How To Become A Wildlife Biology Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a wildlife biology technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Scott McWilliams Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a wildlife biology technician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.46 an hour? That's $34,231 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a wildlife biology technician?

Dr. Scott McWilliams Ph.D.

Professor, University of Rhode Island

Some skill sets are always essential - be a good communicator (oral and written) because these are common to all vocations in the environmental science fields. Otherwise, have a good understanding of the scientific method, critical and creative thinking skills, and as many directly applicable skills for your chosen field within environmental sciences. For example, if you want to be a wildlife ecologist then you better understand field skills related to how to estimate abundance and distribution of wild animals.

ScoreWildlife Biology TechnicianUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,231

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.74%

Asian 10.27%

Black or African American 3.18%

Hispanic or Latino 8.98%

Unknown 5.37%

White 71.47%

Gender

female 57.69%

male 42.31%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.5

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a wildlife biology technician

Explore wildlife biology technician education requirements

Most common wildlife biology technician degrees

Bachelor's

73.8 %

Associate

11.9 %

Master's

9.5 %

Start to develop specific wildlife biology technician skills

Skills	Percentages
GPS	29.43%
Wildlife Habitat	21.33%
GIS	13.40%
OWL	10.03%
Data Collection	8.01%

Complete relevant wildlife biology technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New wildlife biology technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a wildlife biology technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real wildlife biology technician resumes.

Research wildlife biology technician duties and responsibilities

Research new techniques to properly manage invasive species such a common carp.
Survey historic sites for NSO, great gray owl, and northern goshawk according to establish protocols.
Guide crews to remote settings using only map, compass, and GPS to set up NSO call stations.
Measure small land areas for surveying elk and deer populations.

Prepare your wildlife biology technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your wildlife biology technician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a wildlife biology technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable wildlife biology technician resume templates

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