Plant breeder/geneticist: Salary and conditions

Range of typical starting salaries: £20,000 - £27,000 (salary data collected Feb 09).
Salary with three to five years' experience: £25,000 - £36,000 (salary data collected Feb 09).
Range of typical salaries at senior levels: £35,000 - £44,000 (salary data collected Feb 09).
Pay tends to be higher in the public sector. In the private sector, additional benefits might include a company car and medical insurance. Pay is performance related.
The working routine follows a seasonal pattern and days are usually quite long with extra hours, depending on experiments or the seasonality of field trials.
Trials are mostly conducted in the field, which may involve working in poor weather conditions. Assessment and data analysis take place in the office. Some researchers are purely laboratory-based.
Self-employment is not possible or likely. Freelance writing or advisory work may be possible.
There are fewer women than men in plant breeding roles, with a male/female ratio of approximately 9:1 (source: British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) , but gender should not be an obstacle. Maternity/career breaks are possible.
This is a developing industry that changes quickly. Patience is needed but success can be exhilarating.
Travel within a working day, overnight absence from home and overseas or UK travel (to meetings with other breeders and farmers) may all be occasionally required.

AGCAS

Written by Janet Hindle, University of Leeds

Last updated:

February 2009