Taxonomist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Taxonomist studies organisms, including plants, animals and micro-organisms, and classifies them in to groups. Conducts field research to collect specimens and lab research to analyze and document specimens or samples. May identify and name previously unknown species. May assist with forensics investigations.
Job Outlook
There were 2 Taxonomist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 141 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Biologist industry, which includes the Taxonomist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Taxonomist 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 $98,806.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $98,806.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Taxonomist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $81,469.
Education and Experience
Posted Taxonomist 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 | 0.71% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 42.55% |
| Master's Degree | 33.33% |
| Doctoral Degree | 4.96% |
| Other | 2.13% |
Posted Taxonomist 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 | 7.95% |
| 3 to 5 years | 79.55% |
| 6 to 8 years | 9.09% |
| 9+ years | 3.41% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Taxonomist 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.
- Communication (51.77%)
- Management (43.97%)
- Research (30.5%)
- Governance (24.11%)
- Detail Oriented (21.99%)
- Operations (20.57%)
- Packaging And Labeling (18.44%)
- Writing (15.6%)
- Influencing Skills (12.06%)
- Self-Motivation (12.06%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Machine Learning (26.81%)
- Taxonomy (100%)
- Information Management (18.12%)
- Workflow Management (21.01%)
- Library Science (28.26%)
- Python (Programming Language) (19.57%)
- Controlled Vocabulary (17.39%)
- Metadata (55.8%)
- Ontologies (35.51%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Scalability (8.7%)
- Project Management (15.22%)
- Marketing (14.49%)
- Information Architecture (13.04%)
- Search Engine Optimization (15.22%)
- Scripting (13.77%)
- Knowledge Graph (6.52%)
- SQL (Programming Language) (15.94%)
- Linguistics (11.59%)
- Agile Methodology (6.52%)
- Business Analysis (7.25%)
- Computer Science (12.32%)
- Knowledge Management (2.9%)
- Data Science (8.7%)
- Vocabulary (16.67%)
- User Experience (UX) (15.22%)
- Data Analysis (14.49%)
- Botany (6.52%)
- Data Management (12.32%)
- Digital Assets (7.97%)
- Metadata Standards (8.7%)
- Front End (Software Engineering) (11.59%)
- Biology (10.14%)
- Artificial Intelligence (15.22%)
- Data Modeling (7.97%)
- Microsoft SharePoint (2.9%)
- R (Programming Language) (10.87%)
- Data Governance (10.14%)
- Digital Asset Management (15.22%)
- Research Experiences (4.35%)
- Auditing (13.04%)
- Data Quality (2.17%)
- Process Improvement (2.17%)
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.
- Python (Programming Language) (100%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Taxonomist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Data Taxonomist
- Wetland Biologist
- Digital Asset Manager
- Standards Engineer
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- Research Fellow
- Undergraduate Intern
- Information Architect
- Principal Architect
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.
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Taxonomist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Meta (11)
- Gei Consultants (6)
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (6)
- Netflix (5)
- Pfizer (4)
- HCL Technologies (4)
- Datapeople Limited (4)
- Vaco (4)
- Aquent (3)
- Russell Tobin (3)
North Carolina
- GlaxoSmithKline (1)
- MSC Industrial Direct (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.