Life, Physical, and Social Science · Holland code IRC

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

Conduct research dealing with the understanding of human diseases and the improvement of human health. Engage in clinical investigation, research and development, or other related activities.

Also called: Clinical Research Scientist, Research Scientist, Scientist, Study Director, Clinical Laboratory Scientist (Clinical Lab Scientist), Clinical Pharmacologist, Medical Researcher, Physician Scientist.

O*NET 19-1042.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $103,410; Middle half earn $79,840 to $139,380. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Doctoral Degree; 36% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +9% · Much faster than average; 165,300 jobs in 2024, projected 179,600. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Medical scientists".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Follow strict safety procedures when handling toxic materials to avoid contamination.
Evaluate effects of drugs, gases, pesticides, parasites, and microorganisms at various levels.
Plan and direct studies to investigate human or animal disease, preventive methods, and treatments for disease.
Prepare and analyze organ, tissue, and cell samples to identify toxicity, bacteria, or microorganisms or to study cell structure.
Standardize drug dosages, methods of immunization, and procedures for manufacture of drugs and medicinal compounds.
Conduct research to develop methodologies, instrumentation, and procedures for medical application, analyzing data and presenting findings to the scientific audience and general public.
Teach principles of medicine and medical and laboratory procedures to physicians, residents, students, and technicians.
Study animal and human health and physiological processes.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Writing4.3 / 5
Speaking4.1 / 5
Science4.1 / 5
Active Learning4.1 / 5
Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Biology4.7 / 5
English Language4.1 / 5
Medicine and Dentistry3.7 / 5
Chemistry3.4 / 5
Mathematics3.2 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.0 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic54
Investigative100
Artistic24
Social38
Enterprising20
Conventional45

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

physiologist · DE Physiologe/Physiologin · FR physiologiste
specialist biomedical scientist · DE Experte Biomedizinische Wissenschaften/Expertin Biomedizinische Wissenschaften · FR médecin d’études cliniques
toxicologist · DE Toxikologe/Toxikologin · FR toxicologue
biomedical scientist advanced · DE Wissenschaftlicher Experte Biomedizinische Forschung/Wissenschaftliche Expertin Biomedizinische Forschung · FR ingénieur de recherche biomédicale/ingénieure de recherche biomédicale
immunologist · DE Immunologe/Immunologin · FR immunologiste
biomedical scientist · DE Biomedizintechniker/Biomedizintechnikerin · FR technicien de biologie médicale/technicienne de biologie médicale

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Biochemists and biomedical scientists (2113)68,000 employed
Natural and social science professionals n.e.c. (2119)36,500 employed
Other researchers, unspecified discipline (2162)78,200 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.28. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (19-1042).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test