💡 Why it matters: Countries everywhere are investing in making vaccines, crops and medicines, and biotechnology is how many of these are made.
🌍 Around the world
- Nigeria: Africa is investing in making its own vaccines, crops and medicines, and biotechnology is how that happens.
- 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
- ₦2M – ₦5M
- Mid-career
- ₦5M – ₦12M
- Senior
- ₦12M – ₦28M
≈ ₦417k – ₦1M a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇺🇸 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
- Grow cells and microbes in the lab
- Develop better crops, foods and medicines
- Test new ideas through careful experiments
- Record and analyse results
- Work with doctors, farmers and factories
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Lab skills
- Curiosity
- Analysis
- Patience
- Teamwork
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Industrial placement at a research institute
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Laboratory scientist degree apprenticeships
- Start as a lab technician and study part-time
🇺🇸 United States
- Associate degree in biotechnology, then work as a lab technician
- Internships at biotech companies or university labs
🇨🇦 Canada
- College biotechnology technician diploma, then work up
- Co-op placements at biotech companies
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Study Biology and Chemistry in school
- 2Take a degree in Biotechnology or Biochemistry
- 3Join a lab for your final-year research
- 4Do a Master's degree
- 5Work in a research institute or biotech company
⏰ A day in the life
You start by checking the cells you left growing overnight, then try a new method to make a plant resist drought. After lunch you write up the results and plan tomorrow's experiment.