How To Become An Ornithologist: What It Is and Career Path

What is an ornithologist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an ornithologist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.54 an hour? That's $51,040 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreOrnithologistUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,040

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.4

Growth Rate 1%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.58%

Asian 11.13%

Black or African American 2.31%

Hispanic or Latino 6.35%

Unknown 4.95%

White 74.69%

Gender

female 18.18%

male 81.82%

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 an ornithologist

Explore ornithologist education requirements

Most common ornithologist degrees

Bachelor's

68.8 %

Master's

12.5 %

Diploma

12.5 %

Start to develop specific ornithologist skills

Skills	Percentages
GPS	50.44%
Nest	49.56%

Complete relevant ornithologist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New ornithologists 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 an ornithologist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real ornithologist resumes.

Research ornithologist duties and responsibilities

Create and manage multidisciplinary, interagency research teams.
Conduct avian radar validation surveys for multiple studies.
Organize and participate in elk population helicopter survey, utilizing census data to determine big game harvest values for upper management.
Plan and execute experiments and treatments, recording experiment results and collecting DNA samples for furtherresearch.

Prepare your ornithologist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your ornithologist 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 an ornithologist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Ornithologist Resume templates

Build a professional Ornithologist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Ornithologist resume.

Apply for ornithologist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an ornithologist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do ornithologists rate their job?