Average Salary

• Virologists are part of a subset within the biological sciences known as microbiologists. They study various microscopic organisms, including fungi, algae and bacteria. In May 2010 the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the average yearly salary across the microbiology professions was $72,030, equivalent to $6,003 per month, $1,385 a week and $34.63 an hour. If a practitioner was among the top 10 percent of earners, she was likely to take home in excess of $115,720, while her counterpart among the bottom 10 percent earned less than $39,180 on average per annum.
  
  

Salary by Industry

• The bureau listed the federal executive branch as the industry sector with the highest pay rates for microbiologists like virologists. It determined the average yearly pay within the sector to be $99,650. Positions within medical and diagnostic laboratories paid an average of $82,860, while those in scientific research and development services offered $72,860 per annum. Virologists employed by pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturers were paid an average wage of $68,770.
  
  

Salary by Geography

• Pay analysis website SalaryExpert.com, at the time of writing, reports that across several large U.S. metropolitan areas, wage levels for virologists are highest in Atlanta and New York City, averaging $85,454 and $79,601, respectively. Chicago and Miami had similar salary levels -- $70,305 and $69,904, respectively -- while Dallas was among the least lucrative locales, with an average of just $47,066. The bureau reported that wages for microbiologists were highest in the District of Columbia, at $104,370. Maryland and Georgia completed the top three at $100,110 and $86,380, respectively, while on the low end North Carolina averaged $62,240 and Delaware $61,680.
  
  

Outlook

• Across the biological science profession, including microbiology specialists such as virologists, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 21 percent increase in the employment market over the time from 2008 to 2018. This exceeds the growth estimated for the whole country, between 7 and 13 percent over the same period. The growth of the biotechnology industry and environmental regulation will be major spurs for this growth. It should mean that biological scientists such as virologists continue to be well-compensated for their services.