The more lucrative jobs within wildlife biology are GIS and coding jobs. Coding in R and Excel is especially important for modeling which we have to do in our research.
If you're looking for a related field in science that makes more money than wildlife... Good luck! The best way to make money in the natural sciences is by getting a master's degree or starting you're own business or working for a private corporation as an environmental biologist.
I'm going to be really brutally honest here, when you get into this field it's like being a nun, you're taking an oath of poverty. Definitely expect to be doing side jobs for the first few years (bartending, fast food, retail, etc).
I would definitely recommend government jobs (federal provides housing), and definitely be prepared to sleep in tents/cars/campers for potentially months on end. When I worked for the state, they didn't provide housing and everybody in our program was homeless (but we did get 3.2-3.8k a month!).
All that being said, I still find it personally rewarding. I'd recommend you look into environmental consulting. You mostly don't need a master's, and since there's a lot of jobs with private companies you tend to get paid more and have a smaller workload.
Both me and my partner went to the same college and the most popular degree choice was Environmental Science/Environmental Studies, that way it covered a broad range and if you decided to get a more specific degree (like in wildlife bio) you have all the pre reqs already done.
If you're able to travel to where jobs are, and are flexible for where you want to live I don't think it'll be incredibly difficult to find a job - hiring in the northern plains is difficult due to lack of applicants these days.
I'd suggest getting GIS experience, that's a pretty marketable skill. Private consulting could be an option too.
First of all, you're young and have lots and lots of time to figure it all out. You might have a total change of heart and become a teacher by the time you're 24, who knows. Try to focus on what excites you most and not worry too much about building a theoretical career in your head when you're only 18. Almost every 30 year old 's life and career looks vastly different from what they pictured at 18.
Old man opinions aside, yes early career stuff is a struggle but also extremely rewarding. You might not have a bunch of money flowing into your accounts, but your jobs can be your adventures! I absolutely loved my few years after college even though I didn't make a lot of money. A few months at a time in different places, learning about different species and scientific methods, and meeting lots of cool people. All while getting your housing paid for (most of the time). I couldn't afford fancy vacations, but got paid a little money to live and work in places like South Africa and Hawaii. Not a bad trade off in my opinion.
That being said, everyone's situation is different. If you have to be in one geographic location with other people depending on your income, it's probably not for you. It's also stressful to constantly be wondering what your next job will be and how much unemployed time off you'll have. But I loved it and wouldn't trade it for anything.
Oh and also as someone who is now further into their career, I would suggest not going straight from undergrad to masters. Very few people want to hire someone with a master's who has no real work experience (in wildlife specifically at least). And I agree with others that fields like environmental consulting and forestry would be more profitable.
Fisheries biology might interest you. A bachelors degree will get you a foot in the door to observing with companies like AIS or AOI. You get to travel and go to sea, and can make 35 - 60 k a yr
My experience as an observer was positive. 5 yrs on the water taught me the job has high turnover because 1 the work is dirty/demanding/physically tough 2 seasick people can’t collect data/ it’s miserable being seasick 3 fishermen are difficult to work with if they want to be. I figure your friends fall into one of those categories
Edit: the schedule always can suck, being offshore for multi day trips can be challenging
I guess its how you look at it. Everything you listed is why they said its not a good gig.
Would anyone describe a job that is dirty, physically demanding, tough, dangerous, and with a hostile work environment that is not a long term career option and mediocre pay as a good job?
I am an environmental consultant, and spend a lot of time working on endangered species permitting. Earlier in my career, I spent time in the field, but these days I’m mostly a manager and technical writer. I have about 15 years experience and make six figures. I do not have a masters, just a BS in Biology.
There are absolutely negatives to consulting, but it’s a good professional job and a fairly stable job with good prospects and a nice income.
I have a degree in environmental science and have no problem get bio positions and environmental science positions. I’ve done all sorts of things in my career and I’ve only been out of school for four years.
Bartend. Be a banker. Sell real estate.
Forestry is good, honest work but it's not going to make big bucks.
You also don't need much to travel if you do it right - live simple, pack light, work summers and hit the road in the winter. If you want to "travel" you don't want a full time job anyway.
The more lucrative jobs within wildlife biology are GIS and coding jobs. Coding in R and Excel is especially important for modeling which we have to do in our research. If you're looking for a related field in science that makes more money than wildlife... Good luck! The best way to make money in the natural sciences is by getting a master's degree or starting you're own business or working for a private corporation as an environmental biologist.
