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Industry and biotech

Biotechnologist

Uses living cells, enzymes and microbes to make useful products, from medicines and vaccines to cleaner fuels and hardier crops.

Biotechnologists work in pharmaceutical and biotech companies, food and farming firms, environmental businesses, research institutes and universities. It suits someone who likes lab science but also wants to see it turned into something that can be made and used.

Also called Biotechnology scientist or Industrial biotechnologist.

At a glance

Way in
Bachelor's degree, often in biotechnology, biochemistry, microbiology, molecular biology and chemical engineering
Pay in the UK
£27,000 starting to £57,000 with experience
Suits you if
You enjoy lab work and want your science to end up as a real product.

Pay is a guide: it moves with the country, the employer, the sector and the years in the job. Figures from O*NET OnLine (US) and the National Careers Service (UK); see the sources below.

The work

What does a biotechnologist do?

  • Grow and modify cells or microbes to produce proteins, enzymes or vaccines
  • Design and run experiments, then analyse and write up the results
  • Scale up promising processes from the bench towards production
  • Develop crops that resist pests or drought, or microbes that clean polluted land
  • Follow strict quality, safety and record-keeping rules in the lab

Where they work

  • Biotech and pharmaceutical companies
  • Food and farming firms
  • Research institutes
  • University labs
  • Environmental technology firms

Skills

The skills a biotechnologist needs

  • Lab techniquecell culture, PCR, cloning and aseptic work
  • Molecular biologyhow genes are changed and expressed
  • Data analysisstatistics and sequence software
  • Problem solvingfixing experiments that do not work
  • Precisioncareful records that meet quality standards
  • Adaptabilityswitching between projects and methods

Route in

How to become a biotechnologist

  1. Take biology or chemistry at A level, or equivalent, with good GCSEs in maths and English
  2. Study biotechnology or a related life science degree, ideally with a year in industry
  3. Start in a lab or research associate role to build practical skills
  4. Take a master's or PhD for research and development posts

Degrees people take

  • Biotechnology
  • Biochemistry
  • Microbiology
  • Molecular biology
  • Chemical engineering

In the UK, science apprenticeships let you train in a lab while you study, and some people start as lab technicians and work their way up.

Practise for it

The quizzes and tools that fit

Also on biofideX

Next to it

Careers to weigh against it

Sources

Where the facts come from

Written for biofideX from these public sources. The pay figures are theirs, copied as published, last read 2026-10-25.

Requirements differ by country and change over time; check with the body that registers the profession where you will work. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll correct it.

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