The less-cuddly but endlessly fascinating side of the animal world: bees, bugs, snakes, venom, and rare birds.
Top pay: highest pay, longest training
Venom Researcher: Studies snake, spider, and scorpion venoms to develop antivenoms and new medicines. Typical pay $110k.
Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship
Research Entomologist: Studies insects: how they live, spread disease, damage crops, and keep ecosystems running. Typical pay $95k.
Herpetologist: Studies reptiles and amphibians, from rattlesnakes to salamanders. Typical pay $74k.
Forensic Entomologist: Uses insects found on bodies and crime scenes to estimate time of death and solve crimes. Typical pay $90k.
Biological Control Specialist: Uses natural enemies like ladybugs, wasps, and fungi to control crop pests instead of chemicals. Typical pay $68k.
State Apiary Inspector: Inspects beehives for diseases and pests that could wipe out bee populations. Typical pay $55k.
Commercial Beekeeper: Manages thousands of beehives for honey and crop pollination. Typical pay $55k.
Pollination Broker: Matches beekeepers with farmers who need bees to pollinate crops. Typical pay $65k.
Urban Entomologist: Insect scientist focused on pests in homes and cities, like termites, bed bugs, and cockroaches. Typical pay $78k.
Arachnologist: Scientist who studies spiders, scorpions, mites, and ticks. Typical pay $75k.
Starter: fastest way in
Pest Control Technician: Identifies and removes insects, rodents, and other pests from homes and businesses. Typical pay $45k.
Butterfly Conservatory Keeper: Raises and cares for butterflies, insects, and other invertebrates at zoos, museums, and conservatories. Typical pay $40k.
Insectary Technician: Raises millions of beneficial or sterile insects for pest control and research. Typical pay $38k.
Insect Protein Farm Technician: Raises insects like black soldier flies and crickets for animal feed, pet food, and fertilizer. Typical pay $38k.
Reptile Breeder: Breeds and sells snakes, lizards, geckos, and turtles, often specializing in rare color varieties. Typical pay $35k.
Venomous Animal Keeper: Cares for venomous snakes, spiders, and scorpions and 'milks' their venom for antivenom and research. Typical pay $40k.
Aviculturist: Breeds and cares for birds, from parrots in captivity to endangered species in recovery programs. Typical pay $38k.
Queen Bee Breeder: Raises and sells queen honeybees to beekeepers, grafting larvae into queen cups and selecting colonies for gentleness and disease resistance. Typical pay $45k.
Live Bee Removal Specialist: Safely removes honeybee colonies from walls, roofs, and trees and relocates them. Typical pay $48k.
Alligator Farmer: Raises alligators for leather and meat, mostly in Louisiana and Florida. Typical pay $40k.
Vermiculturist: Raises worms that turn food scraps into rich compost, and sells worms and castings. Typical pay $35k.
Butterfly Farmer: Raises butterflies for butterfly houses, schools, and conservation releases. Typical pay $32k.
Sterile Insect Technique Technician: Mass-rears pests like screwworm flies or fruit flies, sterilizes them with radiation and releases them by the millions so wild pests can't breed. Typical pay $46k.
Python Elimination Contractor: Hunts invasive Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades for state and water-district programs that pay hourly plus a bounty per snake. Typical pay $22k.
Venomous Snake Removal Specialist: Answers calls about rattlesnakes, copperheads and other snakes in homes and yards, safely capturing and relocating them. Typical pay $38k.
Bumblebee Rearing Technician: Raises bumblebee colonies in climate-controlled rooms; the hives are shipped to greenhouses to pollinate tomatoes, peppers and berries. Typical pay $40k.
Medical Leech Farmer: Breeds and raises FDA-cleared medicinal leeches that surgeons use to drain blood and save reattached fingers, ears and skin flaps. Typical pay $38k.
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.