Quick answer:Biotechnology degrees lead into laboratory, bioprocessing, quality and regulatory work rather than only research. Entry technician roles run $57,510 to $60,390 at the median, with medical scientists at $103,410 and natural sciences managers at $167,220 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). 176 institutions award the degree, employment is geographically concentrated, and the laboratory component of a program is normally completed on campus.
Biotechnology at a Glance
Metric
Detail
Source
Median annual wage, natural sciences managers
$167,220
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Wage range, natural sciences managers
$79,710 (10th pct) - $316,850 (90th pct)
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Employment, natural sciences managers
108,690
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Projected change (2024-34)
3.7%, about 8,500 openings per year
BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34
Typical credential
Bachelor’s or master’s
Program catalogs
Regulatory framework
FDA good manufacturing practice and good laboratory practice
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Institutions awarding
176
IPEDS Completions, 2024
SOC codes covered
11-9121 natural sciences managers; 19-4021 biological technicians; 19-1042 medical scientists; 19-4031 chemical technicians
BLS OEWS, May 2025
The Career Ladder, Bottom to Top
Role
Median
75th percentile
Employment
Biological technicians
$57,510
$71,520
69,620
Chemical technicians
$60,390
$75,900
57,540
Medical scientists
$103,410
$139,380
172,340
Natural sciences managers
$167,220
$221,540
108,690
All figures BLS OEWS, May 2025.
This is one of the steepest ladders on the site, and the shape is worth reading carefully. The entry tier pays comparably to a skilled trade. The top tier - $167,220 at the median, $316,850 at the 90th percentile - is the highest of any occupation covered here. The distance between them is measured in years and, usually, in further study.
The Part of Biotechnology Nobody Puts on the Brochure
Biotechnology is presented as a research field. Most of the jobs are not research.
A commercial biomanufacturing facility is a plant. It runs bioreactors, pumps, heat exchangers, clean steam, water-for-injection systems, filtration skids, instrumentation and control systems - all of it under documentation requirements that make a normal factory look casual. Somebody maintains that equipment. Somebody calibrates the instruments. Somebody investigates why a batch deviated.
For readers of this site, that is the door. Process technicians, manufacturing associates, calibration and metrology technicians, facilities and utilities staff, and quality personnel are all real jobs in this industry, and the people who do them well are often people who came from regulated production or industrial maintenance rather than from a biology department.
The degree matters because it supplies the science vocabulary - what a cell culture is doing, why sterility matters, what the process is actually for - on top of technical skills that transfer.
What the Coursework Covers
Molecular and cell biology - the science floor the rest sits on
Analytical methods - chromatography, spectroscopy, assay development and validation
Quality systems and regulatory affairs - GMP, GLP, validation, batch records, deviation investigation
Bioinformatics - the computational side, increasingly central
Laboratory practice - the hands-on component, and the reason a fully online biotechnology degree should be questioned
Program emphasis varies more than in most fields. Some biotechnology degrees are essentially applied molecular biology; others are manufacturing-oriented and much closer to process engineering. Read the course list, because the two lead to different jobs.
Geography, and Why It Matters More Here
Biotechnology employment is concentrated in a relatively small number of research and manufacturing clusters. The national figures on this page describe an industry that is not evenly distributed the way construction or health care is.
That has two consequences worth planning around. First, program availability tracks employer location, which is part of why only 176 institutions award this degree. Second, a job search in this field is often a relocation decision. Check where the employers actually are before treating the national numbers as a local forecast.
Biotechnology is not a licensed occupation. What regulates the work is the environment rather than the person - FDA good manufacturing practice and good laboratory practice govern process development and production roles, and employers train to them.
Credit transfer is decided by the receiving institution and genuinely varies, so request a written transfer evaluation before you enroll.
Job Titles That Do Not Say “Biotechnology”
Searching for biotechnology jobs by that name returns research postings and misses most of the industry. The roles a biotechnology degree actually opens are usually titled something else.
Manufacturing associate or process technician - running the production process under GMP. The largest entry category in commercial biomanufacturing.
Quality control analyst - laboratory testing of raw materials, in-process samples and finished product against specification.
Quality assurance specialist - documentation, batch record review, deviation and change control. Less laboratory, more system.
Validation engineer or validation specialist - proving that equipment, processes and software do what they are supposed to, and documenting it to a regulator’s satisfaction.
Metrology and calibration technician - keeping instruments within tolerance and evidencing it.
Facilities and utilities technician - clean steam, water systems, HVAC in classified space, and the plant that keeps a sterile process sterile.
The last three in particular are where an industrial maintenance or instrumentation background is a direct qualification rather than a curiosity, and they are consistently harder for employers to fill than laboratory positions are.
Is It Worth It?
The case for is the ceiling and the direction of travel. A $167,220 median at the management tier with a $316,850 90th percentile is the top of this site’s range, the underlying industry is expanding, and the manufacturing side offers a genuine entry point for people with technical rather than academic backgrounds.
The case against is concentration and runway. The entry wage is comparable to a skilled trade, the climb takes years and often further study, and the jobs are where the clusters are. Anyone treating this as a general-purpose degree available anywhere has misread it.
Is college worth it covers the general tradeoff. Individual outcomes may vary.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can you do with a biotechnology degree?
The common entry roles are biological technician at a median of $57,510 and chemical technician at $60,390, moving toward medical scientist at $103,410 and natural sciences manager at $167,220 with experience and further study (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Manufacturing and quality roles in bioprocessing are a large and less-discussed part of the field.
Can you study biotechnology online?
Partly. Molecular biology, bioprocess principles, regulatory affairs and bioinformatics coursework all deliver at a distance. Wet laboratory work does not, and a biotechnology degree with no hands-on laboratory component is worth questioning closely. Most programs described as online are hybrid.
Is biotechnology a good field for someone from a technical trade?
Biomanufacturing is the part of it that reads across. A commercial bioprocessing facility runs vessels, pumps, sterilization systems, clean utilities, instrumentation and controls, all under strict documentation. That is a plant, and people who have maintained plants understand more of it than a biology graduate does. Individual outcomes may vary.
What is GMP and why does it matter here?
Good manufacturing practice is the FDA framework governing how regulated products are made and documented. In biotechnology it shapes nearly everything about the working environment - procedures, batch records, deviations, validation. Employers train to it, and prior experience in any regulated production setting is an advantage.
How many schools offer biotechnology degrees?
176 institutions awarded CIP 26.1201 at bachelor's or master's level in 2024 (IPEDS Completions, 2024). That is a moderate supply, and it is unevenly distributed - biotechnology programs cluster near biotechnology employers.
Is biotechnology employment growing?
The management tier is projected to change by 3.7 percent from 2024 to 2034, with about 8,500 openings per year, and medical scientists by 8.7 percent (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34). Growth is real but the field is geographically concentrated, which matters more here than the national rate does.
Do you need a PhD to work in biotechnology?
For independent research, generally yes. For the large majority of jobs in the industry - manufacturing, quality, process development, regulatory, technical support - no. A bachelor's or master's is the working credential, and the research-track assumption puts a lot of people off a field where most of the roles are not research.
Colleges Offering This Degree
How we rank schools – graduation rate, graduate earnings, cost and retention.
Advertising plays no part.
This page lists 10 schools, closest group first, then ordered by
BOC Score with the highest at the top.
10 of them carry a score.
LOCAL RANK
Location / proximity to this page
Defines the local group
Graduation rate how often students finish
30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry whether it paid off
25%
Average net price what students actually pay after aid; lower ranks higher
20%
Retention rate how many come back for year two
15%
Fully online availability whether you can study while working
10%
Scores come from IPEDS (2024) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Earnings are for all graduates of a school, not one program, so treat them as a signal
about the institution rather than about this subject.
Sponsored listings are paid placements and are labelled as such; they are separate from
this ranking and never change it. Read the full methodology.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 - Natural Sciences Managers (SOC 11-9121), Biological Technicians (SOC 19-4021), Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists (SOC 19-1042), Chemical Technicians (SOC 19-4031)
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2024-34
U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Completions, 2024 - CIP 26.1201
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, current good manufacturing practice regulations
About this guide: Researched and written by the TradeCareerPath Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches and sources every trade school and career guide using federal labor and education data, including BLS OEWS and Employment Projections, DOL apprenticeship records, IPEDS, College Scorecard, and state licensing boards. We follow the editorial standards documented at /editorial-policy/.
