Survey Finds Bench Scientists' Salaries Rose In '90 At Independent Laboratories

Spurred by a shortage of qualified personnel, mean annual salaries paid to scientists working in independent laboratories rose sharply in 1990 compared with compensation levels two years earlier, a recent survey has found. Bench scientists with expertise in analyzing a wide variety of items--including food, blood, air, and water--received pay increases that outpaced inflation, according to the American Council of Independent Laboratories Inc. (ACIL). The nonprofit group, based in Washington, D.C., gathered responses from 211 of its member firms, nearly all of which are engaged in some form of analytical chemistry or engineering laboratory work. ACIL defines an independent laboratory as "a tax-paying business engaged in analysis, testing, inspection, materials engineering, sampling, research, or development and related consulting services for the public. It is not affiliated with any institution, company, or trade group." Results of the survey underscore a growing demand through the late 1980s for laboratory scientists, as well as top executives and most supervisors, despite the onset of the recession throughout the United States. For instance, the mean salary paid to chairmen--owners, principals, or partners in the company--in firms with corporate staffs rose 14.8 percent in 1990 over the 1988 level, to $97,925, while department managers' mean salary was $42,626, a 28.4 jump from the 1988 figure. Project managers were paid $43,017, an 18 percent hike. Lab employees with bachelor's degrees in chemistry were paid a mean annual salary of $26,951 in 1990, a 6.4 percent increase over the 1988 figure. Those with 20 or more years' experience received a mean salary of $37,454, a 12.2 percent rise. In other areas, the increases were more dramatic, reflecting high demand. At the bachelor's level, biologists' mean pay rose 30.4 percent in 1990, to $28,432, while ecologists got a mean salary of $32,578, a 23.9 percent gain. Technicians in analytical services specializing in environmental services saw their mean pay jump 16.6 percent, to $22,459. Technicians in the food and drug field received a mean salary of $25,525, a 33.9 percent rise. Scientists with master's degrees were also paid more in 1990 than in 1988. Chemists experienced a 22.7 percent mean salary hike, to $33,530, while biologists chalked up a 6.3 percent gain, to $30,722. "We've found a diminishing pool of qualified candidates who have the technical skills, as well as the industry experience," says Jeff Olson, human resources director at Harris Laboratories in Lincoln, Neb. "We're competing for the same candidates as large multinational corporations," he says. "Our schools are still producing basic chemists and biologists in sufficient numbers, but we take a number of years to train them. And these folks are the ones in demand." This demand was a consequence of several factors. Among them was the continued emphasis--at a variety of government levels--on improving the quality of air and water. "With the advent of the EPA and its involvement in chemical problems and the government hiring [that followed], wages were pushed up," says Ned McCarthy, chief executive of Woodson-Tenent Laboratories Inc. in Memphis, Tenn. Equally significant has been the increasingly complex technology used to analyze samples, once described as assembly-line work. Today, laboratory scientists use sophisticated instruments to obtain precision results. "What used to be a simple assay is now a very complicated procedure," often involving the use of computers, says Harris Laboratories' Olson. "You can get into a very competitive situation to attract these people to your organization." McCarthy agrees. "The instrumentation explosion really hit us 10 years ago," he says. "It takes a more talented and educated person, particularly in an independent testing lab. I look to hire a person with a computer science background." But the prognosis isn't all blue skies. The recession, some experts say, has squeezed many labs to the point that some have closed and others have shrunk, depressing hiring demands. And that should be reflected in future salaries, observers say. "The market has matured now," says Carol Miller, executive vice president for administration and human resources at Lancaster Laboratories in Lancaster, Pa. The environmental field, she says, has been especially hard hit. "A lot of people are tightening their belts, and prices [for lab analysis] are being cut to get business. And that impacts what they can pay people," she says. "There have been layoffs, and demand, in some areas, will get lower." Miller's company, which hired about 75 scientists in each of the past two years, expects to hire fewer people next year. "Our growth has slowed," she says. Herbert Wilgis, president of Penniman & Browne Inc., a Baltimore lab, notes that the depressed real estate market resulted in less soil analysis, because there weren't as many buyers to worry about purchasing contaminated properties. But other areas should provide growth, experts say. Opportunities will continue to be available to veterans who are able to manipulate complex analysis tools, they say. In addition, fields such as food and drugs are expected to be fertile. "It used to be very easy to analyze fat in food," says McCarthy, who believes government efforts to improve food labeling will be a major boost. "Today, fat-like substances get extracted just like fat. It's more complex." Scientists who also possess managerial skills are always needed, lab managers say. "On the managerial side, there are a lot of available people," says Harris Labs' Olson. "But rare is the scientist that also transcends management abilities. We're always looking for that type of individual, because they can build things for you." Edward R. Silverman is a freelance writer based in Hoboken, N.J.

Survey Finds Bench Scientists' Salaries Rose In '90 At Independent Laboratories

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of