Also called: Chief Scientific Officer, Entrepreneur
Turns a lab discovery into a company that tries to bring a new drug or tool to market.
Pitches investors in the morning, checks experiment results from the small team at noon, and negotiates lab-space rent in the afternoon. Every week brings a crisis and a small win.
Extremely variable: many founders pay themselves little; successful exits can be worth millions.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 10 years after high school. Often a PhD or MD, but founders come from many backgrounds; business experience helps.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school, Self-taught. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Biology, Bioengineering, Business.
Growing about average. No BLS projection; venture funding swings year to year.
Low risk for 10 years. AI lets tiny teams do more research and paperwork; raising money, hiring and taking the risk stay human.
Classes: AP Biology, Chemistry, Economics or entrepreneurship.
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.