# Biochemists and Biophysicists

US SOC code 19-1021. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/19-1021

Also called: Biochemist, Biophysicist, Structural biologist, Protein biochemist, Membrane biophysicist.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **33,830** US biochemists and biophysicists, with median pay of **$127,410** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the highest was **35,050**, in May 2021, close to the May 2025 count. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK236730/) of **8,000** from 1940, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for biochemists and biophysicists: Cryo-EM resolution revolution, 2013 to 2021. The cryo-EM revolution created strong demand for structural biologists with cryo-EM expertise and for the software engineers building the ML-accelerated data processing pipelines (CryoSPARC, RELION).

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 12.3% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=19-1021&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **44.3%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Biochemists and Biophysicists employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1874
- Latest US employment: 33,830 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $127,410 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [8]
- Outlook: +12.3% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [22]

### All 29 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1940 | 8,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., National Research Council (NCBI… [1] |
| 1956 | n/a | $7,200 (estimate) | Est., University of Missouri Libraries [6] |
| 1960 | 18,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Biophysical Society [2] |
| 1981 | 30,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., National Research Council (NCBI… [3] |
| 1990 | n/a | $42,000 (estimate) | Est., National Research Council (NCBI… [7] |
| 1998 | 38,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NIH Budget History (Congress.gov CRS… [4] |
| 2003 | 14,430 | $62,300 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 15,200 | $68,950 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 17,690 | $71,000 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 18,680 | $76,320 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 19,490 | $79,270 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 22,230 | $82,840 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 22,860 | $82,390 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 22,800 | $79,390 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 25,160 | $79,230 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 26,410 | $81,480 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 29,110 | $84,320 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 31,350 | $84,940 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 30,800 | $82,150 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 29,200 | $82,180 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 27,380 | $91,190 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 28,500 | $93,280 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 31,360 | $94,490 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 32,010 | $94,270 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 35,050 | $102,270 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 32,500 | $103,810 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 33,180 | $107,460 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 34,520 | $103,650 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 33,830 | $127,410 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (89)

### Employment series

1. [National Research Council (NCBI Bookshelf) — "Basic Biomedical Sciences Personnel" in Meeting the Nation's Needs for Biomedical and Behavioral Scientists (1994)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK236730/), National Research Council / National Academy of Sciences
2. [Biophysical Society — "The Society's History" (founding 1958, approximately 500 attendees at first meeting in Columbus, Ohio 1957)](https://www.biophysics.org/about-bps/society-s-history), Biophysical Society
3. [National Research Council (NCBI Bookshelf) — "THE CURRENT MARKET FOR BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENTISTS" in Biomedical and Behavioral Research Scientists: Their Training and Supply (1994)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK222532/), National Research Council / National Academy of Sciences
4. [NIH Budget History (Congress.gov CRS Report R43341) — NIH appropriations doubled from $13.6B (1998) to $27.1B (2003); biomedical workforce expanded rapidly in this period](https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R43341), Congressional Research Service / Library of Congress
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

6. [University of Missouri Libraries — "Prices and Wages by Decade: 1950-1959" (BLS historical salary survey data for professional scientists)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1950-1959), University of Missouri Libraries / BLS historical sources
7. [National Research Council (NCBI Bookshelf) — "THE FUTURE LABOR MARKET FOR BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH PERSONNEL" in Biomedical and Behavioral Research Scientists: Their Training and Supply (1994)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK222540/), National Research Council / National Academy of Sciences
8. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
9. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Tool eras

