Science Technology
Students study the practical laboratory and technical skills needed to support scientific research and industrial testing across multiple scientific disciplines. Graduates typically pursue careers as laboratory technicians, research assistants, quality control analysts, and technical specialists in pharmaceutical, chemical, and environmental testing laboratories. This major emphasizes hands-on technical proficiency over theoretical research.
What Science Technology graduates do
Your career will likely begin in the field or a laboratory, acting as the hands-on support for lead scientists. One day you might be collecting rock samples at a construction site or measuring a river's water quality; the next, you're back in the lab calibrating equipment, running tests on biological samples, and meticulously recording observations. It’s a job grounded in procedure and precision.
With experience, you can progress from assisting on projects to managing them, perhaps becoming a senior lab technician who trains new hires or a field supervisor responsible for an entire data collection site. The most common path, as a general life or physical science technician, offers the most job openings and is seeing steady growth. However, more specialized roles like hydrologic technicians face some headwinds, with fewer positions projected.
AI will change your day-to-day work. It’s poised to automate significant chunks of routine tasks like logging data or running standard analyses. This doesn't eliminate the job, but it shifts your value toward troubleshooting equipment, adapting procedures for unexpected variables, and making judgment calls on ambiguous results. Adaptability will be key to your long-term success.
If Science Technology isn't the right fit, programs like Science Technology Studies, Geosciences, and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology draw from adjacent disciplines.
Where Science Technology graduates work
Common career paths for Science Technology graduates, with median salaries, projected growth, and AI exposure per role. Roughly 12,300 combined openings per year across these roles.
| Role | Median Pay | Annual Openings | 10-yr Growth | AI Exposure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Life, physical, and social science technicians, all other
|
$60,130
$46K–$78K
|
10,600 | +3.5% | High · 55% |
|
Hydrologic technicians
|
$58,570
$47K–$80K
|
400 | -2.1% | High · 50% |
|
Geological technicians, except hydrologic technicians
|
$48,390
$39K–$64K
|
1,300 | +1.5% | Moderate · 39% |
Best schools for Science Technology
Schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score (earnings × AI resilience × ROI × job-market size). Top 1 of 1.
Highest Earnings Top 5
| Excelsior University
NY |
$71,144 |
Related majors
Similar fields of study often offered alongside Science Technology.
Frequently asked about Science Technology
What's the typical salary after a Science Technology degree?
Across 1 schools, Science Technology graduates earn an average of $71,144 per year in their first year after graduation. Earnings range from $71,144 to $71,144 depending on the school.
What is the AI automation risk for Science Technology?
AI exposure for Science Technology is rated "High." With 46% of tasks potentially affected by large language models, some career functions face meaningful automation pressure in the coming decade.
Which school has the best Science Technology program?
Excelsior University leads all 1 programs with a DegreeOutlook Score of 43/100. Graduates earn $71,144/yr — the ranking weighs earnings, ROI, AI resilience, and job market size equally.
What's the outlook for a Science Technology degree?
The return on investment varies widely across programs. Use the table above to compare schools by earnings and ROI directly.