Anthropologists are social scientists who study humans both ancient and contemporary, as individuals and as tribes. Cultural anthropologists and ethographers study how today's workers produce goods and interact with each other. Biological-physical anthropologists study the human gene pool to see just how diverse it is. Anthropologists work in business, in research, in the field and in academic environments. Archeaologists search underground to recover relics of past human life.

SALARY: In academia, salaries average $51,000.Nonacademic salaries are significantly higher, with entry level salaries averaging $30,000, with the potential to climb to the six-figure range.

EDUCATION: The PhD is the preferred degree; but those with a master's, particularly combined with work experience, are in almost equal demand.

Biologists study plant and animal life. They research organisms and their relationship to one another. A biologist may find work in a lab, searching out genetic codes, or in a manufacturing facility, developing and testing new drugs. Molecular biology is in the forefront now, but such fields as wildlife management or forestry are also open to biologists. Biologists are often defined by their specialties: For example, marine biologists study salt water organisms; botanists study plants.

SALARY: $37,500, median. The median for all PhDs in the field is $55,100; the median for PhDs in private industry is $70,500.

EDUCATION: A doctorate is essential for professorial and many coveted research positions. Master's degree recipients may work in industry or applied research. A bachelor's degree may be the beginning of a career in the health-care field; those with a bachelor's may also work in laboratories, for manufacturers or engineering firms.

Chemists study the substances that make up the world and how they work, alone and together. A chemist may also put them together to create new things, like plastics, thus becoming applied chemists. Chemists may specialize in any part of the field; organic chemists, for instance, focus on carbon compounds, which include living things. There are now combinatorial chemists, who basically do their chemistry on a computer.

SALARY: Starting, with a bachelor's degree,$25,409, with a master's, $34,760; with a PhD, $45,087. Median is $60,000.

EDUCATION: A bachelor's degree is the minimum requirement and can be applied broadly. More education enhances employability; coveted research jobs are usually reserved for PhDs.

Almost everything we use in our daily lives, from computers to crayons, has been engineered in some way. Engineers are applied scientists: they use scientific principles to design new systems and products.
Chemical Engineers devise everything from new strains of corn to plastics. They use the tenets of chemistry and engineering to solve problems about the use or production of chemicals. They work in many industries, from agriculture to medicine.
Civil Engineers design highways, bridges, water systems and wastewater treatment plants.
Electrical and Electronic Engineers design and supervise the production of things as large as power-generation systems in dams and as small as tiny electronic circuits. Now, they may be sought as hardware designers for the computer industry.
Environmental Engineers help prevent and solve environmental problems. This may entail clean-up of pollution created by industry or other activity, but, increasingly, these engineers try to design systems that prevent such problems.
Industrial Engineers determine the best ways for an organization to use all its resources, from people to machines. They design production systems and study how the work environment affects employees and then try to make it more efficient.
Mechanical Engineers design and build all sorts of mechanical things, from tools to robots. They use the principles of motion, force and energy to create systems and products. They may design pressure piping to be used in a nuclear power plant, for instance.
Biomechanical Engineers help design movement aids for patients and medical instruments.
Biomedical Engineers also work on medical instrumentation.
Pharmaceutical Engineers, as the name implies, work on developing new drugs.

SALARY: The starting salaries for engineers are among the highest offered to college graduates, with a median this year of $37,500. After 10 years on the job, the median rises to $56,300; after 25, to $73,600.

EDUCATION: A bachelor's degree in engineering or engineering technology remains the basic requirement. But today's prospective engineers are encouraged to take more liberal arts courses. Some companies demand a master's degree, but many don't. The designation professional engineer, acquired after an exam, is desirable. Engineers must be registered. Continuing education is required in some states, but not yet in Massachusetts.

Geologists study the surface of the Earth, oceanographers the sea and geophysicists study the internal composition of the Earth. All use their skills to search for natural resources, from oil to fish, and to solve environmental problems. They perform research both in the laboratory and in the field. Many of these scientists specialize: Physical oceanographers study such things as waves, tides and currents; petroleum geologists look for oil and gas by mapping the subsurface of the sea or land. All may work for the government or in business or academia.

SALARY: Starting, $28,100 with a master's; median, all PhDs, $60,100.

EDUCATION: A master's is the most preferred degree. A PhD is required for academia and top research jobs.

These scientists study the laws of the natural world and use them to invent new things. Theoretical physicists research those laws, which they put into simple mathematical rules; applied or experimental physicists design things as different as transistors and ocean buoys. Physicists may work in industry, government or universities.

SALARY: Starting, $30,000 with a bachelor's; $41,000 for PhDs. Median for all PhDs, $66,400.

EDUCATION: Those with a bachelor's degree in physics can get jobs in industry. However, a doctoral degree is the basic requirement for physicists.

DEMAND: The demand for physicists declined with defense budget cutbacks. The job outlook overall is not good, and, like many scientists, physicists need to study non-traditional career paths. Applied scientists will fare better.