10. [Wikipedia — History of Biochemistry: Eduard Buchner (1897) cell-free fermentation; founding of biochemistry as a distinct discipline](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_biochemistry), Wikipedia
11. [American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology — "History of the ASBMB": founding December 26, 1906 in New York by John Jacob Abel; 81 charter members; roots in American Physiological Society](https://www.asbmb.org/about/history), American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
12. [National Research Council (NCBI) — Basic Biomedical Sciences Personnel: NIH budget growth from $8M (1947) to $400M (1960) drove rapid expansion of university biochemistry and biophysics departments](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK236730/), National Research Council / National Academy of Sciences
13. [PMC — "A brief history of macromolecular crystallography, illustrated by a family tree and its Nobel fruits" (FEBS Journal 2014): from Bragg 1912 to PDB 1971, structural biology as a discipline](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6309182/), FEBS Journal / PubMed Central
14. [Protein Data Bank — Wikipedia: PDB founded 1971 at Brookhaven National Laboratory with 7 structures; grew to 233,000+ structures by 2024](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_Data_Bank), Wikipedia
15. [PMC — "The Quiet Renaissance of Protein NMR": Wuthrich 2D NMR development 1980s; Nobel Prize 2002; isotopic labeling enabling multidimensional NMR; NMR as third pillar of structural biology](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3592982/), PubMed Central
16. [National Research Council (NCBI) — "THE CURRENT MARKET FOR BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENTISTS": in 1981 only 17% of biomedical scientists in industry; by 1991 nearly 28%, driven by biotechnology industry formation](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK222532/), National Research Council / National Academy of Sciences
17. [Nobel Prize Chemistry 2017 — Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, Richard Henderson: "for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution"](https://www.ciisb.org/news/2017-nobel-prize-in-chemistry-cryo-electron-microscopy), Czech Infrastructure for Integrative Structural Biology / Nobel Prize
18. [C&EN — "Cryo-electron microscopy innovators win 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry" (October 2017): direct electron detectors in 2013 enabled the resolution revolution](https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/web/2017/10/Cryo-electron-microscopy-innovators-win-2017-Nobel-Prize-in-Chemistry.html), Chemical & Engineering News / American Chemical Society
19. [Nature (May 2024) — Abramson et al.: AlphaFold 3: accurate structure prediction of biomolecular interactions; atomic-level accuracy for protein-ligand-DNA-RNA co-complexes; approximately 80% success on novel drug-target complexes](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07487-w?error=cookies_not_supported&code=2b360610-e108-4e12-afbe-e1c471dacd39), Nature / DeepMind
20. [Nature (July 2023) — Watson et al.: De novo design of protein structure and function with RFdiffusion (Baker Lab/IPD); sub-nanomolar binding proteins in first-pass computational design](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06415-8?error=cookies_not_supported&code=02a693ac-0ddd-4624-990f-d9175543a995), Nature / Baker Lab / University of Washington
21. [BLS National Employment Matrix 2024-34 — 19-1021 Biochemists and Biophysicists: baseline 35,600 (2024), projected 37,600 (2034), +5.8% change](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=19-1021&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Forecasts and exposure studies

22. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 19-1021 Biochemists and biophysicists (2025: 35.2 thousand; 2035: 39.5 thousand; +12.3%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=19-1021&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
23. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 19-1021.00, human-rated β 0.443)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

24. [ASBMB -- "History of the ASBMB": founding December 26, 1906 by John Jacob Abel; 81 charter members; renamed 1987](https://www.asbmb.org/about/history), American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
25. [Science History Institute -- Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, and Maurice Wilkins: X-ray crystallography and the double helix (1953)](https://www.sciencehistory.org/education/scientific-biographies/francis-crick-rosalind-franklin-james-watson-and-maurice-wilkins/), Science History Institute
26. [Biophysical Society -- "The Society's History": founded 1958 in Cambridge MA; first meeting Columbus OH 1957, approximately 500 attendees; "Committee of Four" initiative](https://www.biophysics.org/about-bps/society-s-history), Biophysical Society
27. [Wikipedia -- Protein Data Bank: founded 1971 at Brookhaven National Laboratory with 7 initial structures; grew to 233,000+ by 2024; wwPDB established 2003](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_Data_Bank), Wikipedia
28. [Congress.gov CRS Report R43341 -- NIH Funding FY1996-FY2026: NIH appropriations doubled from $13.6B (1998) to $27.1B (2003); annual increases 14-16.5%; subsequent funding flat in real terms](https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R43341), Congressional Research Service / Library of Congress
29. [Nature (May 2024) -- AlphaFold 3 paper (Abramson et al.): context notes AlphaFold 2 (2021) solved single-chain protein folding; AF3 extends to biomolecular complexes with atomic accuracy](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07487-w?error=cookies_not_supported&code=2b360610-e108-4e12-afbe-e1c471dacd39), Nature / DeepMind

