Biochemist: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
10% of biochemists earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $74,290
- Hourly
- $35.71
- Source
- BLS May 2025
25% of biochemists earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $95,000
- Hourly
- $45.67
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Half of biochemists earn more than this and half earn less.
- Annual
- $127,410
- Hourly
- $61.26
- Source
- BLS May 2025
75% of biochemists earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $163,460
- Hourly
- $78.59
- Source
- BLS May 2025
90% of biochemists earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $201,110
- Hourly
- $96.69
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Biochemists study the chemical composition or physical principles of living cells and organisms, their electrical and mechanical energy, and related phenomena. The median pay is $127,410 a year ($61.26 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is post-doctoral training (40% of occupation experts surveyed by O*NET).
- Median pay
- $127,410
- BLS May 2025
- Employed in the U.S.
- 33,830
- BLS May 2025
- Preparation
- Job Zone 5 of 5
- extensive preparation
- Most common education
- Post-Doctoral Training
- 40% of occupation experts
Data Government data groups this job as Biochemists and Biophysicists (O*NET-SOC 19-1021.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.
Biochemists at a glance
Biochemists and biophysicists in the United States earned a median annual wage of $127,410 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry-level education for biochemists and biophysicists in the United States.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS projects employment of biochemists and biophysicists in the United States to grow 12.3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,900 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS estimated that 33,830 people were employed as biochemists and biophysicists in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Every page for Biochemists
What biochemists do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by occupation experts (O*NET).
- Share research findings by writing scientific articles or by making presentations at scientific conferences.
- Teach or advise undergraduate or graduate students or supervise their research.
- Study physical principles of living cells or organisms and their electrical or mechanical energy, applying methods and knowledge of mathematics, physics, chemistry, or biology.
- Manage laboratory teams or monitor the quality of a team's work.
- Develop new methods to study the mechanisms of biological processes.
- Write grant proposals to obtain funding for research.
- Design or perform experiments with equipment, such as lasers, accelerators, or mass spectrometers.
- Determine the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, English Language, Physics, Education and Training.
Software biochemists use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- Electronic lab notebook softwareAnalytical or scientific softwareIn demand
- Adobe PhotoshopGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
- Extensible markup language XMLEnterprise application integration softwareHot technology
- IBM SPSS StatisticsAnalytical or scientific softwareHot technology
- Microsoft VisioProcess mapping and design softwareHot technology
- SASAnalytical or scientific softwareHot technology
- The MathWorks MATLABAnalytical or scientific softwareHot technology
- 3D graphics softwareGraphics or photo imaging software
- Accelrys Cerius2Analytical or scientific software
- Accelrys FELIXAnalytical or scientific software
- Accelrys Insight IIComputer aided design CAD software
- Accelrys QAUNTAAnalytical or scientific software
Also called: Analytical Research Chemist, Biophysics Researcher, Scientist.
How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.