💡 Why it matters: Labs now produce huge amounts of DNA and health data, and people who can both code and understand biology are rare and in demand.
🌍 Around the world
- United States: Jobs are projected to grow 12% from 2025 to 2035, much faster than average (US Bureau of Labor Statistics). (for biochemists and biophysicists, the closest category).
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦2.5M – ₦6M
- Mid-career
- ₦6M – ₦14M
- Senior
- ₦14M – ₦30M
≈ ₦500k – ₦1.2M a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Indicative mid-career range (our estimate, not yet checked against an official source). Incusim estimate
🇺🇸 United States
Closest US category: Biochemists and biophysicists. Median pay; low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
🇨🇦 Canada
Closest Canadian job: Biologist. Hourly wage low/median/high x 2,080 hours. Job Bank (Government of Canada), 2023-2024
Yearly pay before tax. UK, US and Canada figures come from the official sources named on each card. Nigeria has no official salary survey, so those are our indicative estimates. Real pay depends on the employer, the place, your skills and experience.
🛠️ What you actually do
- Write programs to study DNA and protein data
- Compare gene data from different people or germs
- Build tools that help lab scientists
- Create charts and reports from the results
- Work with doctors and biologists on research
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Coding
- Biology knowledge
- Problem solving
- Mathematics
- Patience
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Online courses in Python and genomics
- Research placements in labs or hospitals
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Data scientist or lab-based degree apprenticeships
- Start as a research assistant or lab technician and learn to code
🇺🇸 United States
- Internships in research labs or biotech companies
- Online courses in Python, R and genomics
🇨🇦 Canada
- Co-op placements in research labs or biotech companies
- Online courses in Python and genomics
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Study Biology and Mathematics in school
- 2Learn basic coding like Python
- 3Take a degree in Biochemistry, Biology or Computer Science
- 4Do a Master's or research project in bioinformatics
- 5Join a research lab, hospital or biotech company
⏰ A day in the life
You write a small program that compares the DNA of malaria germs from different patients. You then make a chart showing which version resists a drug and present it to the lab team.