Life & Physical Science
Drug Safety Scientists
SOC 19-4011
Monitor and evaluate the safety of drugs throughout their lifecycle.
The job
Median pay
$50k
$41k to $64k typical range
BLS figure for Agricultural Technicians
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Growing fast
+5.4% projected
BLS figure for Agricultural Technicians
Openings a year
3k
BLS figure for Agricultural Technicians
Typical education
Doctoral
Our model
AI displacement risk
Moderate
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
10/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
55th pct
More exposed than 55% of occupations · modeled estimate
Future-proof
51/100
Key skills
- Pharmacovigilance
- Signal detection
- Regulation
- Documentation
- Judgment
Pay and jobs by state
BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 2,420 | 0.1 | 1.4× | $60k |
| Georgia | 1,020 | 0.2 | 2.1× | $49k |
| Massachusetts | 802 | 0.2 | 2.3× | $63k~ |
| Illinois | 700 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $46k |
| Idaho | 650 | 0.8 | 7.8× | $49k |
| Wisconsin | 620 | 0.2 | 2.2× | $46k |
| Nebraska | 580 | 0.6 | 5.8× | $47k |
| North Carolina | 550 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $51k |
| Minnesota | 530 | 0.2 | 1.9× | $57k |
| Oregon | 480 | 0.2 | 2.5× | $47k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 470 | 0.1 | 1.4× | $48k |
| Kansas | 450 | 0.3 | 3.2× | $47k |
| Michigan | 450 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $43k |
| New Jersey | 427 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $54k~ |
| Missouri | 420 | 0.1 | 1.5× | $54k |
| Indiana | 410 | 0.1 | 1.3× | $46k |
| New York | 380 | 0.0 | 0.4× | $46k |
| South Dakota | 350 | 0.8 | 7.9× | $41k |
| Arkansas | 260 | 0.2 | 2.0× | $47k |
| Arizona | 242 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $63k~ |
| Florida | 240 | 0.0 | 0.3× | $43k |
| Kentucky | 210 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $60k |
| Maryland | 200 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $50k |
| Mississippi | 190 | 0.2 | 1.7× | $49k |
| Washington DC | 183 | 0.3 | 2.7× | $77k~ |
| Virginia | 170 | 0.0 | 0.4× | $41k |
| Louisiana | 158 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $45k~ |
| Alabama | 150 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $45k~ |
| Hawaii | 150 | 0.2 | 2.5× | $48k |
| Iowa | 147 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $64k~ |
| Ohio | 140 | 0.0 | 0.3× | $48k~ |
| Connecticut | 133 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $59k~ |
| Oklahoma | 123 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $38k~ |
| Texas | 120 | 0.0 | 0.1× | $50k |
| Pennsylvania | 110 | 0.0 | 0.2× | $49k |
| New Mexico | 103 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $49k~ |
| Colorado | 100 | 0.0 | 0.4× | $47k |
| North Dakota | 100 | 0.2 | 2.4× | $47k |
| South Carolina | 100 | 0.0 | 0.5× | $41k |
| Montana | 91 | 0.2 | 1.8× | $43k~ |
| West Virginia | 75 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $41k~ |
| Alaska | 71 | 0.2 | 2.2× | $52k~ |
| Delaware | 63 | 0.1 | 1.3× | $53k~ |
| Tennessee | 60 | 0.0 | 0.2× | $45k |
| Maine | 50 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $47k |
| Rhode Island | 44 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $54k~ |
| Nevada | 40 | 0.0 | 0.3× | $44k |
| Utah | 40 | 0.0 | 0.2× | $47k |
| Vermont | 33 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $45k~ |
| New Hampshire | 30 | 0.0 | 0.5× | $43k |
| Wyoming | 30 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $63k |
Top metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA500 jobs · $64k median
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA460 jobs · $63k median
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA350 jobs · $54k median
- Madison, WI250 jobs · $47k median
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA220 jobs · $47k median
- Boise City, ID210 jobs · $49k median
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI210 jobs · $53k median
- Kansas City, MO-KS170 jobs · $51k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Drug Safety Scientists interactively →BLS does not publish this occupation on its own. Pay and outlook here are BLS's figures for Agricultural Technicians (SOC 19-4012), the occupation it is grouped with, so the real figures for this job could sit either side of them. Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.