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Agricultural & Food Scientists vs Materials Scientists

Median pay is about $29k higher for Materials Scientists. The usual entry education is bachelor's for Agricultural & Food Scientists and doctoral for Materials Scientists.

marks the higher pay or growth. Education, difficulty and the AI rows depend on what you want, so they are not marked.

Agricultural & Food Scientists compared with Materials Scientists: pay, outlook, entry and AI exposure
MeasureAgricultural & Food ScientistsMaterials Scientists
Pay
Median pay$88,720$117,790, higher
Entry pay 25th percentile$68,810$89,990, higher
Experienced pay 75th percentile$116,650$150,550, higher
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Projected growth+6.2% Growing fast+8.3% Growing fast, higher
Openings a year1,000600
Getting in
Typical educationBachelor'sDoctoral
Difficulty modeled2.6 / 52.6 / 5
AI
Displacement risk modeledHighHigh
AI exposure modeled, percentile59th pct85th pct

Where the skills differ

Only Agricultural & Food Scientists

  • Active Learning

Only Materials Scientists

  • Science

Both lean on reading comprehension, critical thinking, active listening, writing, speaking.

More comparisons

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Pay and outlook: BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills: O*NET 30.3. Difficulty, displacement risk and AI exposure are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.