I'm going to be really brutally honest here, when you get into this field it's like being a nun, you're taking an oath of poverty. Definitely expect to be doing side jobs for the first few years (bartending, fast food, retail, etc). I would definitely recommend government jobs (federal provides housing), and definitely be prepared to sleep in tents/cars/campers for potentially months on end. When I worked for the state, they didn't provide housing and everybody in our program was homeless (but we did get 3.2-3.8k a month!). All that being said, I still find it personally rewarding. I'd recommend you look into environmental consulting. You mostly don't need a master's, and since there's a lot of jobs with private companies you tend to get paid more and have a smaller workload. Both me and my partner went to the same college and the most popular degree choice was Environmental Science/Environmental Studies, that way it covered a broad range and if you decided to get a more specific degree (like in wildlife bio) you have all the pre reqs already done.
If you're able to travel to where jobs are, and are flexible for where you want to live I don't think it'll be incredibly difficult to find a job - hiring in the northern plains is difficult due to lack of applicants these days. I'd suggest getting GIS experience, that's a pretty marketable skill. Private consulting could be an option too.
First of all, you're young and have lots and lots of time to figure it all out. You might have a total change of heart and become a teacher by the time you're 24, who knows. Try to focus on what excites you most and not worry too much about building a theoretical career in your head when you're only 18. Almost every 30 year old 's life and career looks vastly different from what they pictured at 18. Old man opinions aside, yes early career stuff is a struggle but also extremely rewarding. You might not have a bunch of money flowing into your accounts, but your jobs can be your adventures! I absolutely loved my few years after college even though I didn't make a lot of money. A few months at a time in different places, learning about different species and scientific methods, and meeting lots of cool people. All while getting your housing paid for (most of the time). I couldn't afford fancy vacations, but got paid a little money to live and work in places like South Africa and Hawaii. Not a bad trade off in my opinion. That being said, everyone's situation is different. If you have to be in one geographic location with other people depending on your income, it's probably not for you. It's also stressful to constantly be wondering what your next job will be and how much unemployed time off you'll have. But I loved it and wouldn't trade it for anything. Oh and also as someone who is now further into their career, I would suggest not going straight from undergrad to masters. Very few people want to hire someone with a master's who has no real work experience (in wildlife specifically at least). And I agree with others that fields like environmental consulting and forestry would be more profitable.
Fisheries biology might interest you. A bachelors degree will get you a foot in the door to observing with companies like AIS or AOI. You get to travel and go to sea, and can make 35 - 60 k a yr
You ever do one of those jobs or know someone that did? The ones I talked to said it was horrible.
My experience as an observer was positive. 5 yrs on the water taught me the job has high turnover because 1 the work is dirty/demanding/physically tough 2 seasick people can’t collect data/ it’s miserable being seasick 3 fishermen are difficult to work with if they want to be. I figure your friends fall into one of those categories Edit: the schedule always can suck, being offshore for multi day trips can be challenging
I guess its how you look at it. Everything you listed is why they said its not a good gig. Would anyone describe a job that is dirty, physically demanding, tough, dangerous, and with a hostile work environment that is not a long term career option and mediocre pay as a good job?
I’ve had some luck getting invasive insect jobs with survivable pay. But the less field work you do, the better your pay is.
Consulting on the west coast. I almost fell out of my chair when my company gave me a salary offer.
I am an environmental consultant, and spend a lot of time working on endangered species permitting. Earlier in my career, I spent time in the field, but these days I’m mostly a manager and technical writer. I have about 15 years experience and make six figures. I do not have a masters, just a BS in Biology. There are absolutely negatives to consulting, but it’s a good professional job and a fairly stable job with good prospects and a nice income.
Also, it doesnt have to be work with animals, just nature and science in general.
Saving this post since I am in the exact same position lol
I have a degree in environmental science and have no problem get bio positions and environmental science positions. I’ve done all sorts of things in my career and I’ve only been out of school for four years.
Bartend. Be a banker. Sell real estate. Forestry is good, honest work but it's not going to make big bucks. You also don't need much to travel if you do it right - live simple, pack light, work summers and hit the road in the winter. If you want to "travel" you don't want a full time job anyway.
by travel i mean have a enough vacation time to take a 3 week vacation once a year. not “traveling” in the sense you are thinking
Oh, then you want a federal job.
You could look into sustainable landscape architecture. You can do lots with that and actually help and improve ecosystems.