Where is the Demand for Scientists?

Where is the Demand for Scientists? Attract the best candidates with Biospace Job Postings. Post a Job in minutes and find top life science candidates.

By Angela Rose, Biospace.com

If your job includes hiring scientists, you’re likely familiar with the accompanying recruiting challenges. Not only are qualified science professionals in great demand across the country, they’re also in short supply—at least according to some sources. PwC, a well-known consulting company, recently completed their Health Research Institute Annual Survey. Of life science executives who responded, only 28 percent are “confident they’ll have access to top talent.” Fifty-one percent stated that hiring has become increasingly difficult.

Whether you are approaching top talent or new graduates, there’s a good chance hiring managers in other industries are recruiting those candidates as well. From agriculture and ecology to pharmacology and biotechnology, many different fields require scientists. According to recent data from WANTED Analytics, a business intelligence company, 68,000 scientist jobs were available online in January 2013. This represented a 16 percent year-over year-increase, with 86 percent of the positions posted directly by employers and 14 percent by recruiting agencies.

Further analysis of the postings revealed five industries with particularly aggressive demand for scientists. According to WANTED, these are pharmaceutical manufacturing, colleges/universities/professional schools, administration of conservation programs, research and development in physics/engineering/life sciences, and general medical and surgical hospitals.

In particular, New York companies advertised for the greatest number of scientist jobs. According to WANTED, more than 6,200 ads were posted online in the New York City area, a 22 percent year-over-year increase. Other cities in which scientists were in high demand included Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington DC. Each of these cities posted 3,000 or more scientist jobs on the Internet.

The Annual Report and Life Sciences Employment Outlook released by BioSpace.com, a biotech and pharmaceutical job board and news website, revealed similar trends. During 2012, 20.2 percent of the positions posted on the site were for management, while 38.4 percent were for non-management jobs. Industry segments that experienced increased demand for science related jobs in 2012 included biotechnology, research institutions, and service/suppliers.

As far as positions, BioSpace analysts found that clinical research associate , clinical laboratory scientist , director of regulatory affairs, general regulatory affairs, research assistant and experienced significant growth in demand last year. Jobs with the most openings by profession included scientist, research associate, sales rep, associate scientist, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, and manufacturing.

WANTED Analytics’ January numbers revealed the most in-demand scientist occupations were research analysts, medical scientists, biological technicians, chemists, environmental science/protection technicians, clinical psychologists, environmental scientists, geoscientists, food scientists/technologists, and chemical technicians. Research analysts had the most available jobs and the greatest year-over-year increase in positions (22 percent more in January 2013 than in January 2012).

What do all these numbers mean for hiring managers and recruiters? Only what you may know: you’re not alone in your pursuit of top job candidates. For best results, source current employees and professional organizations for referrals, build relationships with quality universities to recruit soon-to-be graduates, and post open positions on a niche job board like BioSpace.com, which currently receives more than 400,000 unique visitors each month.

Attract the best candidates with Biospace Job Postings. Post a Job in minutes and find top life science candidates.

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