Also called: Food Safety Microbiologist
Tests food for dangerous germs like Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli, and studies how to keep food from spoiling.
You swab factory equipment, grow cultures in petri dishes, and run DNA tests to identify bacteria. When an outbreak hits, you help trace which batch of lettuce or cheese made people sick.
Microbiologists overall.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in microbiology or food science; master's for advanced roles.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Microbiology, Food Science, Biology.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years). Microbiologists overall.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Rapid DNA tests and lab automation speed detection; outbreak work and research stay human, with fewer routine testers.
Classes: AP Biology, Chemistry, Statistics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-1022.
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.