Ecologist vs botanist

The differences between ecologists and botanists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an ecologist and a botanist. Additionally, a botanist has an average salary of $50,491, which is higher than the $50,369 average annual salary of an ecologist.

The top three skills for an ecologist include data collection, GPS and GIS. The most important skills for a botanist are GPS, plant surveys, and rare plant.

Ecologist vs botanist overview

	Ecologist	Botanist
Yearly salary	$50,369	$50,491
Hourly rate	$24.22	$24.27
Growth rate	1%	1%
Number of jobs	7,026	6,922
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	2	2

Ecologist vs botanist salary

Ecologists and botanists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Ecologist	Botanist
Average salary	$50,369	$50,491
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $76,000	Between $33,000 And $75,000
Highest paying City	Fresno, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Volkert	Forest
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between ecologist and botanist education

There are a few differences between an ecologist and a botanist in terms of educational background:

	Ecologist	Botanist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	University of California - Davis	University of California - Davis

Ecologist vs botanist demographics

Here are the differences between ecologists' and botanists' demographics:

	Ecologist	Botanist
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 64.5% Female, 35.5%	Male, 58.2% Female, 41.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 72.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 10.3% White, 71.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between ecologist and botanist duties and responsibilities

Ecologist example responsibilities.

Create and manage multidisciplinary, interagency research teams.
Perform surveys for target species including vascular and non-vascular plants, fungi, and lichens using BLM and USFS protocols.
Issue gas and oil drilling permits on BLM land.
Record and monitor nest locations using a marker system and GPS.
Navigate through surrounding desert and massive mountain ranges using GPS and aerial topographic maps.
Help with park events and or activities, occasionally put on patrol for the park

Botanist example responsibilities.

Create and manage multidisciplinary, interagency research teams.
Develop and maintain wetland GIS database.
Complete GIS modeling for a number of TES plant species.
Identify and GPS blueberry patches, identify plant, tree and shrub species and create maps.
Organize and participate in elk population helicopter survey, utilizing census data to determine big game harvest values for upper management.
Participate in planning, organizing and coordinating a nation-wide program to provide comprehensive statistical information on marine recreational fisheries.

Ecologist vs botanist skills

Common ecologist skills

Data Collection, 10%
GPS, 10%
GIS, 6%
Technical Reports, 6%
Data Management, 5%
Data Entry, 5%

Common botanist skills

GPS, 18%
Plant Surveys, 12%
Rare Plant, 9%
GIS, 9%
Wetland, 8%
Technical Reports, 7%

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Ecologist vs Botanist

Updated January 8, 2025

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