Geneticist Salary

Nowadays, every scientist and doctor in the world is trying to cure a disease, rather than merely treating it. Almost every fiber in our being is dictated by a gene or a group of genes. In fact, even cancer is now being identified on the basis of the genes and the type of mutation responsible for bringing about the disease. Hence, now, scientists are basically trying to get to the root of the problems, all of which lies in the genes. This is where a geneticist comes into the picture. Many people aspiring to become geneticists though often wonder about the geneticist salary. Before we go into the salary of a geneticist, let us first try and understand exactly what geneticists do.

Geneticist Job Description
As mentioned earlier, geneticists are involved with studying and identifying genes. Hence, there are different types of geneticists like molecular geneticists and clinical geneticists. Geneticists are involved with performing diagnostic tests to diagnose rare genetic diseases and disorders in fetuses. This helps to understand whether or not the child has a debilitating genetic disorder or not. Another job that the geneticist does is to diagnose and treat disorders related to pregnancy, which may have an underlying genetic base, like infertility or the problem of multiple miscarriages. Many geneticists are also involved in doing research work and most of these end up drawing the larger chunk of the salary. Geneticists are also responsible for evaluating the severity of symptoms like mental retardation or other genetically responsible disabilities in individuals. They are also involved with genetic counseling, in which they deal with families who have a history of genetic disorders or defects. They need to do research and use statistics to determine the probability of landing with a healthy child.

Geneticist Salary Range
As is the case with most occupations, the salary of a geneticist is determined by a lot of factors. This includes the education of the individual, the location, experience, job profile, etc. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, more commonly known as BLS, reports as of May 2008 state that the average geneticist salary on an annual basis was USD 88,450. This approximately comes to an hourly wage of USD 42.53. The BLS also goes onto report that the highest average yearly salary of a geneticist was seen in New Jersey followed by Delaware at USD 105,030! Next in line was Columbia, then Pennsylvania and California. Interestingly, it is Delaware that has the highest number of geneticists working in any one state. This is followed by Massachusetts, where the average geneticist salary is around USD 91,890 per year.

There are many industries that are involved with employment as well and which eventually affect the salary ranges for jobs related to a geneticist. It is generally seen that, as mentioned earlier, scientists and geneticists that are involved with research are the ones that are paid the most when compared to their counterparts in other fields. Given below are details regarding the average salary of a geneticist depending on the type of employer.

Annual Geneticist Salary Based on Type of Employer
Industries	Annual Salary (In USD)
Research and Development in Biotechnology	46,903 - 75,598
Healthcare	43,126 - 71,394
Education, College/University	42,724 - 69,274
Agriculture Research	44,867 - 73,167

This is a very lucrative job for anyone that is looking to make a career in this upcoming field. Geneticists the world over are in huge demand as there is need to unravel the secrets behind human genetics and diseases whose exact causative factor is still not known. So, if you are looking for a great and exciting job which also offers great returns, then the job of a geneticist is just for you!