Molecular and Cellular Biologists

Employers

There are approximately 47,100 biological scientists (all other not specified by the Department of Labor) and 21,700 microbiologists employed in the United States, according to the Department of Labor. Molecular and cellular biologists work for government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, biotechnology companies, and laboratories. The area in which biologists work is influenced by their specialties. For example, those that specialize in studying marine biology may be employed by the U.S. Department of the Interior (National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They may work in nongovernmental agencies, such as the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California and the Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts. Molecular and cellular biologists may also be employed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, or the Department of Agriculture, among others. They may work for pharmaceutical, food, agricultural, biotechnology, geological, ecological consulting, environmental, and pollution control companies.