### Predecessors & successors

30. [Yale Laboratory of Physiological Chemistry (1874) -- first such laboratory in the US; Russell Chittenden studying under Willy Kuhne in Heidelberg brought this discipline to America](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3516895/), National Institutes of Health / Yale University history
31. [ASBMB History -- founding members of the American Society of Biological Chemists (1906) included many MD-trained scientists; John Jacob Abel (founder) was a pharmacologist with medical training](https://www.asbmb.org/about/history), American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
32. [National Research Council (NCBI) -- "Basic Biomedical Sciences Personnel": substantial fraction of early biochemists trained in chemistry PhD programs before biochemistry departments existed](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK236730/), National Research Council
33. [BLS OOH -- Natural Sciences Managers: median $162,760 (2024); +7% projected growth 2024-34; biochemists are a primary feeder occupation](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/natural-sciences-managers.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Biochemists and Biophysicists (19-1021.00): tasks, work activities, technology skills, employment data](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-1021.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS OOH — Biochemists and Biophysicists: ~35,000 employed 2024; +11% growth 2024-2034; median $106,010; 3,100 annual openings; pharma/biotech 34%, R&D services 26%, universities 23%](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/biochemists-and-biophysicists.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Nature (May 2024) — AlphaFold 3: Accurate structure prediction of biomolecular interactions; DeepMind; atomic-level accuracy for protein-ligand-DNA-RNA co-complexes; ~80% success on novel drug-target complexes](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07487-w?error=cookies_not_supported&code=2b360610-e108-4e12-afbe-e1c471dacd39), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Nature (July 2023) — Watson et al.: De novo design of protein structure and function with RFdiffusion (Baker Lab / IPD); sub-nanomolar binding proteins in first-pass design](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06415-8?error=cookies_not_supported&code=02a693ac-0ddd-4624-990f-d9175543a995), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Science (2022) — Dauparas et al.: Robust deep learning based protein sequence design using ProteinMPNN (Baker Lab); standard inverse-folding tool for computational protein design](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.add2187), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Science (2024) — Krishna et al.: Generalized biomolecular modeling and design with RoseTTAFold All-Atom (Baker Lab); small-molecule ligands, metal cofactors, modified residues](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl2528), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Science (2024) — Hayes et al.: Simulating 500 million years of evolution with a language model (ESM3); EvolutionaryScale; $142M Series A June 2024; largest open-weight protein foundation model](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads0018), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Nature Methods (2024) — Jamali et al.: ModelAngelo: automated atomic model building into cryo-EM maps using protein language model priors; DeepMind; integrated into standard structural biology workflows](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41592-024-02484-3?error=cookies_not_supported&code=5d53053e-401c-4b19-a8af-4b2b427943a8), accessed 2026-05-24
- [CryoSPARC v4 — Structura Biotechnology: ML-accelerated cryo-EM data processing; heterogeneous reconstruction; automated particle picking; industry-standard at virtually all cryo-EM facilities globally by 2024](https://cryosparc.com/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [MACE-OFF23 / MACE-MP-0 (2023) — Batatia et al.: machine-learning interatomic potentials at DFT accuracy; 100-10,000x faster than QM/MM; enables enzyme active-site and membrane dynamics at quantum accuracy (arXiv 2401.00096)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.00096), accessed 2026-05-24
- [NIH NOT-OD-23-149 (March 2023, updated Nov 2024) — AI use disclosure policy for grant applications; NIGMS FY2024 budget ~$3.4B; R01 success rate ~20%; R35 MIRA awards for established investigators](https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-23-149.html), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science): occupational LLM exposure framework](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Nature Methods (2024-2025) — AI-accelerated structural biology: cryo-EM automation, AlphaFold integration, ML force fields for molecular dynamics](https://www.nature.com/nmeth/?error=cookies_not_supported&code=fb2b7963-9409-44c9-8450-0cb13c7181ab), accessed 2026-05-24

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.