Majoring in Botany

joxo1990

19 years ago

I am a community college student right now, and I am planning to transfer to either UC Santa Cruz, or UC Davis. I was wondering if any one knew how much money a botany major could get me, because I know I woud be happy with haveing one. I was also wondering which of the two above college would be the best choice? Thanks for your time.

Ryan

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Comments (12)

The_Mohave__Kid
19 years ago
Hello Ryan ...

Thats a tuff question ... I'd wager somewhere there is at least one lawyer that can't make a nickle at law ?? ... and maybe a botanist that gives away fancy cars ??

In general botanist are not known for making lots of money ... in my own very limited first hand view .. I see jobs related to botany / Horticulture that pay lets say 20,000 to 75,000 ?? .... more or less ... some make a bit more then 75K some even less then 20K ... myself my BS degree is in plant ecology but I work in the landscape construction .. maintenance industry.

A formal Botanist would work more in Universities .. or goverment jobs ( pay rates by the way for goverment jobs are all public information so look it up ) ...

It's not always what field you choose but how you apply ALL that you know from life and education when it comes to making a buck ... as well as "who you know" .. "who you get to know" .."dumb luck" and "Steping in Sh&t" . A good idea helps too ... What can you make ? .. Not What can I get as a Botanist are to different questions.

Sorry .. I don't have any statistics but I'm not a database.

Good Day ...
flutteryby
19 years ago
Hi,

I found this website that has a great deal of information about careers in botany.

Check it out...
http://www.botany.org/bsa/careers/
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Hwy66Jan
18 years ago
Joxo: "do what you love and the money will follow". Listen to this with your heart and take control with your mind. Best of luck from a happy old botanist!

P.S. I'd go to UC Davis and major in viticulture, buy myself a vinyard with an historic home and buildings, fix it up and make some wine and herbal products and market it as a vacation/event destination. That's what I'd do!
botanybob
18 years ago
UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz are both very good schools. The right choice for you depends on where your interest lies. You should visit these schools and make an appointment to visit a couple of the professors at each school to get a feel for where their strengths are. Also, you should be able to look up their faculty online and see what their areas of emphasis are. Try to talk to someone who is doing research in a field you find interesting. I started out in Botany but finished my degree in Horticulture because I really wanted to learn how to grow plants. HorticultureBob really doesn't have the same ring to it, so I stuck with botanybob for my screen name.

Good luck,
Bob
Candiss_Everett
18 years ago
Try www.salary.com it might work.
taxonomist
18 years ago
Botany, like chemistry, has many aspects. Currently plant physiology is much in vogue and a Ph.D. in that field commands a pretty sizable paycheck. Is is also extremly interesting since it requires a strong background in biochemistry,plant anatomy,and physics. If I were again 20-25 years of age, I'd do anything to work in that subject.
Both schools that you cite are fine...perhaps you might be able to be awarded a grant from industry. GOOD LUCK!
wild_rose
18 years ago
Ryan, Your original post was made in the spring, and it's now September, so you have probably already made your choice of universities. The botany.org website is very informative and if you haven't explored it fully, I'd recommend you do so. I wish something like that had been around when I was making my choices of graduate schools in the mid 80's.

You asked about a botanist's salary. It should be obvious that more education will get you more money. So, if you're looking for a higher salary, you shouldn't even consider stopping with a B.S. in Botany. You're still an undergraduate and have plenty of time to decide which area of Botany interests you most and how you want to specialize.

Many areas of Botany combine several other areas of specialization. For instance, if you are interested in taxonomy or systematics, you'll also use ecology, anatomy, and probably even genetics and/or molecular biology in your graduate studies. If you're interested in Ecology, you need to bone up on your math and statistics too.

Talk to the teachers of your favorite classes and ask them to recommend others in the field you might consider working under in grad school. Then head to the library or go online and search for research papers written by them. While you're at it, spend time reading scientific journals such as The American Journal of Botany and others and see what peaks your interest. Look at the references of those papers and see who else is doing the same kind of research. Your university library will certainly have copies of The Citation Index. There you can search by author and get a list of his/her publications and also find who else has cited particular articles in their research. Before you're finished, you'll probably have a good list to whittle down. You can go at it in a different way also. Say you hear that UC-Davis is the number one Botany department in the country and you are determined to go there. Get a list of the faculty and look up their publications and see who might be doing the kind of work that interests you. Then contact them and see if they are accepting graduate students. You should also be involved in undergraduate research. Even if you aren't required to do a "senior thesis", ask your favorite professor if you can work on a project with him. It not only looks good when you're applying to grad school, but it will also help you decide if that area of Botany is really of interest to you. If it is, then go for it, but if it turns out not to be what you expected, you still have time to change areas before you make your choice of grad programs.

Hope this helps and good luck from someone still in love with Botany after all these years.
gribbleton
18 years ago
My dream is to study plants scientificly but also grow them as part of my job. This *is* possible, correct? Botany with a concentration in Horticulture would send me down this path, right? I just left enineering school (wow, I hate engineering) in hopes of transferring somewhere else with botany...Maybe SUNY Environmental Sciences & Forestry, UVM, UNH, or Univrsity of Maine.
The_Mohave__Kid
18 years ago
" This *is* possible, correct?"

Why not ??? Sounds cool to me.

Good Day ...
wild_rose
18 years ago
Gribble, one of my grad school friends had a Master's in Horticulture and did her Ph.D in Botany. She is now employed at a well-known Botanic Garden. Yes, it IS possible, and very cool!
pickwick
18 years ago
greetings gribble;along with the recommendations directing you to the Botany Society of America http://www.botany.org/,I might also suggest the American Society of Plant Biologists' website:http://www.aspb.org/
Furthermore,if you key in:"abstract center"into their search engine, you will find an indication of several current topics in the field of plant biology....

Here is a link that might be useful: aspb site
akheadbanger
18 years ago
(still in high school)

Was wondering Whats the difrence between Botany and Horticulture? I at least know Botany is the study of plants and horticulture is more propigation. I Just wanna know, i just found out i love Plants so. Just wanna keep things open

Thanks

Majoring in Botany

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