Marine Biologist job description

There is no BLS occupation called marine biologist. The Handbook lists marine biologist, aquatic biologist, ichthyologist, and fishery biologist as example titles under zoologists and wildlife biologists, which is where most coastal and freshwater work gets counted: 19,500 jobs in 2025, a median of $76,780 for May 2025, and a reported spread of $49,100 to $126,440. Water systems work also sits partly with hydrologists, a much smaller occupation of 6,300 paying $96,600 in the middle. The daily job runs surveys and stock assessments, samples and processes, models habitat, and supports permitting and restoration, much of it from boats, in tidal zones, or along river systems.