Scientific aide vs wildlife technician

The differences between scientific 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 scientific aide and a wildlife technician. Additionally, a scientific aide has an average salary of $33,594, which is higher than the $33,462 average annual salary of a wildlife technician.

The top three skills for a scientific aide include data entry, water quality data and GPS. The most important skills for a wildlife technician are GPS, hand tools, and harvest.

Scientific aide vs wildlife technician overview

	Scientific Aide	Wildlife Technician
Yearly salary	$33,594	$33,462
Hourly rate	$16.15	$16.09
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	40,844	9,809
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

Scientific aide vs wildlife technician salary

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

	Scientific Aide	Wildlife Technician
Average salary	$33,594	$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 scientific aide and wildlife technician education

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

	Scientific Aide	Wildlife Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Scientific aide vs wildlife technician demographics

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

	Scientific Aide	Wildlife Technician
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 50.6% Female, 49.4%	Male, 66.5% Female, 33.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 13.8% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.6%	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 scientific aide and wildlife technician duties and responsibilities

Scientific aide example responsibilities.

Identify owl species by sight and sound prompt using hoot flute and reed caller.
Utilize GPS and GIS for recording various field activities (e.g.
Haul seine the Christina river to monitor shad and herring movement/reproduction.
Navigate to and through remote locations using paper maps and GPS units.
Conduct deer surveys in various counties in California, using fecal DNA analysis.
Extract DNA and RNA from plant and insect samples for bacterial or viral detection.

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.

Scientific aide vs wildlife technician skills

Common scientific aide skills

Data Entry, 11%
Water Quality Data, 11%
GPS, 8%
Biological Data, 5%
Data Collection, 5%
GIS, 5%

Common wildlife technician skills

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

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Life, Physical, and Social Science Industry
Scientific Aide
Scientific Aide vs Wildlife Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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