While Maryland continues to be a hotbed for defense and cybersecurity jobs, it has also emerged a state with a larger number of biotechnology jobs.
The life sciences sector in the state is responsible for 6 percent of the state’s GDP, or $17.6 billion, and accounted for one-third of job gains in Maryland from 2002 to 2010, according to a state study. Maryland currently holds an estimated 71,600 life sciences jobs, which is about three percent of all jobs in the state.
“All of this confirms our growing leadership as a state,” said Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley. “It doesn’t happen by itself. It happens because of your work, because of your vision, because of the dedication you put in every single day.”
Of the 71,600 life sciences jobs in the state, 33,600 are private sector jobs, 29,800 are federal jobs and 8,250 are academic jobs, according to the report. These jobs earned an average salary of $91,100, which is 76 percent higher than the state’s average salary across all industries. These wages have increased nearly 50 percent since 2002, when the sector’s average salary was $60,906.
Maryland also has the fifth largest concentration of private sector life sciences jobs, with more than 1,700 private sector organizations directly involved in life sciences work. Maryland has been actively assisting state biotech companies through its Biotechnology Investment Incentive Tax Credit. This year, the $8 million tax credit drew more than 180 applications within three minutes of the window opening, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development said. The credits go to investors that are investing in Maryland biotechnology firms in need of capital.
However, Maryland is competing with the nation’s biotech strongholds in Boston, San Diego and Silicon Valley. Financers have typically invested in these areas for biotech research over the years.
“We’re going to do everything we can to encourage [venture capital] funds to support companies, but you have to have the companies and the talent in the state to attract the VC dollars,” said Steve Silverman, Montgomery County’s director of economic development. “That’s why they have historically invested more in places like Massachusetts and California, because the talent pool and the companies have been there.”
Maryland has also seen extensive growth in defense-related jobs recently. This year, the state received more than 30,000 defense and civilian jobs through the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) project, which is shuffling military bases and personnel. The state has also become a hub of cybersecurity, with more than a dozen cybersecurity companies that have moved into a research park at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) – the bwtech@UMBC. The newly formed U.S. Cyber Command (Cybercom) is also situated in the area at nearby Fort Meade.
