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Research and the lab

Toxicologist

Studies how chemicals, drugs and toxins harm living things, and works out safe doses and exposure limits for people, animals and the environment.

Toxicologists work for drug and chemical companies, contract research labs, regulators, forensic labs, poison centres and universities. It suits someone who enjoys pharmacology and chemistry and is happy to weigh evidence carefully before calling something safe.

Also called Regulatory toxicologist, Forensic toxicologist, Clinical toxicologist or Ecotoxicologist.

At a glance

Way in
Master's degree, often in toxicology, pharmacology, biochemistry, chemistry and biomedical science
Pay in the US
$103,410 a year, the medianFor medical scientists, except epidemiologists, 2025
US outlook
Much faster than average, 2025-2035
Suits you if
You like pharmacology and chemistry and want to work out what is safe and what is not.

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 toxicologist do?

  • Design and run safety studies on cells, tissues or animals to test new drugs and chemicals
  • Analyse blood, urine and tissue samples to detect and measure toxic substances
  • Assess the risk from exposure and help set safe limits for medicines, food or workplaces
  • Write safety reports and data packages for regulators
  • Advise doctors, police or companies on what a result means

Where they work

  • Pharmaceutical and chemical companies
  • Contract research organisations
  • Government regulators
  • Forensic and hospital labs
  • Universities

Skills

The skills a toxicologist needs

  • Pharmacologyhow the body absorbs, handles and clears substances
  • Analytical chemistrychromatography, mass spectrometry and assays
  • Risk assessmentweighing dose, exposure and uncertainty
  • Statisticsdose-response curves and study design
  • Scientific writingprecise reports for regulators and courts
  • Safety disciplinehandling toxic material by strict procedures

Route in

How to become a toxicologist

  1. Study a degree in toxicology, pharmacology, biochemistry or a related science
  2. Gain lab experience through a placement or a junior role in a testing lab
  3. Take a master's or PhD in toxicology, which many posts expect
  4. Work towards professional recognition as a registered toxicologist

Degrees people take

  • Toxicology
  • Pharmacology
  • Biochemistry
  • Chemistry
  • Biomedical science

In the UK, experienced toxicologists can join the UK Register of Toxicologists; in the US, they can seek board certification from the American Board of Toxicology.

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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