Best Life programs in Virginia, ranked by enrollment
All life, physical, and social science technicians not listed.
21 schools in Virginia run programs that feed this job, graduating 3,220 people a year. The job pays a median of $67,240 in Virginia across about 2,710 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Virginia that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
6 programs in Virginia that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Virginia (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Virginia page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 43.0104In Virginia → | 2,760 | 85.7% | 13 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
| 2 | CIP 45.0401In Virginia → | 236 | 7.3% | 5 | $37,366 | $25,000 |
| 3 | CIP 43.0406In Virginia → | 204 | 6.3% | 8 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
| 4 | CIP 40.0401In Virginia → | 16 | 0.5% | 1 | $41,430 | $25,500 |
| 5 | CIP 40.1001In Virginia → | 2 | 0.1% | 1 | $72,216 | $24,750 |
| 6 | CIP 43.0402In Virginia → | 2 | 0.1% | 1 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
Top 21 schools in Virginia
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 12 of the 21 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liberty University Lynchburg, VA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 1,266 | Criminal Justice/Safety Studies | $48,855 | 65% | $28,911 | 99% |
| 2 | University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 994 | Criminal Justice/Safety Studies | — | 96% | — | 17% |
| 3 | Northern Virginia Community College Annandale, VA Public · 2 feeder programs | 165 | Criminal Justice/Safety Studies | — | 33% | — | — |
| 4 | Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 152 | Criminology | $37,255 | 46% | — | 90% |
| 5 | George Mason University Fairfax, VA Public · 3 feeder programs | 144 | Forensic Science and Technology | $42,100 | 68% | — | 87% |
| 6 | Radford University Radford, VA Public · 2 feeder programs | 83 | Criminal Justice/Safety Studies | $35,935 | 49% | — | 90% |
| 7 | Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 71 | Forensic Science and Technology | $37,501 | 63% | — | 93% |
| 8 | Virginia State University Petersburg, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 70 | Criminal Justice/Safety Studies | $34,604 | 39% | — | 89% |
| 9 | ECPI University Virginia Beach, VA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 54 | Criminal Justice/Safety Studies | $36,287 | 42% | $21,909 | 75% |
| 10 | Longwood University Farmville, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 38 | Criminal Justice/Safety Studies | $36,254 | 61% | — | 90% |
| 11 | Virginia Union University Richmond, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 30 | Criminology | $30,291 | 34% | $21,249 | 98% |
| 12 | University of Lynchburg Lynchburg, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Criminology | — | 57% | $19,488 | 43% |
| 13 | Roanoke College Salem, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Criminal Justice/Safety Studies | — | 67% | $24,604 | 83% |
| 14 | Bluefield University Bluefield, VA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 21 | Criminal Justice/Safety Studies | $41,005 | 18% | $22,057 | 59% |
| 15 | Virginia Wesleyan University Virginia Beach, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Criminal Justice/Safety Studies | $39,404 | 42% | $20,171 | 73% |
| 16 | Mary Baldwin University Staunton, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Criminology | — | 39% | $18,500 | — |
| 17 | Norfolk State University Norfolk, VA Public · 2 feeder programs | 13 | Criminal Justice/Safety Studies | — | 38% | — | 88% |
| 18 | Ferrum College Ferrum, VA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 10 | Criminal Justice/Safety Studies | $42,080 | 32% | $22,258 | 89% |
| 19 | Tidewater Community College Norfolk, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Forensic Science and Technology | — | 32% | — | — |
| 20 | Randolph - Macon College Ashland, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Criminology | — | 70% | $26,498 | 87% |
| 21 | New River Community College Dublin, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Forensic Science and Technology | — | 50% | — | — |
All 21 schools in Virginia
Every school in Virginia with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty University | Lynchburg | Private not-for-profit | 1,266 | 2 |
| University of Virginia - Main Campus | Charlottesville | Public | 994 | 1 |
| Northern Virginia Community College | Annandale | Public | 165 | 2 |
| Old Dominion University | Norfolk | Public | 152 | 1 |
| George Mason University | Fairfax | Public | 144 | 3 |
| Radford University | Radford | Public | 83 | 2 |
| Virginia Commonwealth University | Richmond | Public | 71 | 1 |
| Virginia State University | Petersburg | Public | 70 | 1 |
| ECPI University | Virginia Beach | Private for-profit | 54 | 1 |
| Longwood University | Farmville | Public | 38 | 1 |
| Virginia Union University | Richmond | Private not-for-profit | 30 | 1 |
| University of Lynchburg | Lynchburg | Private not-for-profit | 28 | 1 |
| Roanoke College | Salem | Private not-for-profit | 22 | 1 |
| Bluefield University | Bluefield | Private not-for-profit | 21 | 2 |
| Virginia Wesleyan University | Virginia Beach | Private not-for-profit | 21 | 1 |
What life, physical, and social science technicians, all other earn in Virginia
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $62,280. Virginia pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: Virginia employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Virginia
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other page.
How to become a Life
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Virginia
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 12 majors mapped to Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other12 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 40.0401Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, General
- 40.1001Materials Science
- 40.1002Materials Chemistry
- 41.0000Science Technologies/Technicians, General
- 41.0303Chemical Process Technology
- 41.0399Physical Science Technologies/Technicians, Other
- 41.9999Science Technologies/Technicians, Other
- 43.0100Criminal Justice and Corrections, General
- 43.0104Criminal Justice/Safety Studies
- 43.0402Criminalistics and Criminal Science
- 43.0406Forensic Science and Technology
- 45.0401Criminology
Common questions
Answers for people weighing life, physical, and social science technicians, all other programs in Virginia.
What degree do you need to become a Life?+
Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Criminal Justice/Safety Studies, which awarded 2,760 degrees in Virginia in 2024-25, 85.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Life?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Criminal Justice and Corrections, Criminology, Security Science and Technology, Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 3,220 people a year in Virginia.
How much do life, physical, and social science technicians, all other earn in Virginia?+
The median is $67,240 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 8.0% above the U.S. median of $62,280. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for life, physical, and social science technicians, all other growing?+
BLS projects a +3.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 10,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Virginia?+
21 institutions in Virginia reported graduates from at least one of the 6 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do life, physical, and social science technicians, all other work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Research Associate, Geospatial Extractor, Meteorologist Liaison, Lab Technician (Lab Tech), Digital Cartographic Technician, Quality Control Technician (QC Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-4099.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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