Also called: Toxicologic Pathologist
Studies how chemicals, drugs, and poisons affect animals, and helps test the safety of new medicines.
Designs safety studies for a new drug at a pharmaceutical company, reviews tissue results from test animals, or works at a poison hotline telling a panicked owner what to do when their dog ate chocolate or lilies hurt their cat.
Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 11 years after high school. DVM and/or PhD in toxicology; board certification.
Ways in: Professional school, Graduate school. Training cost: Over $150k.
Majors to look at: Toxicology, Pharmacology, Pre-Veterinary.
Growing about average. Steady industry demand.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI toxicity models and lab-grown tissue tests are replacing some animal studies; poisoning cases and expert sign-off stay human.
Classes: AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Statistics, Organic chemistry (dual enroll).
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-1042.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.