Toxicologist

Toxicologist

Education/Training Required

• Usually have appropriate bachelor’s degree.

• Most toxicologists have advanced (master's or doctoral) degrees in toxicology or a

related area.

• A doctoral (PhD) degree is usually required to direct and administer research programs
for a Toxicologist, or to teach at college.

Responsibilities/Daily Activities

• Duties depend on what type of toxicologist you are.

• Analytical toxicologists specialize in detecting natural products such as venoms or plant

poisons, toxic man-made chemicals and the metabolites of ingested substances.
• Biomedical toxicologist work in a place where they evaluate the effects of drugs.

• Forensic toxicologists examine post-mortem tissues for drugs and poisons in deaths,
where the cause is unknown.

• Industrial toxicologists test new products to determine toxicity.

• Nutritional toxicologists test food additives and new food products.

Salary Range

• Starting salary $34,000 to $74,000

• Medium/Average salary is around $55,500 to $81,000.

• Highest salary available is $111,700.

Documentation of Sources
• Toxicologist[Internet]. 2000-2010 Alberta(Canada): [updated 2010 September; accessed
2010 September 25]. Available from: http://alis.alberta.ca/occinfo/Content/RequestAction.asp?
aspAction=GetHTMLProfile&format=html&occPro_ID=71002842

• Salary[Internet]. 1999-2010 (USA): [updated 2010 August; accessed 2010 September 25].
Available from: http://www.ehow.com/facts_5210099_average-salary-toxicologist.html

Self-Reflection
• Being a toxicologist is very appealing. You can work in many different branches, and
there are many levels of work. Some test new products for toxicity, while some test a
human body to determine toxicity levels. To become a toxicologist, you must be
determined, and you will have lots of years in college. For that many years, and the
amount of pay, I wouldn’t want it. This is why this job is not for me.