Students who understand how organisms interact with their environment and are constrained by their evolutionary histories, are well prepared for a variety of scientific fields or related fields, such as industrial and research laboratory work; research and manufacturing positions in biotechnology industries; health care organizations; technical editing and publishing; scientific illustration; scientific communication; scientific journalism; wildlife conservation projects; employment with gas and oil companies, or firms that produce agricultural chemicals, pest controls, dietary supplements, foods, and beverages; positions in environmental science or ecology for county, state, and federal agencies; entry-level jobs with zoos, arboreta, and museums; environmental education; positions as sales and service representatives in business and industry, including pharmaceuticals and medical products; and a variety of management training programs. As well, if you earn Colorado teacher licensure, students may qualify to apply for high school teaching positions following their major.
Ecological and evolutionary principles underlie most current issues in human ecology, local and global environmental change, dietary health, and epidemiology. When combined with elective courses in related departments, the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology major is an ideal preparation for post-graduate studies in medicine, public health, environmental law, and environmental policy.
Career Services offers free services for all CU Boulder degree-seeking students, and alumni up to one year after graduation, to help students discover who they are, what they want to do, and how to get there. They are the bridge between academics and the world of work by discussing major and career exploration, internship or job searching, and graduate school preparation.
The average expected salary for someone with a bachelor's degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, according to the 2019-20 College Salary Report by PayScale Human Capital, is $56,000 per year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, though, the median 2018 pay for wildlife biologists and zoologists was $63,420 and the median 2018 pay for environmental scientists and specialists was $71,130.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also projects:
- That 2016-2026 job growth for wildlife biologists and zoologists with a bachelor’s degree will be 8%, as fast as average for all jobs; and
- That 2016-2026 job growth for environmental biologists and specialists with a bachelor’s degree will be 11%, which is faster than average for all jobs.

The estimated median salaries,
as reported on Tableau, for Ecology & Evolutionary Biology graduates for 1 to 5, 6 to 10, and over 11 years out from school.
At CU Boulder, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology graduates earn roughly the same as the nationwide average of comparable majors as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. CU Boulder alumni in this discipline earn an estimated annual salary of $64,290, based on a pool of 583 alumni who graduated between 2006 and 2018. This amount, however, is lower than the average for all CU Boulder graduates with a bachelor's degree, according to a survey by Esmi Alumni Insight of 25,000 alumni who graduated during the same stretch.