Demand vs. Salary: Are Zoologists and Botanists Finally Earning Their Worth?
Are Zoologists & Botanists Finally Earning Their Worth?
For some reason, Botanists, Ecologists, and Zoologists working in environmental consulting seem to earn lower salaries than their counterparts in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Approvals, and Contaminated Land.
I've discussed this with various clients recently and have collectively come up with various possible reason including:
1) Awareness - Many professionals in these fields may not even be aware of the wage gap, as it isn't widely publicised and they may not interact with other disciplines or discuss salaries as they are seen as confidential.
2) Field work Vs Office work - Botanists and Zoologist tend to spend more time in the field and usually receive time off in lieu or paid overtime, which can compensate for a lower base salary.
3) Passion - They typically choose their specialisation because they have a passion for flora and fauna and salary is not always as important to them as other specialists.
4) Personality - Professionals in these fields can sometimes have personalities that are a bit more introverted and agreeable and may be less likely to even ask for salary increases.
5) Team fit - They are typically very loyal and build strong connections with their team mates during time spent it the field and are less likely to be persuaded to change jobs by salary increases.
6) Commercial Value - Roles in Approvals and Contaminated Land may be seen as having a more direct link to company profitability, with higher charge-out rates to clients and therefore higher salaries.
7) Seasonality - Flora and Fauna work in WA tends to be busier in certain times of the year (mainly spring) and there may be lulls at other times (although this doesn't seem to be the case nowadays!)
8) Career Path - Some botanist and ecologist start their careers via academia or research which pays less and gives them a lower expectation of salary to those coming straight into consulting or industry-focused roles.
9) History - Previous downturns such as the Global Financial Crisis, disproportionately impacted ecological professionals, driving salaries down while demand for contaminated site work remained more steady.
10) Status Quo - The norm of lower pay in these disciplines seems to have just perpetuated due to a combination of some or all of the reasons above.
Despite these ideas, it still baffles me because the demand for these individuals is so high and the supply is so low.
There is only a small and finite pool of people in Perth with this experience and its not often the case that other candidates can be brought in from outside W.A or even overseas due to the need for local flora or fauna knowledge and the legislative requirements of specific experience levels in Bioregions to lead field surveys.
I cant think of another situation where there is such demand for something, yet the price hasn't increased in line with this.
However, I have definitely noticed a change in the past couple of years and the last few Botanists and Zoologists who I have placed with clients have seen fairly significant, above-market increases in salary when they moved.
In my opinion 'ecological' base salaries are still typically still 15% - 20% lower than where they should be so it will be interesting to see if the market adjustment continues in 2025!
