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 119 Wildlife Biologist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 4385 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 2015:
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 $76,309.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $72,804.
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 $63,763.
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 | 49.97% |
| Master's Degree | 23.26% |
| Doctoral Degree | 12.04% |
| Other | 25.95% |
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 | 70.62% |
| 3 to 5 years | 23.48% |
| 6 to 8 years | 2.67% |
| 9+ years | 3.24% |
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 (45.93%)
- Communication (37.19%)
- Research (34.89%)
- Customer Service (23.88%)
- Problem Solving (22.87%)
- Planning (21.09%)
- Writing (20.09%)
- Coordinating (16.24%)
- Detail Oriented (15.28%)
- Good Driving Record (14.94%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Mammalogy (6.18%)
- Vertebrate Zoology (6.72%)
- Wildlife Conservation (10.98%)
- Comparative Anatomy (6.67%)
- Wildlife Biology (40.27%)
- Fishery Biology (13.47%)
- Wildlife Ecology (8.27%)
- Limnology (8.41%)
- Biology (57.32%)
- Ecology (29.1%)
- Entomology (15.5%)
- Ornithology (6.64%)
- Wildlife Habitats (14.16%)
- Zoology (16.01%)
- Wildlife Management (43.03%)
- Parasitology (8.57%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Endangered Species Act (9.91%)
- Ecological Restoration (9.37%)
- Geographic Information Systems (15.34%)
- Agriculture (12.61%)
- Botany (10.52%)
- Cell Biology (8.22%)
- ArcGIS (GIS Software) (8.59%)
- Chemistry (9.48%)
- Business Development (1.18%)
- Natural Resource Management (14.14%)
- Data Collection (15.13%)
- Data Entry (7.26%)
- Data Management (5.94%)
- Field Research (12.99%)
- Environmental Science (10.76%)
- Hydrology (6.29%)
- Field Surveys (5.09%)
- Forestry (10.04%)
- Data Analysis (12.05%)
- Environmental Laws (4.23%)
- Surveying (2.68%)
- Genetics (9.53%)
- Global Positioning Systems (7.23%)
- Land Management (8.89%)
- Land Tenure (14.27%)
- Oceanography (7.39%)
- Surveys (13.23%)
- Project Management (9.32%)
- Resource Management (8.94%)
- Technical Writing (3.27%)
- Technical Assistance (6.67%)
- Rehabilitation (2.54%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Ichthyology (5.46%)
- Wildlife Damage Management (2.97%)
- Habitat Improvement (3%)
- Aquatic Botany (3.29%)
- Aquatic Animals (3.56%)
- Fish Culture (5.7%)
- Underwater Acoustics (2.62%)
- Fisheries Science (3.88%)
- Invertebrate Zoology (3.78%)
- Habitat Conservation (4.15%)
- Fisheries Management (6.35%)
- Aquatic Ecology (4.71%)
- Population Dynamics (6%)
- Wildlife Science (4.5%)
- Wildlife Monitoring (4.31%)
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 (17.13%)
- Wildlife Ecology (31.5%)
- Comparative Anatomy (25.38%)
- Aquatic Botany (12.54%)
- Ichthyology (20.8%)
- Ornithology (25.28%)
- Parasitology (32.62%)
- Population Dynamics (22.83%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Wildlife Biologist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Wildlife Technician
- Fish and Wildlife Biologist
- Fishery Biologist
- Fish Biologist
- Wildlife Manager
- Wildlife Specialist
- Entomologist
- Field Technician
- 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
- Biologist (General)
- Biological Technician
- Environmental Planner / Scientist
- Forest / Conservation Technician
- Soil / Plant Scientist
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
- Critter Control (355)
- United States Fish & Wildlife Service (224)
- Critter Control Operations (143)
- United States Department of Agriculture (98)
- Trutech Wildlife Service (94)
- State of Florida (72)
- State Of Alaska (69)
- State of Washington (66)
- Pheasants Forever (64)
- United States Department of the Interior (47)
North Carolina
- Trutech Wildlife Service (17)
- Critter Control (11)
- State of North Carolina (9)
- Eurofins (6)
- Trutech (5)
- Freedom Wildlife Solutions (4)
- Terminix (3)
- Go-Forth Pest Control (3)
- Foremost Pest And Wildlife (2)
- Critter Control Operations (2)
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.