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Biochemistry

Students study the chemical and physical processes that drive living systems at the molecular level, including protein structure, enzyme kinetics, gene expression, and metabolic pathways. Graduates typically pursue careers in pharmaceutical research, biotech companies, medical school, clinical laboratories, and academic research institutions. This rigorous major is excellent preparation for medical school and high-demand research positions in drug development.

Compare Schools

Schools

136

Programs analyzed

Earnings

$37,918

Avg 1-yr grad earnings

Range $19,546–$63,781

Outlook

40/100

Avg DegreeOutlook Score

AI Risk

High

50% task exposure

Field Overview

What Biochemistry graduates do

This degree puts you at the heart of modern discovery. You might start your career as a biological technician, spending your days in the lab preparing samples, operating complex equipment, and meticulously documenting experiment results. With an advanced degree, you can become a medical scientist, where your focus shifts from *running* tests to *designing* them. You’ll be writing grant proposals, analyzing data, and publishing findings that could lead to new drugs or therapies. These research-focused roles are among the fastest-growing paths. Over time, you can advance to become a natural sciences manager, leading entire research teams and setting the scientific strategy for a biotech firm or university lab.

AI is becoming a powerful lab partner, automating significant chunks of routine data analysis and experiment modeling. This won't eliminate these jobs, but your daily tasks will change substantially. Success will depend on your adaptability, as your value shifts toward designing creative experiments, interpreting AI-generated insights, and applying critical human judgment to complex biological problems.

If Biochemistry isn't the right fit, programs like Microbiology & Immunology, Neuroscience, and Cell Biology draw from adjacent disciplines.

Career Trajectories

Where Biochemistry graduates work

Common career paths for Biochemistry graduates, with median salaries, projected growth, and AI exposure per role. Roughly 45,200 combined openings per year across these roles.

Role	Median Pay	Annual Openings	10-yr Growth	AI Exposure
Natural sciences managers	$161,180 $114K–$215K	8,500	+3.7%	High · 50%
Biochemists and biophysicists	$103,650 $79K–$134K	2,900	+5.8%	Moderate · 45%
Medical scientists, except epidemiologists	$100,590 $77K–$134K	9,600	+8.7%	High · 52%
Biological scientists, all other	$93,330 $68K–$121K	4,800	+1.2%	Moderate · 49%
Microbiologists	$87,330 $64K–$121K	1,700	+4.1%	Moderate · 40%
Biological science teachers, postsecondary	$83,460 $64K–$125K	5,400	+7.3%	Moderate · 47%
Biological technicians	$52,000 $45K–$66K	9,100	+3.5%	Moderate · 42%
Food science technicians	$49,430 $44K–$61K	3,200	+4.8%	Moderate · 36%

Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).

Top Institutions

Best schools for Biochemistry

Schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score (earnings × AI resilience × ROI × job-market size). Top 10 of 136.

Rank #1 · DegreeOutlook Score 61

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo, CA · Public

$57,538 1-yr earnings

15.4x ROI multiple

High AI risk

California State University-Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA · #2

$50,428/yr · 23.3x ROI

University of California-Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, CA · #3

