Median pay, 2018: $63,420 per year
About the position: Zoologists and wildlife biologists study animals and other wildlife and how they interact with their ecosystems. They study the physical characteristics of animals, animal behaviors, and the impacts humans have on wildlife and natural habitats.
6. Microbiologists
Employment change, 2018–28: 1,100 more jobs
Number of jobs, 2018: 21,700 jobs
Job outlook, 2018–28: 5% (As fast as average)
Median pay, 2018: $71,650 per year
About the position: Microbiologists study microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, algae, fungi, and some types of parasites. They try to understand how these organisms live, grow, and interact with their environments.
5. Chemical Technicians
Employment change, 2018–28: 1,200 more jobs
Number of jobs, 2018: 70,300
Job outlook, 2018–28: 2% (Slower than average)
Median pay, 2018: $48,160 per year
About the position: Chemical technicians use special instruments and techniques to help chemists and chemical engineers research, develop, produce, and test chemical products and processes.
4. Biochemists and Biophysicists
Employment change, 2018–28: 1,900 more jobs
Number of jobs, 2018: 30,400
Job outlook, 2018–28: 6% (As fast as average)
Median pay, 2018: $93,280 per year
About the position: Biochemists and biophysicists study the chemical and physical principles of living things and of biological processes, such as cell development, growth, heredity, and disease.
3. Biological Technicians
Employment change, 2018–28: 5,700 more jobs
Number of jobs, 2018: 85,000 jobs
Job outlook, 2018–28: 7% (Faster than average)
Median pay, 2018: $44,500 per year
About the position: Biological technicians help biological and medical scientists conduct laboratory tests and experiments.
2. Medical Scientists
Employment change, 2018–28: 10,600 more jobs
Number of jobs, 2018: 130,700
Job outlook, 2018-28: 8% (Faster than average)
Median pay, 2017: $84,810 per year
About the position: Medical scientists conduct research aimed at improving overall human health. They often use clinical trials and other investigative methods to reach their findings.
1. Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians
Employment change, 2018–28: 35,100 more jobs
Number of jobs, 2018: 331,700
Job outlook, 2018–28: 11% (Much faster than average)
Median pay, 2017: $52,330 per year
About the position: Medical laboratory technologists (commonly known as medical laboratory scientists) and medical laboratory technicians collect samples and perform tests to analyze body fluids, tissue, and other substances.
