What are the Bioinformatics salaries and the demand for the job? (Is it hard to become a professional)
By: Mahmuda Afreen / Read more about us.
Bioinformatics is one of the hardest jobs in the computer science field and the best earning one too. Among all the growing jobs in the USA, this is at the top with a growth rate of 18% by 2030. In the future, the demand for this skilled position will be beyond imagination. Along with the popularity and high availability of jobs, the pay scale will increase rapidly.
Moreover, these titles have different positions, and those will have different wage ranges. The highest salary will be for the bioinformatics scientist and the lowest belongs to the Bioinformatics analyst.
In the USA, the national average Bioinformatics salary is around $133,000, which is 61.7% more than the national average. Moreover, the highest percentile position with a post-doctoral fellowship will bring at least $162000. Even in the entry-level position, one will get at least $48,260. Having the highest degree, experience, and skills will boost the estimated salary.
Bioinformatics Salary
In the field of Technology, specifically Computer Science, Bioinformatics is one of the growing fields in the United States. In simple words, Bioinformatics is disciplinary where one uses a computer, software, and relevant tools to study biology and biological data.
In the modern world, it is one of the most demanding positions to preserve different life streams. For example, everyone may have here about genetic changes, genome sequence, or Genetically Modified (G.M.) crops and breeds. This field is related to bioinformatics, where scientists study the genome sequence of animals and plants.
So that they can prevent any specific disease and multiply the growth of the crops. Moreover, by changing the genetic structure they are making breeds that will produce more milk, more nutritious meat, etc. back in 1990, the first recombinant DNA technology was used in soybean, cotton, and other crops. After testing severely for safety and food quality, it becomes a turnover for the world.
Not only in food but also in the medical field, the impact of bioinformatics is huge. With the help of this field, scientists research the genome sequence of different human diseases, viruses, and bacteria. So that they can discover medicines and vaccines to prevent and cure the disease.
As we explained, with the increasing value of human life, disciplinary Bioinformaticsis growing rapidly. According to the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BLOG, Computer science or CSE-related jobs including this are one of the highest growing jobs. As per their calculation, it will grow at least 18% by 2030. If we compared the salary of it with the salary a decade ago, we can realize the rapid growth of this profession in terms of salary. Moreover, the wage rate in this field in the USA in recent times is,
| Percentile | 10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 90% |
| Hourly Wage | $23.20 | $30.04 | $39.68 | $50.10 | $64.34 |
| Annual Wage | $48,260 | $62,490 | $82,530 | $104,210 | $133,830 |
As stated in the table data given by the U.S. government, the average annual wage of a bioinformatics field job will be around $82,530, and the 90th percentile range is $133,830. According to IRS, the income tax for Bioinformatics will be around 22% to 24%. As per the rules of the USA federal, the income tax will depend on the overall income, not the position. So, the income tax will be higher if the income is higher. According to the national average, which is $133000, the income tax should be 22%.
According to SSA, back in 2012, when the national average wage was $44321 the Bioinformatics average salary was $56650. That means, decades ago, the difference was 24.4%. After a decade in 2022, the national average is $70460, and the other one is $133000. That means this field is 61.7% higher, and the growth has been around 15% in the last 10 years.
Therefore, one can understand that this is one of the highest-growing careers one can choose. If one becomes a Bioinformatician then in the next five to ten years, their annual wage will be tripled. Moreover, there are at least 47,050 employment in this field in the USA which will increase by a minimum of 3% every year. Overall, the demand for bioinformatics jobs will increase in the future at a high rate.
Wages of different job titles in the Bioinformatics filed
The computer science field itself is an ocean with a huge number of disciplinary and opportunities. Bioinformatics is one of the core sectors with few sub-sector. This area has other job titles with different salaries and skills. Those are,
| Position | Salary Range |
| Bioinformatics Engineers | $65000 to $134000 |
| Bioinformatics Programmers | $63000 to $110000 |
| Computational Biologists | $68000 to $162000 |
| Bioinformatics Scientists | $80000 to $152000 |
| Bioinformaticians | $56000 to $107000 |
| Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers | $70000 to $161000 |
| Bioinformatics Data scientist | $60000 to $122000 |
| Bioinformatics Consultant | $66000 to $124,250 |
As we can see, the highest range is biomedical engineer’s salary which is $70000 to $161000, and the lowest range is for Bioinformaticians. Moreover, Bioinformatics Scientists will earn $80000 to $152000 on average. Depending on the degree, skills, and experience, the range will be minimum to maximum. Alongside the illustrated one, there are other positions such as microbiologist, Biostatistician, molecular biologist, and more. However, all of these positions required vast knowledge of Computer Science (C.S.) and its subfield. The more knowledge and experience they gather, the high their earnings will be.
