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 63 Wildlife Biologist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 4300 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Zoologist / Wildlife Biologist industry, which includes the Wildlife Biologist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
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 $74,899.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $77,958.
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 $64,330.
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 | 63.95% |
| Master's Degree | 38.07% |
| Doctoral Degree | 16.4% |
| Other | 4.47% |
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 | 56.7% |
| 3 to 5 years | 29.58% |
| 6 to 8 years | 8.72% |
| 9+ years | 5% |
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 (63.02%)
- Research (48.37%)
- Communication (41.93%)
- Planning (31.79%)
- Writing (28.77%)
- Coordinating (24.98%)
- Report Writing (17.47%)
- Operations (17.16%)
- Leadership (16.58%)
- Presentations (16.49%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Wildlife Conservation (12.86%)
- Limnology (8.81%)
- Wildlife Ecology (9.15%)
- Conservation Biology (7.61%)
- Conservation Planning (6.61%)
- Wildlife Biology (36.53%)
- Fishery Biology (14.65%)
- Endangered Species Act (11.83%)
- Aquatic Ecology (7.47%)
- Biology (80.37%)
- Agriculture (18.1%)
- Ecology (40.65%)
- Natural Resource Management (25.9%)
- Chemistry (16.69%)
- Data Collection (22.74%)
- Fisheries Management (10.68%)
- Environmental Science (24.18%)
- Entomology (9.41%)
- Field Research (19.66%)
- Parasitology (6.1%)
- Zoology (12.43%)
- Wildlife Management (31.96%)
- Wildlife Habitats (15.63%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Cell Biology (5.43%)
- Ecological Restoration (12.16%)
- Geographic Information Systems (7.35%)
- ArcGIS (GIS Software) (13.26%)
- Data Entry (11.16%)
- Data Analysis (14.75%)
- Data Management (8.45%)
- Botany (13.48%)
- Environmental Laws (7.64%)
- Environmental Impact Assessments (3.18%)
- Field Surveys (9.5%)
- Land Tenure (17.09%)
- Genetics (6.89%)
- Hydrology (9.82%)
- Ecosystem Science (7.59%)
- Performance Appraisal (6.32%)
- Forestry (14.51%)
- Oceanography (6.75%)
- Land Management (12.28%)
- Sampling (Statistics) (7.92%)
- Global Positioning Systems (10.22%)
- Soil Science (6.78%)
- Project Management (18.12%)
- National Environmental Policy Act (7.28%)
- Writing Systems (7.47%)
- Technical Writing (5.58%)
- Technical Assistance (7.37%)
- Resource Management (14.96%)
- Time Study (8.28%)
- Surveys (17.96%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Invertebrate Zoology (2.42%)
- Habitat Conservation (5.34%)
- Habitat Assessment (7.64%)
- Fish Conservation (3.88%)
- Comparative Anatomy (4.21%)
- Habitat Improvement (3.38%)
- Vertebrate Zoology (4.26%)
- Aquatic Botany (2.71%)
- Ornithology (5.15%)
- Ichthyology (4.62%)
- Aquatic Biology (4.21%)
- Riparian Ecology (4.64%)
- Aquatic Animals (2.39%)
- Ecosystem Management (1.41%)
- Mammalogy (4.55%)
- Fisheries Science (6.37%)
- Fish Culture (5.08%)
- Population Dynamics (6.37%)
- Wildlife Science (6.66%)
- Wildlife Monitoring (3.73%)
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 Science (16.17%)
- Wildlife Ecology (22.22%)
- Comparative Anatomy (10.24%)
- Vertebrate Zoology (10.35%)
- Aquatic Botany (6.57%)
- Aquatic Biology (10.24%)
- Aquatic Animals (5.82%)
- Invertebrate Zoology (5.88%)
- Chemistry (40.55%)
- Parasitology (14.83%)
- Population Dynamics (15.47%)
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
- Fish and Wildlife Biologist
- Fish Biologist
- Wildlife Manager
- Wildlife Technician
- Natural Resources Specialist
- Cell 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)
- 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
- United States Fish & Wildlife Service (250)
- State of Florida (135)
- United States Department of the Interior (97)
- Swca Environmental Consultants (91)
- State Of Alaska (89)
- Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania (89)
- Stantec (70)
- Department Of Fish And Wildlife (67)
- United States Department of Agriculture (64)
- State of California (63)
North Carolina
- State of North Carolina (24)
- Go-Forth Pest Control (10)
- United States Fish & Wildlife Service (3)
- United States Department of Agriculture (2)
- University of Arkansas Community College Rich Mountain (1)
- Earth Resources (1)
- The Nature Conservancy (1)
- United States Forest Service (1)
- U.S.D.A Forest Service (1)
- Pheasants Forever (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.