Environmental scientists at the technician level with a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree could start at $35,000 a year, moving up to about $50,000 depending on their experience and performance.

Postdoctoral fellows earn between $50,000 and $55,000 a year. Pay is fixed for the term of the fellowship, which is usually two to three years.

Pay for permanent environmental scientist positions varies:

• With a PhD (but without postdoctoral experience) you can expect a starting salary between $50,000 and $55,000.
• With a PhD and some postdoctoral or work experience, you could earn $60,000 to 80,000.
• With several years' experience and increased performance and responsibility, pay could rise to about $100,000 a year. Performance criteria include the publication of scientific papers, reports or books, and securing research funding.
• Professors at universities could earn up to $150,000.

Environmental scientists with a Bachelor's degree typically start work at the technician level. Technicians may progress into research scientist positions after getting a Master's or PhD in the relevant science area.

Once you have a PhD, you can apply for a postdoctoral fellowship at research organisations or universities. You may need to do two or three postdoctoral fellowships (usually lasting two or three years each) before getting a permanent scientist position.

After about 15 years’ experience, scientists can progress into senior research scientist, team leader or management roles.