Educational, skills, and other requirements to be a Bioinformatics
As we know Bioinformatics which does not age much under C.S. is a growing field that requires vast knowledge. This scientific discipline requires expert research, analysis, and statistic expertise even in the starting period.
Being one of the diverse filed which have footsteps in zoology, botany, medicine, and more. Even the forensic teams have this position to analyze different data using modern Technology. For that one will have to be qualified with proper educational background and skills. Let’s see what will be needed to become a professional in the Bioinformatics field.
Educational Background
The name Bio + Informatics = Bioinformatics says a lot about what one needs to learn to be a part of it. In the name Bio, Biology (Zoology and Botany), Biochemistry (chemistry) is the major part. Besides, Informatics comes with C.S. (Programing, analyzing, processing, developing), Engineering (modifying, discovering, production), Mathematics (calculus, linear algebra, etc.), and Statistics (data retrieving, organizing, probability, etc.).
Before coming to this area one will have to make sure they are hardworking. Because this job requires a high level of knowledge. For that one will have to be extremely attentive and dedicated to studying, research, experiments, seminars, and conference. In case you are not yet deciding on this field but are feeling interested can check out some online courses.
Along with academic study, they will have to develop their skills according to requirements. They will have to study and work for hours every day and they can become someone eligible for this field of job.
To get knowledge in those filed one will have to complete a bachelor’s in Computer Science, Bioinformatics, or in a related area first.
In this degree, the major subjects will be
- 1. Data structure
- 2. Discrete Mathematics
- 3. Algorithm
- 4. Programming
- 5. Numerical Method
- 6. Advance mathematics
- 7. Statistics
- 8. Image processing
- 9. Pattern recognition, and so on.
That means majoring in C.S. will be the base education in this field. After that one can choose a relevant subject for master’s and Ph.D. such as Informatics in Health, Bioinformatics, etc. for that one can choose highly renowned universities in the USA. This country offers some intense, advanced, highly organized, practical, and research-based subjects in this field. Our suggestions for bachelor’s and master’s degrees are,
| Title | Degree Type | University/Institution |
| Master of Science in Health Informatics | MS/MSc/MA/M.Eng | Brandeis University |
| Master of Science in Bioinformatics | MS/MSc/MA/M.Eng | Brandeis University |
| B.S. in Computational Biology | BS/BSc/BA/B.Eng | Carnegie Mellon University |
| M.S. in Computational Biology | MS/MSc/MA/M.Eng | Carnegie Mellon University |
| Systems Biology & Bioinformatics | MS/MSc/MA/M.Eng | Case Western Reserve University |
| Advanced Certificate in Bioinformatics | Diploma/Certificate | Drexel University |
| Bioinformatics | MS/MSc/MA/M.Eng | Endicott College |
One can choose any of these universities or others in the related title. However, they need to make sure that the degree covers all the topics which are required mainly the bachelor’s. Otherwise, they will not be qualified for a master’s or Ph.D. in this field.
Required Skills for the Job
Only educational background is not enough for this intense job. One will require a bunch of skills in a different area. To find out more one can see the requirement of different government and non-government job posts. Then they can develop their skills from the beginning of their study. Here, we will give a proper overview of the skills one will need.
- 1. Advance programming or coding skills in C, C++, Python, Perl, and Shell; one can have a look into the Harvard CS50 course to get basic to advance programming language knowledge.
- 2. Statistics with Python or R
- 3. Bioinformatics Databases in NCBI, Entrez, UniProt, Swissprot, MySQL, PDB, and others.
- 4. Knowledge of Tool kits such as Scaffold, Protmax, Indigo, Swissdock, OEchem, and others.
- 5. Data mining, data analysis, and data visualization; those with knowledge of Matlab will be a good option.
- 6. Capability of using biochemistry, bioinformatics, biology, and others in practical research, reasoning, and analysis.
- 7. Experience developing software and working with algorithms and other tools of relevant software in terms of this field.
- 8. Excellent experience in Metabolomics, Genome Analysis, Sequence Analysis, Assay Development
- 9. Great communication skills in verbal and non-verbal.
- 10. Previous research experience, and more according to a different organization.
