What do they do?
Study the origins, behavior, diseases, genetics, and life processes of animals and wildlife. May specialize in wildlife research and management. May collect and analyze biological data to determine the environmental effects of present and potential use of land and water habitats.
Also known as:
Aquatic Biologist, Conservation Biologist, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, Fish Biologist, Fisheries and Wildlife Biological Scientist, Fisheries Biologist, Fisheries Management Biologist, Fishery Biologist, Forest Wildlife Biologist, Habitat Biologist, Marine Biologist, Migratory Game Bird Biologist, Research Scientist, Wildlife Biologist, Wildlife Refuge Specialist, Zoologist
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Ranks #49 in job growth rate20Job Openings
Ranks #30 in net job growth
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- Bachelor's degree (45%)
- Master's degree (32%)
- Doctorate or Professional Degree (22%)
- Associate's degree (<1%)
- Some college, no degree (<1%)
- High school diploma equivalent (<1%)
- Less than high school diploma (<1%)
Most Popular Majors that prepare Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists
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#1
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Degrees Granted
255
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Female Students
188
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Male Students
67
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Median Starting Salary
$42,090
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#2
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Degrees Granted
203
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Female Students
118
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Male Students
85
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Median Starting Salary
$42,640
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#3
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Degrees Granted
154
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Female Students
97
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Male Students
57
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Median Starting Salary
$42,090
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#4
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Degrees Granted
149
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Female Students
85
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Male Students
64
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Median Starting Salary
$35,600
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#5
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Degrees Granted
82
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Female Students
51
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Male Students
31
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Median Starting Salary
$35,600
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People in this career often have these skills:
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
People in this career often know a lot about:
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
People in this career often have talent in:
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
People in this career often do these activities:
- Advise others about environmental management or conservation.
- Measure environmental characteristics.
- Communicate with the public on environmental issues.
- Plan biological research.
- Research environmental impact of industrial or development activities.
- Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
- Assess compliance with environmental laws.
- Examine characteristics or behavior of living organisms.
- Review professional literature to maintain professional knowledge.
- Prepare biological samples for testing or analysis.
- Analyze biological samples.
- Collect biological specimens.
- Care for plants or animals.
This page includes data from:
Career data: O*NET 28.3 Database
by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA
Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics
Videos: CareerOneStop, USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development
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