Entry Level Pay in The Wildlife Profession in The Pacific Northwest and Mountain West (Poster)

Abstract

In June 2021, the Wildlife Society (TWS) Council approved a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
statement. TWS committed to identifying and removing barriers to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce. Low entry-level salary is a barrier to hiring and retaining wildlife professionals. Our aim was to determine entry-level pay in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West region of the United States. We collected data on the hourly pay of seasonal and termed wildlife positions. We collected data from January 31, 2022, to May 31, 2022. Our data source was the Texas A&M Natural Resource Job Board, the most well-known wildlife job board. We collected data for the following 5 states; Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington. In addition to hourly pay, we collected the title of the position, location, whether the job was seasonal or an internship, start date, duration, type of organization of the employer, educational requirements, and whether housing was provided. Across the states sampled, the average hourly wage was $17.22 per hour for seasonal positions. In Montana, 16% of postings required a bachelor’s degree. Only 46% of Oregon’s, 41.5% of Idaho’s, 41% of Montana’s, 29% of Wyoming’s, and, 16% of Washington’s job postings provided housing. The average pay for a person with a bachelor’s degree in Montana is $22.59, while the pay for entry-level positions in wildlife is significantly lower. We encourage employers to offer competitive wages to help retain and recruit professionals from different socioeconomic backgrounds.