Zoologist Salary
A zoologist studies the structure, physiology, development and classification of animals. One must have at least a bachelor’s degree and at least four years’ worth of experience in the field or a related area in order to become hired as a zoologist. Zoologists often work as zoo directors, curators or zookeepers. A zoologist is a highly trained scientist who studies animal behavior both in their natural habitats and in the laboratory.
Many zoologists work in research laboratories, controlled environments or in the field observing and studying various aspects of the lives of animals. A zoologist can be identified by his or her specialty. For instance a zoologist who studies birds is an ornithologist, a zoologist who studies mammals is a mammalogist, one who studies reptiles is a herpetologist and a zoologist who studies fish is an ichthyologist. It is not uncommon for a zoologist to spend several years in the classroom becoming a scientist before he or she even begins to observe and work with animals.
According to PayScale, an industry leader in global online compensation data, a zoologist can make anywhere from $35,359 to $57,096 annually. This data was last updated by PayScale on May 8, 2010 with a total of 217 individuals reporting. Those zoologists who are earning money at the $35,000 a year rate are those with the least amount of experience while those at the high end of the pay scale are typically those zoologists who have many years’ worth of experience. Other factors such as location, and the type of company or institution one works for can greatly affect the rate of pay a zoologist receives.
In addition to an annual salary, the typical zoologist earns anywhere from $319 up to over $1,900 in bonus money as well as between $1,250 and $3,562 in profit sharing monies annually. He or she also typically receives other benefits which includes paid holidays and vacation time as well as the opportunity to travel extensively. A zoologist often is asked to travel great distances and live in rather harsh conditions for long periods of time so that scientific data can be collected on animals living in their natural surroundings. A person must have a passion for animals and research if he or she expects to do well in this field of work. Being a zoologist also requires many years’ worth of intensive study.