Wildlife Biologist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Wildlife Biologist studies wild animals in their natural habitats. May specialize in a particular type of wild animal, such as bears, or focus on a particular habitat, such as ocean ecosystems. May study animal characteristics and interactions, or the evolution of animal species over time. May track wildlife populations, or focus on the impact of human interactions on wildlife habitats.
Job Outlook
There were 53 Wildlife Biologist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 3437 in the United States.
We do not have this data at this time.
Salary
Many new Wildlife Biologist jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $76,491.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $71,853.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Wildlife Biologist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $65,733.
Education and Experience
Posted Wildlife Biologist jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 69.74% |
| Master's Degree | 31.42% |
| Doctoral Degree | 10.24% |
| Other | 5.91% |
Posted Wildlife Biologist jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 45.48% |
| 3 to 5 years | 33.22% |
| 6 to 8 years | 14.72% |
| 9+ years | 6.58% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Wildlife Biologist positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Management (60.52%)
- Research (43.56%)
- Communication (43.06%)
- Writing (27.35%)
- Coordinating (25.92%)
- Planning (25.43%)
- Operations (17.72%)
- Report Writing (16.58%)
- Leadership (13.97%)
- Microsoft Excel (13.94%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Biology (77.69%)
- Ecology (39.34%)
- Wildlife Biology (36.16%)
- Wildlife Management (33.52%)
- Natural Resource Management (20.49%)
- Environmental Science (24.47%)
- Data Collection (26.14%)
- Wildlife Habitats (16.61%)
- Zoology (9.08%)
- Fishery Biology (12.39%)
- Endangered Species Act (7.29%)
- Wildlife Conservation (14.57%)
- Fisheries Management (10.99%)
- Limnology (7.68%)
- Wildlife Ecology (10.05%)
- Conservation Planning (5.89%)
- Conservation Biology (6.86%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Field Research (20.37%)
- Agriculture (9.11%)
- Chemistry (7.38%)
- Surveys (16.09%)
- Project Management (17.91%)
- Data Analysis (14.63%)
- Land Tenure (16.91%)
- Resource Management (11.23%)
- Botany (11.48%)
- Forestry (16.97%)
- ArcGIS (GIS Software) (14%)
- Ecological Restoration (13.45%)
- Land Management (11.11%)
- Hydrology (9.62%)
- Global Positioning Systems (12.23%)
- Entomology (5.62%)
- Data Entry (14.15%)
- Field Surveys (11.78%)
- Data Management (10.66%)
- Time Study (0.3%)
- National Environmental Policy Act (4.07%)
- Soil Science (6.13%)
- Statistics (10.26%)
- Sampling (Statistics) (7.95%)
- Writing Systems (0.27%)
- Technical Assistance (6.41%)
- Oceanography (5.83%)
- Genetics (2.52%)
- Environmental Laws (7.86%)
- R (Programming Language) (6.19%)
- Geographic Information Systems (9.44%)
- Ecosystem Science (7.26%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Population Dynamics (7.16%)
- Parasitology (1.46%)
- Habitat Assessment (9.59%)
- Aquatic Ecology (7.5%)
- Ornithology (3.37%)
- Wildlife Science (9.53%)
- Riparian Ecology (3.89%)
- Fisheries Science (6.8%)
- Vertebrate Zoology (1.31%)
- Habitat Conservation (4.07%)
- Comparative Anatomy (1.37%)
- Mammalogy (2.58%)
- Ichthyology (2.94%)
- Fish Culture (2.46%)
- Fish Conservation (4.22%)
- Aquatic Biology (4.01%)
- Wildlife Monitoring (4.46%)
- Habitat Improvement (3.55%)
- Invertebrate Zoology (1.4%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Wildlife Ecology (21.96%)
- Comparative Anatomy (2.99%)
- Conservation Biology (15%)
- Habitat Improvement (7.76%)
- Vertebrate Zoology (2.85%)
- Fisheries Science (14.86%)
- Ichthyology (6.44%)
- Mammalogy (5.64%)
- Parasitology (3.19%)
- Wildlife Management (73.26%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Wildlife Biologist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Biologist
- Fishery Biologist
- Wildlife Manager
- Fish and Wildlife Biologist
- Wildlife Technician
- Fish and Wildlife Technician
- Cell Biologist
- Marine Biologist
- Aquatic Biologist
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Field Biologist
- Conservation Scientist
- Biological Technician
- Biologist (General)
- Soil / Plant Scientist
- Environmental Planner / Scientist
- Taxonomist
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Wildlife Biologist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- State Of Alaska (112)
- State of Florida (111)
- Department Of Fish And Wildlife (104)
- Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania (76)
- State of Louisiana (71)
- Fossil Group (62)
- Swca Environmental Consultants (62)
- ICF International (62)
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (59)
- Stantec (56)
North Carolina
- State of North Carolina (20)
- Go-Forth Pest Control (13)
- Clario (2)
- Grab (1)
- Earth Resources (1)
- Ceres Environmental Services (1)
- Catawba College (1)
- Western Carolina University (1)
- Environment For The Americas (1)
- BASF (1)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.