Also called: Animal Sound Scientist, Acoustic Ecologist
Records and decodes the sounds of animals, from whale songs to bat calls, to study and protect them.
You deploy recorders in rainforests or on the seafloor, then analyze months of audio to count species or track migrating whales. Cornell's K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics is one well-known employer.
Based on zoologists and wildlife biologists; pay is modest for the training required.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 9 years after high school. Bachelor's in biology or physics; master's or PhD for research positions.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Biology, Marine Biology, Physics, Ecology.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years).
Medium risk for 10 years. AI now identifies species and calls automatically from recordings; deploying gear and research questions stay human.
Classes: AP Biology, AP Physics, AP Computer Science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-1023.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.