Science jobs in higher education represent dynamic careers at the intersection of teaching, research, and innovation. These positions involve the systematic study of the natural world, defined as science—the pursuit of knowledge through observation, experimentation, and evidence-based reasoning. In academia, science jobs typically fall under faculty roles like professors, lecturers, and researchers, or support positions such as research assistants and postdocs. Unlike applied industry roles, academic science emphasizes original discovery and mentoring the next generation of scientists.
Historically, science positions evolved from 19th-century research universities in Europe and the U.S., where figures like Humboldt championed the unity of teaching and research. Today, they span disciplines including biology (studying living organisms), chemistry (matter and reactions), physics (fundamental forces), and earth sciences (planetary systems). For example, a biology professor might investigate genetic mutations, while a physicist explores quantum phenomena.
In regions like the U.S. Virgin Islands, science jobs often highlight marine science at institutions such as the University of the Virgin Islands, leveraging coral reefs for biodiversity research amid climate challenges.
Entry into science jobs demands rigorous preparation. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in a relevant science field is the minimum for most tenure-track roles, typically requiring 4-6 years of graduate study plus a dissertation showcasing original research. For instance, aspiring chemists complete lab-intensive PhD programs focusing on synthesis or spectroscopy.
Postdoctoral positions, lasting 1-3 years, bridge the PhD to faculty jobs, allowing specialization. Learn more about thriving in such roles via this postdoctoral success guide.
Science jobs prioritize expertise in niche areas, such as neuroscience or renewable energy materials, aligned with global priorities like sustainability. Preferred experience includes 5-10 peer-reviewed publications in journals like Nature or Science, securing grants from bodies like the National Science Foundation (NSF), and conference presentations.
Interdisciplinary work, combining science with data analytics, is rising. In 2026, breakthroughs in semiconductors are revolutionizing research, as covered in recent semiconductor discovery news.
Success in science jobs hinges on:
Soft skills like resilience help navigate rejections. Starting as a research assistant builds these competencies.
Progress from postdoc to assistant professor (average U.S. salary $90,000-$120,000), then tenure. Challenges include funding cuts, but opportunities abound in emerging fields like climate modeling. Actionable advice: Network at conferences, publish consistently, and craft a strong academic CV.
Explore faculty openings in higher ed faculty jobs or professor jobs.
Science jobs offer intellectual fulfillment and societal impact. Stay ahead with trends from NPR on breaking science discoveries. Browse higher ed jobs, higher ed career advice, university jobs, or post your listing at recruitment on AcademicJobs.com.
Science jobs in U.S. Virgin Islands span wet labs, field stations, core facilities, and computational groups — and they are rarely labelled the same way twice. One employer posts “Scientist,” another “Associate Scientist,” another a faculty science line with a heavy research load. Academic Jobs pulls those titles into one science-filtered board so you can compare roles by discipline and location instead of guessing which keyword a university HR team used.
Search intent here is practical: you want a science job you can apply for, with a clear employer, city, and closing date. The heading count is the current number of matching science openings in U.S. Virgin Islands. Use Advanced Search to add a method or field (genomics, ecology, materials, neuroscience), a city, or an institution. If you are open to related research-track titles, switch to Research Jobs without leaving the same board.
AJ is useful because science hiring in universities is fragmented. A hospital-affiliated medical school, a faculty of science, and a government-funded institute may all hire “scientists” in the same city and never share a careers page. AJ is the layer that sits on top of those boards. Create an alert with the science filters already applied on this page so you see new associate-scientist and faculty science posts as they go live — important when closing dates are two or three weeks out.
General job sites mix biotech industry ads with academic science. That is fine if you want industry; it is noise if you want a university or research-institute contract, pension, and PI. AJ keeps the default on higher education. If your goal is “find science jobs in U.S. Virgin Islands at universities and institutes, not a generic STEM feed,” start here, filter once, and apply from the listing. That is the search this page is built to answer.
Reach qualified science professionals across any industry. List your vacancy on AcademicJobs.com.
Get notified when new science vacancies are posted on Academic Jobs.
There are currently no jobs available.
Get alerts from AcademicJobs.com as soon as new jobs are posted
All USA, USA Territories: American Samoa (USA); Guam (USA); Puerto Rico (USA); Virgin Islands (USA); Northern Mariana Islands (USA);, USA Compact Free Associations: The Federated States of Micronesia (USA) Marshall Islands (USA) Republic of Palau (USA), International, Israel and Canada.
All USA, USA Territories: American Samoa (USA); Guam (USA); Puerto Rico (USA); Virgin Islands (USA); Northern Mariana Islands (USA);, USA Compact Free Associations: The Federated States of Micronesia (USA), Marshall Islands (USA), Republic of Palau (USA), International, Israel and Canada.
USA, Canada, and International
All USA, Canada
All USA, Canada