Career Options

• Ethnobotanists with bachelor's and master's degrees are typically limited to non-scientific positions such as publishing, marketing and sales. They may also become teaching assistants as college or high school biology teachers. Ethnobotanists with a doctoral degree usually teach, since openings in research projects are extremely rare. Grant proposals for ethnobotanists only receive approval in one of four cases.
  
  

National Estimates

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides national estimates on biological scientists for 2010. The average annual wage for these scientists was $71,310. The bottom 10 percent of biological scientists made an average of $38,780 per year and the bottom fourth made $52,200 per year. The middle half of biological scientists made an average of $68,220 per year. The upper fourth of the scientists made an average of $83,430 per year and the top 10 percent made $102,300 per year.
  
  

Industry

• The highest-paid biological scientists were in physician's offices, where they earned annual salaries averaging $102,190. Biological scientists in scientific research received an average salary of $77,050 per year and biological scientists in pharmaceutical manufacturing earned an average salary of $74,670 per year. Biological scientists in medical laboratories earned an average salary of $84,480 per year.
  
  

Geography

• Maryland was the state that paid the highest annual salaries to biological scientists, with an average salary of $93,330 per year. The biological scientists in Maine had the next-highest salaries, with an average of $86,680 per year. Virginia paid its biological scientists an average of $84,450 per year. Biological scientists in New Jersey earned average annual salaries of $78,550. Connecticut paid its biological scientists $78,250 per year on average.