Job Opportunities

These soil science job opportunities are in the private sector. They make specific mention of soil science qualifications. Soil science education and experience also qualifies candidates for positions which make no specific mention of soil science in the job listing. For a broader posting of soil science job opportunities, see soil-science.info/jobs.

Selected Listings

These listings make specific mention of soil science qualifications and are closely aligned to NSCSS member specialization. Gleened from the above twitter feed, these are selected mostly for their emphasis on environmental permitting, and land development. On occasion laboratory analysis, landscaping, agricultural research and commodity sales may also show, especially if with "Soil Scientist" in the title. They are current in that they get pulled when the job closes or the link disappears.

Posted 02/28/2010: Principal Project Scientist at Weston Solutions (Carlsbad, CA): http://bit.ly/bFixXx
Posted 02/26/2010: Assistant Environmental Scientist - Burns & McDonnell (Kansas City, KS) http://bit.ly/bzqMCp
Posted 02/18/2010: Stormwater Specialist/ Engineer - ECW Environmental Group, LLC - (Petersburg/Fort Lee, VA) http://bit.ly/aFLqe9
Posted 02/06/2010: Soil Scientist - ICF International (Sacramento, CA) http://bit.ly/axW7x6
Posted 01/28/2010: Soil Specialist Position - Earth Renew (Fresno, CA) http://bit.ly/aqjwj9
Posted 01/26/2010: Wetlands / Soil Scientist - Kleinfelder (Newburgh, NY) http://bit.ly/90cHU2
Posted 01/26/2010: Environmental Engineer or Geologist - Tetra Tech (Baton Rouge, LA) http://bit.ly/4PxIG5
Posted 01/13/2010: Consulting Soil Scientist at an NSCSS member firm (Western USA) http://bit.ly/5P3bbg
Posted 01/12/2010: Associate Geotechnical Engineer at B. Wyman and Co. (Austin, TX) http://bit.ly/5UrVzN
Posted 01/10/2010: Wetland Scientist (Tampa, FL) http://bit.ly/85sH4M
Posted 01/09/2010: Geologist at Jacobs Engineering Group (Anchorage, AK) http://bit.ly/4nUuzk
Posted 01/03/2010: Northern California Senior Soil Scientist - Kennedy/Jenks Consultants (May, CA) http://bit.ly/6xrSIl
Posted 01/02/2010: Wildlife Biologist / Wetlands Scientist at Marshall, Scott and Monroe (Phoenix, AZ). http://bit.ly/5XK0wH

How To Get Your Position Opening Listed On This Page

Specify soil science qualifications in your private sector employment opportunity.
Better yet, use Soil Scientist as the prospective position title.
Post your private sector job opportunity to your company website or with a job listing service (Example).
Contact us with the link.

Resources for Job Seekers

Peer Support

NSCSS is here to help. Contact us.

Post your Resume

You can use a resume posting service, such as Resume Bucket, or Resume Posse, and send us the link to post below. A solid alternative is LinkedIn, simply a great place for job seekers to tie into a growing network of professionals. Fill out your LinkedIn profile so the world can know your qualifications, career goals and experience. Post a brief profile in the Job Openings, Job Leads, and Job Connections! group. Following is our list of members actively looking for job opportunities.

Member Resumes

Mark McClain

Mark McClain is currently seeking a job opportunity in soil science, wetland science, and ecology. Career focus is executive management and expert witness testimony: LinkedIn Profile

Austin Young

Austin Young is enrolled in the undergraduate Environmental Soil Science program at Pennsylvania State University. He is currently seeking a paid internship in soil science, hopefully in the southern Pennsylvania area, to gain more knowledge and skills, and to further develop his professional career: Resume

Soil Scientist Salaries Compete Well with Engineering Salaries in the Private Sector

Soil scientist starting salaries start at about $40,000 in the private sector. However there are tremendous regional variations.

Established professional consulting soil scientists can normally charge 10% above peer engineers in their area or region. Salaries are closely tied to charge-out rates. Thus, knowing regional consulting civil engineering charge-outs is an excellent way to gauge regional salary expectations for consulting soil scientists.

Charge out rates are a common subject of informal discussion at NSCSS annual meetings, producing the following broad range of charge out rates:

Staff Level	Normal Range of Rates (per hour)
Professional Soil Scientist	$70 - $140
Principal Soil Scientist	$110 - $220
Expert	Highly Variable, can be 2-3X Principal Soil Scientist

Break-even chargeout for personnel at soil science consulting firms (and civil engineering firms) is typically between 2.5 and 3.0 times the hourly rate of pay. Profit adds another 5-20% to produce a reasonable charge out rate. With employer medical premiums increasing at 20% annually this puts upward pressure on the break-even ratio. Ratio inflation (or dropped medical coverage) is the result. Putting upward pressure on starting salaries is the increasing size of student loan obligations.

For example, one can expect a consulting soil scientist (or engineer for that matter) earning $66K ($33/hr) to be charged out at between $85 (2.5+5% multiplier) and $120 (3.0+20%) per hour.

The following chart shows average salaries for job opportunities posted to SimplyHired. It supports, albeit weakly, the contention that consulting soil scientists can command a premium over consulting engineers. This weak validation is consistent with our experience within NSCSS. We regularly see members join who gain the insight that they have been charging out at substantially less than the market will bear. This is especially prevalent among soil scientists coming in from an academic or public service career path. When soil scientists charge sub-market rates, it affects market perception. Regard and demand for soil science services are closely tied. Accordingly consulting soil scientist salary and charge out rate will tend to increase the further one gets from those specific academic and agency hubs where established consulting soil scientists have chosen to charge less than the market will bear. A regional affect, this artificial suppression of regard and demand for professional soil science services influences the overall averages depicted in the following chart.

Average Salary of Jobs with Matching Titles (Source: SimplyHired )

In USD as of Jan 30, 2010

30k

60k

90k

supervisory soil scientist

$75,000

supervisory engineer

$70,000

soil scientist

$66,000

engineer

$66,000

Find Jobs & Salaries at SimplyHired

Private Soil Science Job Opportunities Have Been Trending Higher Since August, 2009

Private sector jobs opportunity listing on the nscss.org/jobs page plummeted in early 2008 in step with the economy and drifted lower until October 2008. They worked higher from there until May, 2009, then drifted lower until the end of August.

Since August 2009 soil science job listings have been increasing strongly to the point that the format of this page had to be redesigned to accommodate the volume. We now rely on a simpler Twitter-ready format and we have deemphasized agronomic, landscaping and research related opportunities.

The current increasing trend is consistent with the more general job listing trends depicted below, with the "Soil Science" and "Soil Scientist" job trendlines confirming a peak in April/May 2009 and a trough in July/August/September.

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