Biology

How Much Can You Earn With A Biology Degree?

Biology degrees can lead to different salaries based on the type of degree and the focus of study. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that biological technicians earned a median annual salary of $46,340 in 2020, and the highest 10% of people in this career earned over $74,600 annually. Students can go on to pursue this career with an associate degree.

With a bachelor’s degree, students can become biology teachers at the high school level. In 2020, the BLS reported that high school teachers earned a median annual salary of $62,870, with the top 10% earning over $102,130. With a bachelor’s degree, students can also pursue careers as environmental scientists, which earned an annual median salary of $73,230 in 2020.

Students with a master’s degree can earn up to $106,320 annually as a zoologist or $125,280 as an agricultural scientist. With a doctorate degree, students can move on to earn even higher salaries of over $164,650 as medical scientists or $169,860 as biochemists or biophysicists.

The salary you can earn with a biology degree will depend on how far you continue your education and which focus you choose to pursue. With so many biology degree careers to choose from, you can work toward your desired salary.

What Can You Do With A Biology Degree?

Pursuing a biology degree will teach you skills to think critically, perform research, solve problems and study the natural world. With an associate degree in biology, students can move on to prepare for entry-level careers as assistants or technicians. Specifically, they can pursue jobs as clinical research assistants, veterinarian technicians, laboratory assistants, medical assistants and medical and pharmaceutical sales representatives. An associate degree usually takes about two years to complete, and it can lead to excellent careers in biology.

When you earn an associate degree at MWCC, you can move on to a 4-year college or university that offers either a bachelor of arts (BA) in biology or a bachelor of science (BS) in biology. A bachelor of science in biology focuses on research and is great for students planning to enter the medical career field. A bachelor of arts in biology focuses more on the liberal arts than on mathematics or laboratory practices.

Some students further their education past a bachelor’s degree and earn a master’s degree. With a master’s degree, students can advance their careers in teaching, wildlife biology and agricultural science.

When students earn a doctorate degree, they can further their careers even more. Students in a doctoral program choose a subset of the biology field to focus on. These subsets include molecular biology, neurobiology and ecology. Students can become laboratory directors and managers, college professors and science researchers in industrial or government settings with a doctorate degree.

Students can also become physicians if they take extra medical training in addition to their biology degree. There are many careers in biology and opportunities for students with a biology degree, and an associate degree is the first step toward these opportunities.