$49,100/yr · 14.2x ROI

North Carolina State University at Raleigh

Raleigh, NC · #4

$44,101/yr · 23.1x ROI

#	School	DW Score	1-yr Earnings	ROI
5	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI · Public	56	$43,936	16.7x
6	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN · Public	56	$41,625	18.2x
7	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI · Public	55	$44,074	14.9x
8	Iowa State University Ames, IA · Public	55	$43,520	15.7x
9	University of California-Davis Davis, CA · Public	55	$42,266	13.4x
10	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA · Public	55	$38,869	26.0x
11	California State University-San Marcos San Marcos, CA · Public	54	$57,682	17.6x
12	University of Massachusetts-Boston Boston, MA · Public	54	$50,352	10.2x
13	University of Missouri-St Louis Saint Louis, MO · Public	54	$49,509	11.3x
14	Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN · Public	54	$45,526	13.1x
15	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA · Public	54	$45,066	11.6x
16	Northeastern University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit	53	$63,781	2.9x
17	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO · Public	53	$50,474	9.5x
18	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH · Public	53	$47,236	9.1x
19	Rutgers University-Camden Camden, NJ · Public	53	$46,122	10.3x
20	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ · Public	53	$46,122	10.2x
21	Towson University Towson, MD · Public	53	$36,842	18.9x
22	University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI · Public	52	$46,155	14.9x
23	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA · Public	52	$44,324	10.2x
24	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ · Public	52	$43,333	12.8x
25	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS · Public	52	$41,487	14.0x
26	Texas State University San Marcos, TX · Public	51	$44,824	12.1x
27	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA · Public	51	$36,841	23.6x
28	Washington State University Pullman, WA · Public	50	$46,514	10.7x
29	Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT · Public	50	$41,790	12.4x
30	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA · Public	50	$40,320	12.0x
31	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA · Public	50	$38,985	13.4x
32	University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA · Public	50	$38,985	13.5x
33	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD · Public	49	$48,721	10.8x
34	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA · Public	49	$46,689	14.4x
35	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA · Public	48	$45,453	15.0x
36	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA · Public	48	$42,025	13.9x
37	MCPHS University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit	47	$51,942	3.6x
38	University of San Diego San Diego, CA · Private nonprofit	47	$48,728	2.8x
39	Temple University Philadelphia, PA · Public	47	$45,994	6.4x
40	CUNY City College New York, NY · Public	47	$44,175	14.0x
41	Rowan University Glassboro, NJ · Public	46	$38,799	10.2x
42	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH · Public	46	$36,427	12.8x
43	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · Public	46	$35,210	13.0x
44	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV · Public	46	$33,983	17.7x
45	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO · Public	45	$38,484	11.2x
46	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI · Public	45	$38,243	10.1x
47	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX · Public	45	$33,846	14.8x
48	Brigham Young University Provo, UT · Private nonprofit	45	$31,225	24.6x
49	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL · Public	45	$31,074	29.2x
50	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA · Public	45	$29,991	19.0x
51	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH · Public	44	$48,348	7.9x
52	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO · Public	44	$45,799	9.6x
53	California State University-Chico Chico, CA · Public	44	$42,886	12.3x
54	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO · Public	44	$40,492	9.6x
55	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN · Public	44	$37,830	9.5x
56	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ · Public	44	$35,607	11.7x
57	University of North Texas Denton, TX · Public	43	$34,657	13.3x
58	University of Houston Houston, TX · Public	43	$34,648	14.5x
59	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE · Public	43	$33,520	15.1x
60	University of Delaware Newark, DE · Public	42	$47,912	6.4x
61	Utah State University Logan, UT · Public	42	$42,236	10.4x
62	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY · Public	42	$29,649	16.5x
63	Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN · Public	42	$28,642	18.1x
64	University of Vermont Burlington, VT · Public	41	$36,680	8.2x
65	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA · Public	41	$35,927	9.5x
66	Brigham Young University-Idaho Rexburg, ID · Private nonprofit	41	$35,779	18.2x
67	University of Georgia Athens, GA · Public	41	$34,212	12.6x
68	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX · Public	41	$32,027	13.4x
69	University of Maryland-Baltimore County Baltimore, MD · Public	41	$30,275	13.9x
70	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA · Public	41	$29,938	23.9x
71	Saint Joseph's University Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit	40	$44,442	2.5x
72	Binghamton University Vestal, NY · Public	40	$41,305	9.0x
73	University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL · Public	40	$34,308	10.5x
74	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA · Public	39	$42,200	6.4x
75	University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN · Public	39	$31,150	11.5x
76	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM · Public	39	$23,648	19.1x
77	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ · Public	38	$43,333	—
78	Portland State University Portland, OR · Public	38	$40,230	7.9x
79	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA · Public	38	$25,623	14.2x
80	Stevenson University Owings Mills, MD · Private nonprofit	37	$46,637	1.9x
81	Boston University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit	37	$42,850	1.9x
82	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA · Private nonprofit	37	$42,474	1.8x
83	Montclair State University Montclair, NJ · Public	37	$41,068	6.0x
84	Stockton University Galloway, NJ · Public	37	$40,855	5.6x
85	University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC · Public	37	$36,783	11.1x
86	University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg Greensburg, PA · Public	37	$33,554	9.6x
87	University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Johnstown, PA · Public	37	$33,554	9.6x
88	University of Michigan-Flint Flint, MI · Public	37	$32,221	10.2x
89	Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS · Public	37	$30,565	13.5x
90	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA · Public	37	$30,077	11.1x
91	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK · Public	37	$29,720	13.8x
92	Brandeis University Waltham, MA · Private nonprofit	36	$47,410	0.8x
93	SUNY College at Geneseo Geneseo, NY · Public	36	$37,206	9.4x
94	Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY · Private nonprofit	35	$45,599	0.7x
95	Grinnell College Grinnell, IA · Private nonprofit	35	$38,598	2.0x
96	Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA · Public	35	$33,408	13.1x
97	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT · Private nonprofit	34	$44,142	0.7x
98	Colgate University Hamilton, NY · Private nonprofit	34	$44,089	0.6x
99	Brown University Providence, RI · Private nonprofit	34	$43,637	0.6x
100	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA · Public	34	$33,554	6.2x
101	The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX · Public	34	$19,546	14.2x
102	New York University New York, NY · Private nonprofit	33	$36,440	2.2x
103	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit	33	$34,468	2.3x
104	The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX · Public	33	$30,207	9.2x
105	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX · Public	33	$28,338	10.6x
106	Princeton University Princeton, NJ · Private nonprofit	32	$41,848	0.8x
107	Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit	32	$38,487	2.2x
108	University of Idaho Moscow, ID · Public	32	$34,251	8.7x
109	Ursinus College Collegeville, PA · Private nonprofit	31	$40,294	0.7x
110	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI · Public	31	$26,151	8.5x
111	Cornell College Mount Vernon, IA · Private nonprofit	30	$39,164	0.9x
112	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR · Public	30	$34,566	5.4x
113	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR · Public	30	$34,566	5.9x
114	University at Albany Albany, NY · Public	30	$33,266	7.0x
115	Augustana College Rock Island, IL · Private nonprofit	29	$38,436	0.9x
116	University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI · Public	28	$32,599	5.7x
117	Clemson University Clemson, SC · Public	27	$28,120	7.7x
118	State University of New York at Oswego Oswego, NY · Public	26	$29,135	7.3x
119	Dickinson College Carlisle, PA · Private nonprofit	25	$35,305	0.4x
120	University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA · Private nonprofit	25	$34,796	0.4x
121	Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI · Public	25	$30,141	4.2x
122	Kansas State University Manhattan, KS · Public	25	$29,651	5.8x
123	California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA · Public	25	$26,380	8.4x
124	University of St Thomas Saint Paul, MN · Private nonprofit	24	$34,299	0.6x
125	Lewis & Clark College Portland, OR · Private nonprofit	23	$33,002	0.3x
126	Baylor University Waco, TX · Private nonprofit	23	$30,496	2.1x
127	University of Mississippi University, MS · Public	23	$24,972	5.6x
128	University of Denver Denver, CO · Private nonprofit	22	$32,613	0.4x
129	Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA · Public	22	$25,819	4.3x
130	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY · Private nonprofit	22	$22,693	-0.1x
131	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL · Private nonprofit	22	$21,666	-0.1x
132	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC · Public	21	$23,763	3.7x
133	Hendrix College Conway, AR · Private nonprofit	19	$28,322	0.9x
134	Point Loma Nazarene University San Diego, CA · Private nonprofit	18	$27,604	0.6x
135	Lipscomb University Nashville, TN · Private nonprofit	17	$23,075	0.5x
136	Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH · Private nonprofit	16	$22,390	1.5x

