Career
Natural sciences managers
Lead teams of scientists and the research they produce.
$167,220
Median pay
+8.2%
Job growth, 2025–35
9,200
Openings a year
Bachelor's degree
Typical education
4 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Hire, supervise, or evaluate engineers, technicians, researchers, or other staff.
- Design or coordinate successive phases of problem analysis, solution proposals, or testing.
- Plan or direct research, development, or production activities.
- Review project activities and prepare and review research, testing, or operational reports.
- Confer with scientists, engineers, regulators, or others to plan or review projects or to provide technical assistance.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on ideas & analysis, then persuasion & leadership?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Hire, supervise, or evaluate engineers, technicians, researchers, or other staff.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Science, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Monitoring.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $167,220 a year and 9,200 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Business AdministrationSee the degree →
- BiologySee the degree →
- HistorySee the degree →
- MathematicsSee the degree →
- ChemistrySee the degree →
- Biochemistry and Molecular BiologySee the degree →
- NeuroscienceSee the degree →
- PhysicsSee the degree →
- PhilosophySee the degree →
- PhysiologySee the degree →
- StatisticsSee the degree →
- Geology and Earth SciencesSee the degree →
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Project Management Specialists$102,320 · +6.7%
- Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers$109,370 · +7.6%
- Data Scientists$120,230 · +34.6%
- Biological Technicians$57,510 · +7.4%
- Molecular and Cellular Biologists
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.