Food Scientists and Technologists: Career Profile
Use chemistry, microbiology, engineering, and other sciences to study the principles underlying the processing and deterioration of foods; analyze food content to determine levels of vitamins, fat, sugar, and protein; discover new food sources; research ways to make processed foods safe, palatable, and healthful; and apply food science knowledge to determine best ways to process, package, preserve, store, and distribute food.
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The Daily Work of Food Scientists and Technologists Take On?
The day-to-day responsibilities of food scientists and technologists include:
- Inspect food processing areas to ensure compliance with government regulations and standards for sanitation, safety, quality, and waste management.
- Check raw ingredients for maturity or stability for processing, and finished products for safety, quality, and nutritional value.
- Study methods to improve aspects of foods, such as chemical composition, flavor, color, texture, nutritional value, and convenience.
- Develop food standards and production specifications, safety and sanitary regulations, and waste management and water supply specifications.
- Stay up to date on new regulations and current events regarding food science by reviewing scientific literature.
- Study the structure and composition of food or the changes foods undergo in storage and processing.
- Confer with process engineers, plant operators, flavor experts, and packaging and marketing specialists to resolve problems in product development.
- Test new products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and adherence to government and industry standards.
Key Skills and Knowledge
Successful food scientists and technologists combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Top Skills
The abilities most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Top Knowledge Areas
Related Job Titles
People in this occupation may also be known by titles such as:
- Applications Scientist
- Corporate Food Scientist
- Crop Advisor
- Dairy Bacteriologist
- Enologist
- Fermentation Scientist
- Flavorist
- Food Engineer
How Many Food Scientists and Technologists Are There?
There are roughly 79,590 food scientists and technologists working in the United States today. Employment is projected to decline by -4.2% over the projection horizon.
Food Scientists and Technologists Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $55,930 |
| Hourly median | $26.89 |
| 10th percentile | $40,583 |
| 25th percentile | $48,256 |
| 75th percentile | $63,603 |
| 90th percentile | $71,277 |
Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.
How Much Do Food Scientists and Technologists Make in Different U.S. States?
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| New Jersey | $102,630 |
| District of Columbia | $102,500 |
| Missouri | $101,570 |
| Alabama | $99,170 |
| Massachusetts | $99,140 |
| Washington | $96,020 |
| New York | $95,710 |
| Minnesota | $94,360 |
| Florida | $92,760 |
| Texas | $92,740 |
| Arkansas | $92,530 |
| Michigan | $86,690 |
| Colorado | $86,370 |
| Kansas | $86,040 |
| California | $85,480 |
| Pennsylvania | $82,390 |
| Virginia | $82,120 |
| Indiana | $81,060 |
| Illinois | $80,030 |
| Tennessee | $79,770 |
| Mississippi | $79,520 |
| Maryland | $79,220 |
| New Hampshire | $79,090 |
| Oregon | $77,610 |
| Wisconsin | $76,090 |
| Kentucky | $72,300 |
| South Carolina | $71,230 |
| Utah | $69,170 |
| Georgia | $69,050 |
| South Dakota | $68,270 |
| Idaho | $67,860 |
| Nebraska | $67,310 |
| North Carolina | $64,200 |
| Iowa | $63,450 |
| Ohio | $62,470 |
| Louisiana | $57,200 |
Where Food Scientists and Technologists Earn the Most
Compensation for food scientists and technologists differ across the country. The following regions pay the most:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Atlantic | $93,927 | 20.4% | 1.40 |
| Southwest | $92,740 | 6.4% | 0.60 |
| Far Western US | $85,841 | 24.2% | 1.36 |
| Plains States | $82,955 | 13.2% | 2.37 |
| Rocky Mountains | $78,602 | 4.5% | 1.12 |
| Great Lakes | $78,024 | 17.9% | 1.22 |
| Southeast | $73,549 | 12.6% | 0.90 |
| New England | $43,938 | 0.7% | 0.79 |
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Food Scientists and Technologists
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $105,670 | 360 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | TX | $103,810 | 50 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | NY | $102,630 | 1,120 |
| Ann Arbor, MI | MI | $102,570 | 40 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | MO | $102,270 | 360 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $101,770 | 170 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | MO | $101,740 | 190 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | TX | $101,070 | 390 |
Top Industries Employing Food Scientists and Technologists
Most food scientists and technologists are found across these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 7,200 | $78,350 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2,870 | $99,140 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 2,230 | $101,750 |
| Wholesale Trade | 830 | $92,760 |
| Educational Services | 490 | $64,520 |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | 190 | $84,500 |
| Retail Trade | 120 | $95,090 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 100 | $80,450 |
The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.
Tech Stack
- Sales and marketing software: HubSpot software (hot technology)
- Web platform development software: Hypertext markup language HTML (hot technology)
- Sales and marketing software: Marketo Marketing Automation (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
- Object or component oriented development software: R (hot technology)
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software: SAP software (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Structured query language SQL (hot technology)
What the Workplace Is Like
Daily working conditions for food scientists and technologists tends to involve the following characteristics:
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
- Telephone Conversations
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
Getting Started in This Career
Most food scientists and technologists positions require a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Considerable Preparation Needed (Job Zone 4), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
Similar Occupations
- Biofuels Production Managers (Supplemental)
- Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers (Primary-Long)
- Agricultural Engineers (Primary-Long)
- Chemical Engineers (Primary-Long)
- Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors (Supplemental)
- Industrial Engineers (Supplemental)
- Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians (Supplemental)
- Animal Scientists (Primary-Short)
Degree Programs
Aspiring food scientists and technologists commonly pursue programs in:
Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences
8 programs across 3 majors
Personal and Culinary Services
1 programs across 1 majors
References
This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 19-1012.00 (Food Scientists and Technologists).
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