Medical Scientist Job Outlook for 2012
Posted January 12th, 2012
- The number of medical scientists is expected to grow much faster than average over the coming decade. Those with both a Ph.D. and M.D. are likely to experience the best opportunities. Luckily, the employment of medical scientists is expected to increase 40 percent over the 2008-18 decade, much faster than the average for all occupations.
- Employment growth will partially occur as a result of the expected expansion in research related to illnesses such as AIDS, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, along with growing treatment problems, such as antibiotic resistance. Moreover, environmental conditions such as overcrowding and the increasing frequency of international travel will tend to spread existing diseases and give rise to new ones. Medical scientists will continue to be needed because they greatly contribute to the development of treatments and medicines that improve human health.
- Workers with both a biological and professional medical background will have a distinct advantage in competing for research funding, as certain opportunities are only open to those with both qualifications.
- Employment of medical scientists is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2012. The federal government funds much basic research and development, including many areas of medical research. Recent budget increases at the National Institutes of Health have led to large increases in Federal research and development expenditures, with the number of grants awarded to researchers growing in number and dollar amount.
- Medical scientists enjoyed rapid gains in employment between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s, in part reflecting increased staffing requirements in new biotechnology companies. Employment growth should slow somewhat as increases in the number of new biotechnology firms slow and existing firms merge or are absorbed into larger ones.
- However, much of the basic medical research done in recent years has resulted in new knowledge. Medical scientists will be needed to take this knowledge to the next stage, such as understanding how certain genes function within an entire organism, so that gene therapies can be developed to treat diseases. Even pharmaceutical and other firms not solely engaged in biotechnology are expected to increasingly use biotechnology techniques, thus creating employment for medical scientists.
