A B.S. degree in Botany…
will prepare you to find employment in educational institutions, federal and state agencies, and industry. It can also prepare you to enter graduate school to study any botanical discipline, or to enter medical or dental school.
Educational positions for botanists may be found in high schools, community colleges, and universities, and may include:
- Teaching
- Research associate
- Technicians
- Museum curators
- Administrators
Many governmental agencies employ botanists, including:
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture, including the Medicinal Plant Resources Laboratory, the Animal and Plant Inspection Service, the National Arboretum and the U.S. Forest Service
- The U.S. Department of the Interior
- The National Park Service
- The Bureau of Land Management
- The U.S. Geological Society
- The Public Health Service
- The State Department
- Customs
- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- The Smithsonian Institution
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- State agencies in all fifty states, such as the Departments of Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Services, Forest Services, Water Management Districts, Fish and Game Commissions, Utility Companies, Environmental Protection Agencies
City and municipality governments employ botanists as arborists, consultants and ecologists involved with city planning. Environmental organizations like the Nature Conservancy also need botanists.
Industry and the private sector employ botanists, such as:
- Pharmaceutical companies
- Chemical companies
- The oil industry
- Lumber and paper companies
- Plastics industry
- Fruit growers
- Food and beverage companies
- Biological supply houses
- Museums and botanical gardens
- Publishing companies
- Biotechnology firms
For additional career resources, click here.