Breadcrumb
Careers
Our Biology, Botany, and Zoology majors are broadly based which allows latitude of choices when developing a program suitable to individual needs.
Favorable opportunities can be expected for biological scientists with advanced degrees and for bachelor's candidates with outstanding educational and experiential backgrounds. Employment in the life sciences is expected to grow due to recent advances in genetic research, advances in biological technology, and efforts to conserve the environment.
The employment outlook will vary by specialty. Those who have the ability to do research in areas related to the genetic, cellular, and biochemical areas of biology should experience better employment opportunities than those in other specialties. However, many persons with a bachelor's degree find jobs in occupations such as sciences or engineering technicians or medical laboratory technologists. There is a continuing demand for secondary and private school life science teachers.
Related Job Titles
The following list is not meant to be all-inclusive; many other job alternatives and titles may exist. Many of the job titles listed require further education.
Agriculture Inspector
Aquatic Biologist
Biological Technician
Biologist
Biotechnologist
Biotechnology Research Technician
Botanist
Conservation Officer
Ecotourism Specialist
Environ. Protection Specialist
Environmental Consultant
Environmental Educator
Environmental Health Sanitarian
Environmental Planner
Environmental Scientist
Horticulturist
Industrial Hygienist
Laboratory Asst/Tech.
Life Scientist
Marine Biologist
Marine Educator
Microbiologist (Public Health Micro.)
Museum Curator
Naturalist
Park Ranger
Pharmaceutical Sales Rep.
Plant Ecologist
Plant Geneticist
Plant Physiologist
Research Assistant
Science Teacher/Professor
Science Writers
Science Writers
Scientific Divers
Scientific Illustrator
Technical Writer
Water Quality Biologist
Zoologist
Marketable Skills
Communication
- Writing precise technical reports
- Working as part of a team
- Media, public relations, and public speaking
- Writing precise technical reports and research papers
- Designing and presenting scientific posters
Technical Skills
- Knowledge of plant and animal ecology
- Operating and maintaining specialized scientific equipment
- Conducting chemical analyses
- Culturing body fluids or tissue samples
Recording & Interpreting Data
- Categorizing specimens & experiments
- Studying & describing normal plant and animal physiological functions
- Observing and recording animal behavior or habits
- Observing, characterizing, and recording traits of microorganisms and eukaryotic cells
- capturing and analyzing microscopy data
- collecting and analyzing molecular markers from a wide range of sample types
- performing statistical analyses and reasoning
- bioinformatics analysis
Featured Alumni
Degrees in the Biological Sciences have given alumni opportunities to work in their fields around the world.
Some Biology, Botany, and Zoology alumni have gone on to graduate schools. Others are making a difference as teachers and professors, have documented rare insects in Patagonia, work in orchid conservation, and have become health care professionals.
Alumni Profiles - Biology B.S.
Alumni Profiles - Botany B.S.
Alumni Updates
BOB Freeman
Biological Sciences, 1976
I am continuing my writing career.
Vol 3 of H2LiftShips has just been released:
"Gigging the Void"
Available on Smashwords or Amazon
Kent K Willis
Biological Sciences, 1969
Kent Willis, Biological Sciences, 1969, earned his teaching credential the next year at Humboldt State. He taught middle school in Fortuna, California for 42 years, as an 8th grade teacher, basketball and track coach, and vice principal. He earned two master's degrees and a doctorate over these years. His wife Marsha (Gallon), who is also a teacher, graduated from Humboldt State as well. They have two children, one who also graduated from Humboldt State. He retired from teaching in 2013, but has continued to coach 8th grade boys' basketball. A memoir, Teaching 42+, of his years of teaching has been published by Amazon, as has his most recent book, An Auto Biography, that has stories of him driving the bus for biology class field trips at Humboldt State.
Jon Mann
Biological Sciences, 2014
Since leaving HSU Jon Mann, Biological Sciences, 2014, has created and launched his own business, a laboratory calibration company.
Bob Freeman
Biological Sciences, 1976
Bob Freeman, Biological Sciences, 1976, retired from his job as a public health microbiologist and lab director but is still writing software for the laboratory information management system. Freeman is now writing SciFi and his work can be found at
www.smashwords.com/books/view/1023599 and www.smashwords.com/books/view/1029727.
Nancy Ross-Flanigan Pokerwinski
Biological Sciences, 1976
After a rewarding career as a science writer for the Detroit Free Press and the University of Michigan, Nancy Ross-Flanigan Pokerwinski, Biological Sciences, 1976, is now focused on writing memoir and fiction. Her memoir, MANGO RASH: COMING OF AGE IN THE LAND OF FRANGIPANI AND FANTA, was published by Behler Publications in 2019, after winning first place in the memoir/nonfiction category of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Awards. Like most authors, she had to cancel or reschedule all the in-person events she had scheduled for spring and summer of 2020, and is exploring options for virtual events. Meanwhile, she is working on a novel about creativity, outsider art, and madness.
Judith Stone-Hulslander
Biological Sciences, 1992
Judith Stone-Hulslander, Biological Sciences, 1992, was promoted to partner at the law firm Lathrop GPM. With approximately 20 years of intellectual property experience, Stone-Hulslander focuses her practice on patent preparation, prosecution and client counseling in all areas of biotechnology. She holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and prior to obtaining her law degree, she worked more than five years as a technical specialist and patent agent. Stone-Hulslander has particularly strong patent experience with therapeutic antibodies and antibody-like molecules for a variety of disease indications.
Charles Acosta
Biological Sciences, 1985
Charles Acosta, Biological Sciences, 1985, is retiring in 2021 after spending 34 rewarding years serving high school students. His oldest daughter, Krista (HSU Alum 2012), arranged with the dean to allow him to walk across the stage at her commencement ceremony since he was unable to attend his own. While having breakfast in Eureka the following morning, his photo was captured on the front page of the Times Standard newspaper. After HSU, Charles and his daughter both served in the Peace Corps (Dominican Republic and Honduras) where they both married the love of their lives. Krista married Ekow Edzie and Charles married Leyla Turcios. "Thank you HSU, redwoods, sunsets and APD for the great memories".
Benjamin Woodruff
Biological Sciences, 2017
After graduating from HSU, Benjamin Woodruff, Biological Sciences, 2017, became a California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Bridges 2.0 scholar through Humboldt State and began his career as a researcher at Stanford University. There, he studied regenerative medicine as it relates to inner ear biology. Fueled by an enthusiasm for science and academia, he applied for graduate school and is currently a first year PhD student at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Oregon.
Melissa Neufer
Biological Sciences, 2001
In summer 2019, Melissa Neufer, Biology, 2001, studied desert and marine landscapes through ecological and social field methods in Baja, Mexico. Melissa, a biology teacher at Roseland University Prep High School, lives in Santa Rosa, California, and is a graduate student in Miami University's Global Field Program.
Craig S. Harrison
Biological Sciences, 1974 (Masters)
Craig Harrison, Biological Sciences, 1974, spent a year in Africa before attending HSU. Craig recently published his travelogue "Dreams of a Vanishing Africa: A 1970s Transcontinental Trek", which recounts his travels within the fabric of African societies in 1971-1972. He avoided safe, well-trodden routes and instead used decrepit trains, cargo trucks, rattletrap buses, jammed bush taxis, dugout canoes, and ferries. He lived out of a backpack and experienced the land and people of Africa up close. Craig's website (www.craigsharrison.net) has photos, and the book can be ordered there from the publisher Lulu as well as Amazon.