Employment of natural sciences managers is projected to grow by 8 percent from 2010 to 2020, slower than the average for all occupations. Employment growth should be affected by many of the same factors that affect employment growth for scientists whom these managers supervise. However, job growth for managers is expected to be somewhat slower than that for scientists, because research and development activities are increasingly being outsourced to specialized scientific research services firms. This outsourcing will lead to some consolidation of management.
In addition to job openings resulting from employment growth, openings will result from the need to replace managers who retire or move into other occupations. Competition for job openings will likely be strong because of the high salaries that natural sciences managers command and the greater resources and control over projects that scientists can gain from becoming managers.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition