Whenever you come across a living organism - humans, animals, or plants - you can be sure that a biologist has studied it in depth. Biologists figure out how living things work and how they react to the world around us, such as the impact a sewage plant has on nearby rivers and woodlands.

Biologists typically specialize in a specific area such as medicine, agriculture, or biotechnology. Regardless of their specialization, there are some tasks that all biologists do. These include identifying and classifying species or specimens ranging from large organisms to micro-organisms such as bacteria.

Workplace: Biologists are employed in lab and field settings by governments, environmental consulting companies, resource and utilities companies, chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnical companies and health and educational institutions.

Useful high school subjects: English, Calculus, Biology, Chemistry, Earth & Environmental Science, Physics, Social Studies

Post-secondary education: A bachelor’s degree in biological science may be enough for some entry-level jobs in testing and inspection, or for technical salespeople or service representatives, however most research positions require a master’s or doctoral degree. Biologists in these positions direct research and do out-of-lab tasks like site sampling at rivers. Master’s degrees are also generally required for management, inspection, applied research, and product development jobs.

Salary: Life science professionals, which includes biologists, have an average salary of $51,000. However salaries can range from $25,000 to $100,000 a year.