Natural Sciences Managers
What Natural Sciences Managers Do
Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, statistics, and research and development in these fields.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- 5 years or more
- On-the-job training
- None
- Self-employed
- Not available
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 5 of 5Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience.
- Education
- Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
- Job training
- Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Biologyimportance 4.0/5
- English Languageimportance 4.0/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 3.8/5
- Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.7/5
- Administrativeimportance 3.6/5
- Chemistryimportance 3.5/5
- Mathematicsimportance 3.5/5
- Personnel and Human Resourcesimportance 3.3/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- E-Mail5.0/5
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.9/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.8/5
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.7/5
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.4/5
- Telephone Conversations4.4/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Social and Community Service Managers95% skill match
- Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers94% skill match
- Astronomers94% skill match
- Medical and Health Services Managers94% skill match
- Architects, Except Landscape and Naval94% skill match
- Set and Exhibit Designers94% skill match
- Urban and Regional Planners93% skill match
- Marketing Managers93% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.9/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.8/5
- Management of Personnel Resourcesimportance 3.6/5
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.4/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.4/5
- Persuasionimportance 3.3/5
- Instructingimportance 3.3/5
- Operations Analysisimportance 3.3/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Intellectual Curiosity
- Leadership Orientation
- Dependability
- Innovation
- Achievement Orientation
- Attention to Detail
- Integrity
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- InvestigativeHigh
- EnterprisingHigh
- ConventionalMedium
- SocialMedium
- RealisticLow
- ArtisticLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where natural sciences managers make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Trenton-Princeton, NJ12.78× national avg
- 2Durham-Chapel Hill, NC8.52× national avg
- 3Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH5.06× national avg
- 4Corvallis, OR3.76× national avg
- 5Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT3.36× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Medical and Health Services ManagersLateral Move
- Financial ManagersLateral Move
- Marketing ManagersLateral Move
- Training and Development ManagersLateral Move
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Business Administration and Management, General
- University of Phoenix-Arizona (Phoenix, AZ)grads earn ~$69,425
- Southern New Hampshire University (Manchester, NH)grads earn ~$75,423
- Western Governors University (Salt Lake City, UT)grads earn ~$98,950
- Valencia College (Orlando, FL)
- Southern New Hampshire University (Manchester, NH)grads earn ~$95,086
Biology/Biological Sciences, General
- University of South Florida (Tampa, FL)grads earn ~$49,395
- Florida International University (Miami, FL)grads earn ~$46,718
- Arizona State University Campus Immersion (Tempe, AZ)grads earn ~$56,037
- Texas A&M University-College Station (College Station, TX)grads earn ~$61,734
- University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL)grads earn ~$51,313
Public/Applied History
- Southern New Hampshire University (Manchester, NH)grads earn ~$49,113
- Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA)grads earn ~$46,496
- University of California-Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)grads earn ~$59,555
- Southern New Hampshire University (Manchester, NH)grads earn ~$54,961
- Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)grads earn ~$70,679