Scientific technician vs wildlife technician

The differences between scientific technicians 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 technician and a wildlife technician. Additionally, a scientific technician has an average salary of $40,956, which is higher than the $33,462 average annual salary of a wildlife technician.

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

Scientific technician vs wildlife technician overview

	Scientific Technician	Wildlife Technician
Yearly salary	$40,956	$33,462
Hourly rate	$19.69	$16.09
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	9,259	9,809
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

Scientific technician vs wildlife technician salary

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

	Scientific Technician	Wildlife Technician
Average salary	$40,956	$33,462
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $58,000	Between $25,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	Bethesda, MD	Springfield, MA
Highest paying state	California	New Hampshire
Best paying company	Jacobs Engineering Group	Boulder County
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Manufacturing

Differences between scientific technician and wildlife technician education

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

	Scientific Technician	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

Scientific technician vs wildlife technician demographics

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

	Scientific Technician	Wildlife Technician
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 59.9% Female, 40.1%	Male, 66.5% Female, 33.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 13.0% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%	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 technician and wildlife technician duties and responsibilities

Scientific technician example responsibilities.

Manage AIS boat check stations with WDFW enforcement (Carl Klein).
Identify owl species by sight and sound prompt using hoot flute and reed caller.
Work onboard commercial gillnet boats to monitor salmon harvest.
Measure fork length and weight of salmon and steelhead, as well as other fish species.
Operate and maintain power boats, drift boats, and rafts for field surveys.
Utilize maps, GPS, rangefinder, secchi disk and kayaks on a daily basis.

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 technician vs wildlife technician skills

Common scientific technician skills

Data Collection, 18%
GPS, 11%
Harvest, 8%
Data Entry, 8%
Lab Equipment, 6%
Boats, 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 Technician
Scientific Technician vs Wildlife Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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