However, these are the most required skills to get a job in this field. One will have to have at least a minimum level of knowledge in those areas to enter as a junior bioinformatics in any good company. With time they can gather more skills and experience for better opportunities.
Bioinformatics job descriptions, the responsibilities to perform
This specific job has different sub-sector with different responsibilities. Since it is a huge area that requires extreme knowledge, it is good to get skilled in a particular scenario. However we will be illustrating the responsibilities of the overall bioinformatics field, which are,
1. Maintain and develop specialized algorithms and software. Also, troubleshoot and install different tools in the system.
2. The specialist collects, manages, and analyzes biological and biochemical data using different tools and software. Their responsibility is to work with DNA and molecular data using complex mathematics.
3. Creating a living system with a fresh algorithm according to the recent data. Produce accurate information use administering sequencing and other computational algorithms, and more.
4. Evaluating a big data set, researching the disease, and other things to give an authentic overview. These are a few of the common and basic responsibilities, but there are more.
Variation of salary depending on experience and skills
As with the other jobs in the United States, this job has salary varies according to experience. However, the employee with a Ph.D. degree will earn more than a master’s and bachelor’s. Because generally, he or she is a doctorate with loads of knowledge and skills. On the other hand, the years of experience will also have a major impact on the salary. Let’s have a look at the table below illustrated with the help of the BLS database.
| Level of Experience | Hourly wage | Annual wage |
| 9+ years experience or top level | $64.33 | $133,830 or more |
| 5+ years experience or senior level | $50.10 | $104,210 |
| 3+ years experience or mid-level | $39.68 | $82,530 |
| 6 months+ or junior level | $30.04 | $62,490 |
| Starting level | $23.02 | $48,260 |
The maximum salary will be in the bag of the person with 9+ of experience with a master’s and Ph.D., it will be around $133,830 or more. Because this scientist or engineer will have the highest degree and all sorts of skills in this field. The range of salary will decrease according to decreasing years of experience. A junior bioinformatics with experience of 6 months and more will earn $62490 annually. An entry-level bioinformatics with only a bachelor’s degree will earn $48260 on average at the start of their job life. As we explained with increasing experience it will be more.
Moreover, to get the best benefits and suitable salary one should always boost their skills and learn more. Skills in machine learning, deep learning, A.I., and image processing will help me get a better job in this field. These are unbeatable tools to do the analysis, research, and other things in this job accurately and efficiently.
Which state of the USA offers the maximum benefits to Bioinformatics?
The job opportunities for Bioinformatics in the USA are rich since the 90s with the increasing benefits. As we know this field is related to every field and subfield of biology and biochemistry. So there is no place in the world where there is no Biology.
Every state in the USA offers a good range of salaries. However, depending on the national living cost and income per head of different states, the wage range will be different for Bioinformatics specialists. But it is true that whichever area it is, the income will be so much more than the national average. So, the states of the USA that offers maximum wage are,
| State | Offered wage for Bioinformatics |
| Georgia | $145,000 |
| California | $145,000 |
| Hawaii | $135,000 |
| Massachusetts | $129,422 |
| Maryland | $125,550 |
| Washington | $116,389 |
Among all the states, Georgia offers the maximum salary for the bioinformatics professions of all types. The average maximum salary will be $145,000 which is more than good. According to the job post of different institutions and organizations on different online platforms, we have estimated that California offers the same wage as Georgia in this field.
Alongside, Hawaii offers $135000 and Massachusetts offers $1294222, which is still more than the national average. If one wants to justify the salary range they can look for the offers of the different companies in this field.
Which type of institution offers jobs in bioinformatics?
Among all the Computer science-related jobs, the bioinformatics area is one of the growing and forever growing fields. With time, the demand for this field will increase rapidly because of the current misfortune of the high rate of environmental pollution. We are losing many species, the growth of crops is decreasing, the agricultural lands are turning into industrial and residential areas, and people are getting sick with new diseases such as Covid-19, which left millions of death.
In the future, we need to think about growing more foods on less land, trying to save the environment from harm, and most of all saving humans from deadly diseases. Overall, ensuring the quality of human life is highly dependent on bioinformatics. So, we need to encourage the youths to get interested and choose this field. So that we can have so many excellent and talented people to save the world.
For that, I am illustrating the vast range of opportunities or industries that offers jobs in this field. Some of those are,
1. Pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer Inc., Merck & Co., and many more. They offer a handsome salary with other benefits. Mentioned three names are the most popular and richest company in the USA. If one has an idea about the Covid vaccine that people are taking worldwide, they are already familiar with the name Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer Inc. moreover, below one will find average wage information for the different job titles in these three companies.
| Job Title | Johnson & Johnson | Pfizer Inc. | Merck & Co. |
| Bioinformatics | $69000 to $100000 | $143,867 | $119,134 |
| Bioinformatics Analyst | $74,529 | $80,434 | $95,056 |
| Bioinformatics Scientist | $77000 to $120000 | $143,867 | $140,937 |
| Bioinformatics Consultant | $82,680 | $111,202 | $121,202 |
| Bioinformatics Biologist | $80000 to $114000 | $120,300 | $89985 |
As we can see, three of these companies provide a good salary for the bioinformatics position. Among them, Mark and Co. seem to have better benefits for professionals. Moreover, they offer the maximum salary for post-doctoral bioinformatics compared to the other position.
2. Hospitals, medical colleges, and research centers in the USA also have a vast number of employment positions for this job position. They need these professionals in their lab to analyze and discover different issues of their patients. Some of the best knowing places that offer excellent benefits to this profession are,
| Institutions | Wage range |
| City of Hope | $122,377 |
| Washington University-St. Louis | $75,247 |
| UT – MD Anderson Cancer Center | $79,980 |
| National Institutes of Health | $104,284 |
| American Cancer Society | $73,503 |
As we can see, the research center City of hope which is in the top position for research also top for offering benefits to its employees. A post-doctoral fellow in this institution will get a $122,377 annual average in the bioinformatics job title. However, some organization offers salary below the national average to the employees of this position such as the American Cancer Society. This institution provides$73,503 annually as a base salary. However, they offer additional pay, bonus, and other benefits.
3. Many technical and applied science universities that offer Bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. in Bioinformatics also hire teachers in this relevant field. If one does not want to work in the lab they can work as a lecturer. Moreover, many Bioinformaticians work in both ways, they are an employee of a research center or hospital and they also attend lectures. Some of the universities that offer teaching jobs are,
| Universities | Wage |
| Oregon Health and Science University | $96,640 |
| North Carolina State University | $92,345 |
| UC Santa Cruz | $81,600 |
Normally, the lecturer jobs in the universities offer the minimum range of salaries in this field. Sometimes, the teachers work as a part-timer or per lecture because they are scientists of some research intuition, hospital, etc.
5. Different crops and animal research institutions also have a position for this job title. Mainly in the G.M. crops and animal breeding institutions in the USA. They work for finding the solution for the G.M. scientist. Retrieving, analyzing data, and giving the result have a huge positive impact in this range. Moreover, the average annual salary is $124550 in this area.
Bioinformatics Vs. other Computer Science related jobs
All the computer science salaries have the highest pay rate in the United States including Bioinformatics. If we compare this with one of the trending jobs in the C.S. field, Data Scientist salaries are more than Bioinformatics. The national average for a data scientist is $122,540. Another popular job that we can compare with this is health informatics and the difference is huge with a $92,200 national average.
Moreover, one of the other jobs that offer more salary than this is the Computer and information research scientist. The USA national average for this job is $133,660. Overall, all the jobs that involve computer science such as programming, analysis, mathematics, A.I., ML, DL, image processing, and data processing offer maximum pay rates in the USA.
Bioinformatics Jobs Salary in USA Vs. Other Countries
As like in the USA, in the other leading countries, the demand forBioinformaticiansis high with a suitable range of salaries. We have already mentioned that where there is life, there will be a demand for bioinformatics. The salary range of this position compare to the USA in other countries will not be so much different. According to the living cost and currency rate of other countries, the wage is comparatively higher. Some of the top countries that offer a good salary for bioinformatics positions are,
| Country | Average Salary |
| United Kingdom | £41,666 or $48955.43 |
| Germany | €55893 or $55697 |
| France | €42,000 or $41853 |
| Switzerland | CHF 104,579 or $108326 |
Comparatively, the USA offers a high range of salaries in this position. Next, we can say Switzerland offers quite an excellent amount. However, the living cost in this country is so much more than in the USA. So, if we calculate the overall scenario, the USA is the most suitable country to find a job as a Bioinformatics engineer. Scientist, consultant, analyst, or others.
These are all to say and illustrate this job position. Even if one is a high scholar and looking forward to their career, they will be benefited from the information above. It is like starting from scratch and being prepared for the advanced level. Moreover, they need to remember one thing, the path of becoming bioinformatics and working as one in their entire life will not be easy.
