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The differences between naturalists and scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a naturalist, becoming a scientist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a scientist has an average salary of $97,344, which is higher than the $42,363 average annual salary of a naturalist.
The top three skills for a naturalist include nature programs, cultural history and CPR. The most important skills for a scientist are chemistry, data analysis, and patients.
| Naturalist | Scientist | |
| Yearly salary | $42,363 | $97,344 |
| Hourly rate | $20.37 | $46.80 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 6,913 | 62,467 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
Naturalists are people who educate the public on environmental-related matters. The core responsibilities of this position are preserving, restoring, maintaining, and protecting natural habitat. Other duties performed by a naturalist are; guide work, conducting field studies of local and natural habitats, educating and providing the general public with recreational activities, assisting with administrative tasks that relate to parking admission, and leading and offering guidance during trips and nature walks for both adults and children.
A scientist is responsible for researching and analyzing the nature and complexities of the physical world to identify discoveries that would improve people's lives and ignite scientific knowledge for society. Scientists' duties differ in their different areas of expertise, but all of them must have a broad comprehension of scientific disciplines and methods to support their experiments and investigations. They collect the sample for their research, record findings, create research proposals, and release publications. A scientist must know how to utilize laboratory equipment to support the study and drive results efficiently and accurately.
Naturalists and scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Naturalist | Scientist | |
| Average salary | $42,363 | $97,344 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $73,000 | Between $67,000 And $140,000 |
| Highest paying City | Las Vegas, NV | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | California |
| Best paying company | PSEA | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a naturalist and a scientist in terms of educational background:
| Naturalist | Scientist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Environmental Science | Chemistry |
| Most common college | University of California, Berkeley | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between naturalists' and scientists' demographics:
| Naturalist | Scientist | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.7% Female, 64.3% | Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 0.7% Unknown, 2.9% Hispanic or Latino, 2.4% Asian, 1.4% White, 91.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |