Highest paying science and environment careers in Canada
Ranked by the typical pay shown on each career's own page, so the order here cannot disagree with the pages it links to. Typical means the middle: half earn more, half earn less. Starting pay is lower, and each career page shows the full range and what it takes to get there.
28 careers in Canada
Ranked by typical pay
281AstronomerStudy stars, planets and galaxies with telescopes and code. Almost everyone in this job has a doctorate.Typical pay$117kTo qualify9 to 12 yrsDemandLimited2PhysicistWork out how matter and energy behave, then build instruments to prove it. The longest science training, and the widest exits.Typical pay$117kTo qualify8 to 11 yrsDemandModerate3MeteorologistForecast storms, warn people in time, and study how the atmosphere is changing.Typical pay$112kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandModerate4MathematicianProve things, model things, and solve problems other people cannot state clearly yet.Typical pay$106kTo qualify4 to 10 yrsDemandModerate5StatisticianDesign studies, measure things properly, and say how sure you actually are.Typical pay$106kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandGood6GeologistRead rocks to find metals, water and oil, and to work out what the ground will do next.Typical pay$104kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandModerate7HydrologistWork out where water goes: floods, droughts, groundwater and the rivers a city drinks from.Typical pay$104kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandGood8OceanographerMeasure the ocean: its currents, chemistry, life and ice. Often from a ship, in bad weather.Typical pay$104kTo qualify4 to 10 yrsDemandModerate9ForesterDecide how a forest gets cut, protected and regrown, and sign your name to the plan.Typical pay$98kTo qualify5 to 7 yrsDemandGood10Environmental ScientistMeasure pollution, assess projects before they are built, and hold industry to the rules.Typical pay$94kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandGood11AgronomistThe crop doctor. You walk fields, read soil tests, and tell farmers what to plant, feed and spray.Typical pay$83kTo qualify4 to 5 yrsDemandGood12BiochemistWork out the chemistry inside living cells, for a drug company, a hospital lab or a university.Typical pay$83kTo qualify4 to 9 yrsDemandModerate13BiologistStudy living things for a government, a university or a consulting firm. The degree is the easy part; the funding is the hard part.Typical pay$83kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandModerate14EcologistStudy how living things and their habitats fit together, then tell governments and builders what a project will do to them.Typical pay$83kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandModerate15Food ScientistDesign what goes in the package, and make sure it is safe, stable and the same every time.Typical pay$83kTo qualify4 to 5 yrsDemandGood16Marine BiologistStudy ocean life on three coasts. Popular, competitive, and mostly funded by fisheries and government science.Typical pay$83kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandLimited17MicrobiologistWork with bacteria, viruses and fungi in a hospital, a brewery, a water plant or a vaccine lab.Typical pay$83kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandModerate18Wildlife BiologistCount, track and manage wild animals so governments and companies can decide what happens to their habitat.Typical pay$83kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandModerate19ChemistAnalyse, formulate and improve materials for industry, government or a research lab.Typical pay$80kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandModerate20Forensic ScientistAnalyse evidence in a government lab and defend the result in court. Very few jobs, and they go to chemists and biologists.Typical pay$80kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandLimited21Park WardenEnforce the law inside national parks. Peace officer powers, a backcountry office and very few positions.Typical pay$75kTo qualify2 to 5 yrsDemandLimited22Environmental TechnicianTake the samples, run the instruments and gather the field data the reports are built on. Two years of college gets you in.Typical pay$70kTo qualify2 to 3 yrsDemandGood23Forestry TechnicianThe person who actually measures the forest: plots, plants, roads, cut blocks and regrowth.Typical pay$69kTo qualify2 to 3 yrsDemandGood24Aquaculture TechnicianRaise fish and shellfish on a farm in the water. Feeding, health checks, nets and boats.Typical pay$67kTo qualifyup to 2 yrsDemandGood25FarmerRun a business that grows food. Long hours, big machinery, and weather you cannot control.Typical pay$62kTo qualifyup to 4 yrsDemandModerate26Laboratory TechnicianRun the tests that keep water, food, fuel and medicine safe. Two years of college and you are working.Typical pay$62kTo qualify2 to 3 yrsDemandModerate27Commercial FisherCatch fish, crab or lobster for a living. High pay in a good season, and one of the most dangerous jobs in the country.Typical pay$58kTo qualifyup to 2 yrsDemandModerate28Greenhouse GrowerRun the crop inside a glass building: light, water, feed and pests, twelve months a year.Typical pay$45kTo qualifyup to 3 yrsDemandGood