Posted by amanda Davalos on September 15, 2005

Q: I have a couple of questions about a naturalist for a repot I have to do.

Is any education required?

What are some of the jobs responsibilities?

How long is a typical work day?

What are the fringe or are there any fringe benifits?

Is any travel involved?

Are there any instuments used?

What skills are needed, if any?

What is the salary range?

And is there anything else I would need to know to do this job?

Thank you so much for the help!

-Amanda Davalos-

A: Is any education required? It's certainly possible to be a naturalist without formal education but not likely. A good education in the sciences is extremely important. One should have a diverse knowledge of animals and plants along with some basic chemistry and geology too. A college degree is required by many institutions.

What are some of the jobs responsibilities? These vary a great deal depending on the exact job. Naturalists often work with nature centers or zoos but may work in other kinds of organizations too. Probably the major focus of a naturalist is education so teaching would be ones main responsibility.

How long is a typical work day? That too can vary but most naturalists work an 8 hour day.

What are the fringe or are there any fringe benifits? This varies with the institution one works for. Unfortunately, most naturalist jobs are not very high paying jobs however the kind of work one does makes the work especially enjoyable and rewarding on a personal level.

Is any travel involved? Probably not much although naturalists do go to conferences to keep up with new information in their field.

Are there any instuments used? A good pair of binoculars and field guides are pretty basic. If you get into some studies on water quality, or take some meteorological measurements or work with soils, for example, you'll need various kinds of equipment to do that.

What skills are needed, if any? Since education is such an important part of the job, good people-skills are invaluable.

What is the salary range? This can range quite a bit but is probably on the "low" side in comparison to many other professions

And is there anything else I would need to know to do this job? Since a naturalist is kind of a "generalist" in nature, it's important to stay current with information and environmental issues whether locally or nationally.

John Wiessinger ( September 18, 2005)