How Much Would an Ecologist Get Paid Annually?
From tiny plankton in the surface waters of the ocean to big cats stalking Asian jungles, and from lush meadows of grass to sparse cacti in the desert, living organisms have a symbiotic relationship with their environment. Ecologists investigate how organisms interact with their surroundings, and how factors affecting those environments – such as weather changes, pollution and human activity – impact upon those organisms. Ecologists collect data -- such as water, soil and air quality information -- and conduct field surveys on animal and plant populations and behavior.
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Average Pay
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For the purposes of its national employment survey conducted in May 2010, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) classified ecologists alongside their fellow biological scientists working in areas such as physiology and botany. It concluded that the mean annual salary across this occupational grouping was $71,310, which translates into an hourly pay rate of $34.28. The top 10 percent of earners achieved wages of more than $102,300 per year, while their counterparts in the bottom bracket earned less than $38,780.
Pay by Industry
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The vast majority of biological scientists, including ecologists, work for the federal executive branch – conducting research and taking part in conservation and regulation measures. The BLS listed the mean yearly wage within this sector of the industry at $73,530. Ecologists working in academia – colleges, universities and professional schools – received annual pay of $59,200. Those engaged by scientific research and development services earned $77,050, which was slightly higher than the mean within pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing, listed at $74,670.
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Pay by Location
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The Bureau reported that Maryland was the state in which biological scientists were likely to earn the highest pay rates, with an annual mean of $93,330. Maine and Virginia were also lucrative locations, with respective means of $86,680 and $84,450. Wage levels were similar between Washington and Texas -- $67,540 and $67,350, respectively – while Montana had among the lowest rate, a yearly mean of just $58,920.
Pay by Experience
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The U.S. Geological Survey reports that the ecologists it employs generally start at Grade 7 in the federal General Schedule Pay Scale, dependent on experience. Thus, those ecologists at GS-7 level, with one full year of graduate level education or suitable experience, earned between $33,979 and $44,176 as of 2011. The GS-11 level, which requires an individual to possess a Ph.D. or suitable experience within the field, pays between $50,287 and $65,371. The top grade available was GS-15, which averaged between $99,628 and $129,517 as of 2011.
Outlook
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The BLS predicts that employment opportunities for biological scientists of all kinds, including ecologists, will increase by around 21 percent over the decade from 2008 to 2018. This exceeds the projected growth rate for the nation as a whole, put at between 7 and 13 percent through 2018. Biotechnology and environmental protection will be two primary areas of growth. As such, pay levels for ecologists should remain very competitive.
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