Principal Biologist Family
Career series with 7 positions
Principal Biologist is an umbrella title in New Jersey civil service, covering 7 distinct specializations across 7 title codes.
Specializations include Education, Fisheries, and Mosquito Control, among others. Pay across the family spans $79,844 to $122,832, around the 48th percentile of all civil service job families by top pay. State payroll records show 90 people across the family's titles, most concentrated at Environmental Protection.
Principal Biologist is closely related to Assistant Biologist and Senior Biologist.
Specializations
Positions in This Family
- PRINCIPAL BIOLOGIST (TRANSPORTATION) (01744C) $83,582 - $122,832/year
- PRINCIPAL BIOLOGIST, FISHERIES (01754D) $79,844 - $117,228/year
- PRINCIPAL BIOLOGIST, WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT (01754H) $79,844 - $117,228/year
- PRINCIPAL BIOLOGIST (TIDELANDS DELINEATION) (01754J) $79,844 - $117,228/year
- PRINCIPAL BIOLOGIST, MOSQUITO CONTROL (01754L) $79,844 - $117,228/year
- PRINCIPAL BIOLOGIST, EDUCATION (01754N) $79,844 - $117,228/year
- PRINCIPAL BIOLOGIST, WATER RESOURCES (01754P) $79,844 - $117,228/year
What the Principal Biologist family covers
Principal Biologist is a rank rather than a single job. New Jersey applies it across 7 specializations, which together account for 7 title codes. Every title in it is a state title, so the employer is a state department, commission or authority rather than a county or municipality.
The state runs working laboratories rather than research institutes, so scientific titles are tied to a statutory job: testing water and air, screening newborns, analysing evidence, monitoring pesticides, mapping geology. Degrees in a named field do the qualifying, and the exam is often an evaluation of education and experience rather than a written test. Because each laboratory is small, these families tend to be short ladders inside one agency instead of broad classifications spread across government.
The ladder, ordered by pay
Ordered by what they actually pay rather than by the number in the title, the Principal Biologist rungs look like this.
- Principal Biologist (transportation) — $83,582 to $122,832 (a bachelor's degree and 3 years of experience)
- Principal Biologist, Water Resources — $79,844 to $117,228 (a bachelor's degree and 3 years of experience)
- Principal Biologist, Education — $79,844 to $117,228 (a bachelor's degree and 3 years of experience)
- Principal Biologist, Mosquito Control — $79,844 to $117,228 (a bachelor's degree and 3 years of experience)
- Principal Biologist (tidelands Delineation) — $79,844 to $117,228 (a bachelor's degree and 3 years of experience)
- Principal Biologist, Wildlife Management — $79,844 to $117,228 (a bachelor's degree and 3 years of experience)
- Principal Biologist, Fisheries — $79,844 to $117,228 (a bachelor's degree and 3 years of experience)
The distance from the bottom of Principal Biologist, Fisheries to the top of Principal Biologist (transportation) is $42,988, an increase of about 54% over the entry minimum.
What each title does
Each title in the family carries its own published definition. These are the opening lines of each one, which is usually where the difference between two neighboring rungs is actually stated.
- Principal Biologist (transportation): Under the direction of a Supervising Engineer or other supervisor officer in the Environmental Control Section, Bureau of Quality Control, Department…
- Principal Biologist, Fisheries: Under the general supervision of a Supervising Biologist, Fisheries or a supervisory official in the Department of Environmental Protection, supervises…
- Principal Biologist, Wildlife Management: Under the general supervision of a Supervising Biologist, Wildlife Management, or other supervisory official in the Division of Fish and Wildlife…
- Principal Biologist (tidelands Delineation): Under the direction of the supervisory officer in the office of Environmental Analysis within the Office of the Commissioner, Department of…
- Principal Biologist, Mosquito Control: Under the general supervision of a higher level supervisory official in the Department of Environmental Protection, plans, organizes, coordinates…
- Principal Biologist, Education: Under the general supervision of a Supervising Biologist, Education or other supervisory official in the Department of Environmental Protection, plans…
- Principal Biologist, Water Resources: Under the direction or a Supervising Biologist, Water Resources or other supervisory officer in the Department of Environmental Protection, plans and…
What it takes to qualify
Across the 7 titles we have parsed, the education requirements read as a bachelor's degree on 7 of them. Experience requirements sit at 3 years wherever they are stated.
1 of the 7 titles carry a license or certification requirement. On how the jobs are filled: 7 are competitive, filled from an eligible list after an open competitive or promotional examination.
Who actually employs these titles
State payroll records show 90 people working under 6 of this family's titles, spread across 1 agency. Environmental Protection alone accounts for about 100% of them.
- Environmental Protection — 90 employees
Median actual pay varies across the family, from $109,652 for Principal Biologist, Fisheries up to $109,652 for Principal Biologist, Water Resources. Those are medians of what people are really paid, not schedule minimums and maximums.
State payroll only, deduplicated by payroll title; local employers file separately, so a family with local codes looks smaller here than it is. How this is counted.
How the pay is set
Titles in this family are paid on the A-P-R-S salary schedule. See every step in that schedule. Bargaining is handled by CWA. Union contracts and rights are collected here.
Where these jobs exist
These are state titles, hired by New Jersey departments, commissions and boards through the Civil Service Commission's announcement and eligible list process rather than by an ordinary job posting. How state hiring works, and which agencies employ what.
Related titles elsewhere in the plan
These titles sit elsewhere in the classification plan but share vocabulary with Principal Biologist, which usually means overlapping duties or a related eligible list.
- Biologist Trainee ($58,222 to $60,876, both state and local jurisdiction)
- Senior Biologist, Fisheries ($69,668 to $101,951, state jurisdiction) — in the Senior Biologist family
- Assistant Biologist, Fisheries ($60,876 to $88,743, state jurisdiction) — in the Assistant Biologist family
- Biologist Mosquito Extermination (local jurisdiction)
- Supervising Biologist, Education ($87,507 to $128,719, state jurisdiction)
- Supervising Biologist, Fisheries ($87,507 to $128,719, state jurisdiction)
Common questions about Principal Biologist jobs
How many Principal Biologist titles are there in New Jersey civil service?
The Principal Biologist family holds 7 title codes. Each code is a separate classification with its own published specification, requirements and salary treatment.
What does a Principal Biologist earn in New Jersey?
Published salary data for this family runs from $79,844 at the bottom of Principal Biologist, Fisheries to $122,832 at the top of Principal Biologist (transportation). Those are schedule figures. Where the title appears on the state payroll, actual median pay is listed on the page above.
Do you need to take an exam to become a Principal Biologist?
Yes for most of the family. 7 of the 7 titles are in the competitive division, which means appointment comes from an eligible list built by an open competitive or promotional examination.
What qualifications does a Principal Biologist need?
The most common education requirement in this family is a bachelor's degree, named on 7 of the 7 titles. Stated experience ranges from 3 years depending on the rung. 1 of the titles also require a license or certification. Read the individual specification for the exact wording, including any experience substitution.
Which agencies employ Principal Biologist staff?
State payroll records show 90 people in this family across 1 agency, with Environmental Protection the largest at 90. Local government employers are not covered by that extract.