Find the top Biochemistry schools — ranked by actual earnings data from 136 programs →

Highest Earnings Top 5

Northeastern University MA	$63,781
California State University-San Marcos CA	$57,682
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo CA	$57,538
MCPHS University MA	$51,942
University of Colorado Boulder CO	$50,474

Best ROI Top 5

Florida State University FL	29.2x
California State University-Fullerton CA	26.0x
Brigham Young University UT	24.6x
Kennesaw State University GA	23.9x
California State University-Long Beach CA	23.6x

Biochemistry vs Other Majors

See how Biochemistry compares to similar fields on earnings, AI risk, and career paths.

Biochemistry vs Biology

Related majors

Similar fields of study often offered alongside Biochemistry.

Biology Neuroscience Microbiology & Immunology Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Zoology Physiology Cell Biology Genetics Biotechnology Biomedical Sciences Botany & Plant Biology Pharmacology & Toxicology

FAQ

Frequently asked about Biochemistry

What do Biochemistry graduates make in their first year?

First-year earnings for Biochemistry graduates average $37,918 annually, based on data from 136 programs. The range spans $19,546 at the low end to $63,781 at the top.

Will AI affect Biochemistry careers?

Biochemistry is rated "High" for AI automation risk, with 50% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means some career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.

Which school has the best Biochemistry program?

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo leads all 136 programs with a DegreeOutlook Score of 61/100. Graduates earn $57,538/yr — the ranking weighs earnings, ROI, AI resilience, and job market size equally.

What's the outlook for a Biochemistry degree?

On average, Biochemistry graduates earn 9.7x their in-state tuition over 10 years. This is a moderate return — school choice matters significantly.