Graduate Studies - UF Department of Botany

Department of Botany
PO Box 118526
Gainesville FL 32611
Phone: (352) 392-1175
Fax: (352) 392-3993
Email:

Career Opportunities

New positions for plant biologists are expected to increase at an above-average rate given that the 21 st century has been termed “the century of biology”, because of growing environmental and food concerns, and the explosion in plant biotechnology. The major employers of plant biologists are educational institutions, federal and state agencies and industry. In addition, a degree in botany provides a foundational science education that employers find useful in a variety of careers unrelated to plants. For example, graduates from our program have gone on to such diverse occupations as flying jets in the military and entering the clergy. Other graduates have become physicians, dentists, health technicians, lawyers, biological illustrators and computer programmers.

Educational institutions that employ plant biologists range from high schools and community colleges to universities. In addition to teaching, educational institutions employ botanists as research associates, technicians, museum curators, and administrators.

Federal and state agencies employ botanists in many different fields. Plant biologists work in various branches of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including the Medicinal Plant Resources Laboratory, the Animal and Plant Inspection Service, the National Arboretum and the U.S. Forest Service. The U.S. Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Geological Society also hire botanists. Plant biologists work for the Public Health Service, the State Department, Customs, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Smithsonian Institution and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). State agencies in all fifty states, such as the Departments of Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Services, Forest Services, Water Management Districts, Fish and Game Commissions, Utility Companies, Environmental Protection Agencies employ plant biologists. Cities and municipalities employ botanists as arborists, consultants and ecologists involved with city planning. Environmental organizations like the Nature Conservancy also need botanists.

Industry and the private sector employ plant biologists in a variety of capacities. Pharmaceutical companies, chemical companies, the oil industry, lumber and paper companies, plastics industry, fruit growers, food and beverage companies, biological supply houses, museums, botanical gardens, publishing companies and biotechnology firms all hire graduates with a degree in botany. The career opportunities for plant biologists are diverse, exciting, interesting, and can involve trips to exotic places. They are very satisfying, and afford biologists the opportunity to make a real difference in the world.