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Q:
Any Wildlife Biologists out there, or employees of similar jobs. I hope to be a wildlife biologist someday. Can you tell me the highs and lows to your job and explain what your daily job activites are? Thanks...
Question by Taylor Kash. Uploaded on November 12, 2009
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Answers (9)
Highs:
-The work is rewarding and enjoyable on most days, and you'll often catch yourself saying, "I can't beleive I'm getting paid to do this!" I don't know any wildlife biologists that hate their job.
-The people you meet in the wildlife field are fantastic!
-The work often keeps you in good physical condition ((heavy lifting, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, etc.).
Lows:
-Lots of hard work for more disappointments than rewards (just like hunting or trapping...for example, when you wait for that big buck all season long and then don't get a shot opportunity when he finally shows up...imagine that and you'll get an idea of what I'm talking about.)
-The work conditions often suck
-The work hours often suck (you're active when critters are active...they don't like our 9-5 workday clock)
-The pay definitely sucks (living paycheck to paycheck)
-The jobs are very competitive
-If you do find jobs, they often require you to move very far from home
-You can usually only find seasonal and term jobs if you graduate with a Bachelor's degree, so you'll probably want to get a Master's degree to help avoid moving all over the country every 4-6 months.
-If you do want to go all over the country, I would suggest getting a small camper, or some other type of vehicle you can live out of, because searching for housing SUCKS!
-Maintaining any type of relationship with someone is nearly impossible.
My job activities have included, but are not limited to: live capture trapping all hours of the night and day, set-up and take down of equipment, equipment maintenence, bird banding, radio telemetry, data collection and entry, necropsies (cutting up dead animals to determine cause of death), collecting and picking through scat to determine what animals are eating, insect collection, nest surveys, mapping, and writing reports. Good luck!
I was hoping to do the same thing some time just do some studies on different things in different states, just kind of sucks I'm kind of a money person. but I guess I'd rather have a fun job then a boring one.
If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is the pay like? What could i do to raise the pay, just get a higher degree, you know masters of Ph.D.
The lows are the same reason I didn't start a Gun Shop. While everyone is out hunting, your stuck on the job being the busiest time of the year!
Yea, but while everyone is working, im out in the field "working" and "collecting" data.
I can't add much to BioGuy's answer. You will definitely want to go for a Master's at the least if you are looking for decent and steady work. BS level is extremely competitive and MS level is getting almost as bad nowadays.
My job entails some great field work all over the country, but I am based out of one office which is nice.
The reality is that field work gets to be less and less of the majority of your work with the more responsibility (i.e. pay raise/higher degrees) you get. But, you can't do the crazy, all hours, all conditions field work that you used to do forever.
I get plenty of time to hunt and fish (usually after hours when on a site) so I don't agree with Cooper's answer. If you are a Cons. Officer, that might be true, but a general fish/wildlife biologist- not so much.
Can't beat the work if you can get it, but they take the fun directly from your paycheck.
Lol...matouse3 has the idea.
As for your question about pay...if you're making $20,000/year your first year out of college, you're doing well! After a few years of experience, you may be able to find something in the $30,000-40,000 range as a Biologist 1 for a federal or state agency, but at that point you better learn to be hated by nearly everyone with an opinion that differs from that of the agency. As you make your way up through the pay ranks, your job gets to be less field work, and more indoors desk work.
One of the other benefits I forgot to mention is that it does improve your hunting ability (keeps you in shape, increases your knowledge of suitable habitat and animal behavior, and you learn how animals travel along the landscape).
i did some research online and they say the average salary is around 60,000 a year. But that is the internet for ya
Lol...yup...that's the internet for ya :-) $60,000 a year is for the folks that have made their way up the chain and have office jobs and advanced degrees. Conservation officers start off with pretty good pay...usually $30,000-$40,000/year right out of the academy.
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Highs:
-The work is rewarding and enjoyable on most days, and you'll often catch yourself saying, "I can't beleive I'm getting paid to do this!" I don't know any wildlife biologists that hate their job.
-The people you meet in the wildlife field are fantastic!
-The work often keeps you in good physical condition ((heavy lifting, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, etc.).
Lows:
-Lots of hard work for more disappointments than rewards (just like hunting or trapping...for example, when you wait for that big buck all season long and then don't get a shot opportunity when he finally shows up...imagine that and you'll get an idea of what I'm talking about.)
-The work conditions often suck
-The work hours often suck (you're active when critters are active...they don't like our 9-5 workday clock)
-The pay definitely sucks (living paycheck to paycheck)
-The jobs are very competitive
-If you do find jobs, they often require you to move very far from home
-You can usually only find seasonal and term jobs if you graduate with a Bachelor's degree, so you'll probably want to get a Master's degree to help avoid moving all over the country every 4-6 months.
-If you do want to go all over the country, I would suggest getting a small camper, or some other type of vehicle you can live out of, because searching for housing SUCKS!
-Maintaining any type of relationship with someone is nearly impossible.
My job activities have included, but are not limited to: live capture trapping all hours of the night and day, set-up and take down of equipment, equipment maintenence, bird banding, radio telemetry, data collection and entry, necropsies (cutting up dead animals to determine cause of death), collecting and picking through scat to determine what animals are eating, insect collection, nest surveys, mapping, and writing reports. Good luck!
I was hoping to do the same thing some time just do some studies on different things in different states, just kind of sucks I'm kind of a money person. but I guess I'd rather have a fun job then a boring one.
If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is the pay like? What could i do to raise the pay, just get a higher degree, you know masters of Ph.D.
Yea, but while everyone is working, im out in the field "working" and "collecting" data.
I can't add much to BioGuy's answer. You will definitely want to go for a Master's at the least if you are looking for decent and steady work. BS level is extremely competitive and MS level is getting almost as bad nowadays.
My job entails some great field work all over the country, but I am based out of one office which is nice.
The reality is that field work gets to be less and less of the majority of your work with the more responsibility (i.e. pay raise/higher degrees) you get. But, you can't do the crazy, all hours, all conditions field work that you used to do forever.
I get plenty of time to hunt and fish (usually after hours when on a site) so I don't agree with Cooper's answer. If you are a Cons. Officer, that might be true, but a general fish/wildlife biologist- not so much.
Can't beat the work if you can get it, but they take the fun directly from your paycheck.
Lol...matouse3 has the idea.
As for your question about pay...if you're making $20,000/year your first year out of college, you're doing well! After a few years of experience, you may be able to find something in the $30,000-40,000 range as a Biologist 1 for a federal or state agency, but at that point you better learn to be hated by nearly everyone with an opinion that differs from that of the agency. As you make your way up through the pay ranks, your job gets to be less field work, and more indoors desk work.
One of the other benefits I forgot to mention is that it does improve your hunting ability (keeps you in shape, increases your knowledge of suitable habitat and animal behavior, and you learn how animals travel along the landscape).
i did some research online and they say the average salary is around 60,000 a year. But that is the internet for ya
Lol...yup...that's the internet for ya :-) $60,000 a year is for the folks that have made their way up the chain and have office jobs and advanced degrees. Conservation officers start off with pretty good pay...usually $30,000-$40,000/year right out of the academy.
The lows are the same reason I didn't start a Gun Shop. While everyone is out hunting, your stuck on the job being the busiest time of the year!
Post an Answer