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Science is the study of discovering and increasing understanding of how the physical world operates. Using controlled methods scientists gather observable physical evidence of natural occurrences to collect data. They then analyze this information to explain how things work. There are many methods of gathering and analyzing data including conducting experiments that strive to simulate natural phenomena under controlled conditions. People who work in the scientific research and development industries create many of today's technologies that change the way we live and improve our quality of life including medical advances.
Due to the ever-changing technological advancements taking place in this field, new disciplines continue to be created. However, the fields of science are commonly classified along a few major lines of study:
Career Education
Most scientific careers require extensive postsecondary education. Some technicians start their career directly after high school or upon completing an associate degree. While others choose to start their career after completing a bachelor's degree and then become researchers or return to school for additional graduate education. For science occupations other than a researcher a bachelor's degree is the minimum level of education needed to start a position. Senior researchers usually hold a master's or Ph.D. degree. Physical and life science occupations require a Ph.D. even for entry-level research positions. A bachelor's degree is the minimum education needed for many positions in development or teaching outside of the life sciences. However, a master's degree is also common for these positions. The changes and advances in all areas of science require on-going training for workers to keep pace with developments in their fields.
Schools for Science are listed in the column to the left.
This table shows summary data on occupations in the US. Clicking on any occupation name brings you to a page showing job prospects and salaries for that occupation in hundreds of metro areas across the country, with data updated through 2008.(Where data is denoted by an asterisk (*), summary info was not available.
The green bars in the table below indicate the relative salary levels and growth rates of each occupation, compared to the others. The levels are determined by sorting the occupations (by salary or growth rate, separately) and then dividing them into ten groups corresponding to the the ten possible green bar levels. So a single bar means the occupation is in the bottom 10% for that characteristic compared to others on this page.
Click each Occupation title for more details.
| Occupation | Jobs | Median Pay | % Growth 2006-2016 | Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropologists and Archaeologists | 5,230 |  $53,910 |  15% |  |
| Biochemists and Biophysicists | 22,230 | $82,840 | 15.9% | |
| Biological Scientists | 28,290 |  $65,080 |  3.7% | |
| Chemists | 83,080 |  $66,230 |  9.1% | |
| Conservation Scientists | 15,830 |  $58,720 | 5.3% | |
| Environmental Scientists | 80,120 | $59,750 | 25.1% | |
| Epidemiologists | 4,370 |  $61,360 | 13.6% | |
| Food Scientists | 10,510 |  $59,520 |  10.3% | |
| Foresters | 10,160 | $53,750 | 5.1% | |
| Medical Scientists | 99,750 | $72,590 | 20.2% | |
| Microbiologists | 15,750 | $64,350 | 11.2% | |
| Physicists | 14,810 | $102,890 | 6.8% | |
| Sociologists | 4,390 | $68,570 | 10% |
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