Biological aide vs wildlife technician

The differences between biological aides and wildlife technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a biological aide and a wildlife technician. Additionally, a wildlife technician has an average salary of $33,462, which is higher than the $33,231 average annual salary of a biological aide.

The top three skills for a biological aide include steelhead, biological samples and GPS. The most important skills for a wildlife technician are GPS, hand tools, and harvest.

Biological aide vs wildlife technician overview

	Biological Aide	Wildlife Technician
Yearly salary	$33,231	$33,462
Hourly rate	$15.98	$16.09
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	40,534	9,809
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

Biological aide vs wildlife technician salary

Biological aides and wildlife technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Biological Aide	Wildlife Technician
Average salary	$33,231	$33,462
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $42,000	Between $25,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	-	Springfield, MA
Highest paying state	-	New Hampshire
Best paying company	-	Boulder County
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between biological aide and wildlife technician education

There are a few differences between a biological aide and a wildlife technician in terms of educational background:

	Biological Aide	Wildlife Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Biological aide vs wildlife technician demographics

Here are the differences between biological aides' and wildlife technicians' demographics:

	Biological Aide	Wildlife Technician
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 50.3% Female, 49.7%	Male, 66.5% Female, 33.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 11.4% White, 56.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.1%	Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 10.1% White, 56.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between biological aide and wildlife technician duties and responsibilities

Biological aide example responsibilities.

Create PowerPoint and other support media for presentation of research to PhD research leads.
Work on population genetics projects entailing DNA extraction, quantification, PCR, and STR analysis.
Measure fish, collect DNA samples.
Use hand hold GPS units and maps to identify camera and bear trapping sites.
Enter data into PDA, used navigational skills and GPS to locate sites, contact landowners, and report weekly updates.
Train associates how to maintain and troubleshoot immunoassay instruments, prepare dilutions, evaluate interfering substances and perform accelerate stability testing.

Wildlife technician example responsibilities.

Lead fish exclusion and relocation efforts, using backpack electro fishing gear.
Research new techniques to properly manage invasive species such a common carp.
Perform automated DNA and RNA extraction of clinical specimens.
Collect and process biological samples for epidemiology PCR and RT-PCR studies.
Work with other volunteers and sometimes independently to search for, identify and record GPS coordinates of invasive plant species.
Extract nematode specimens from soil samples, remount old nematode slides, and enter vital information into USDA nematode collection database.

Biological aide vs wildlife technician skills

Common biological aide skills

Steelhead, 13%
Biological Samples, 13%
GPS, 10%
Fish Species, 10%
GIS, 9%
Boats, 8%

Common wildlife technician skills

GPS, 9%
Hand Tools, 8%
Harvest, 7%
Data Entry, 6%
Wildlife Habitat, 6%
GRASS, 5%

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Biological Aide
Biological Aide vs Wildlife Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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