Field researcher
| Highest | $6,000 / mo · Switzerland |
|---|---|
| Experience | 2–4 yrs |
| Degree | Required |
| First paycheck | 4 years bachelor's + 2 years master's |
Pay in the destination countries
Monthly, in US dollars. Each country is an Imora admission package — open one for that route's fees, language requirement and deadline.
| Country | Monthly |
|---|---|
| SwitzerlandIELTS 6.5 · CHF 0.9–8k | $6,000max |
| NorwayIELTS 6.0–6.5 · NOK 130–260k | $5,250 |
| United StatesTOEFL 80–100 · $10–70k | $5,200 |
| DenmarkIELTS 6.5 · DKK 45–135k | $4,800 |
| GermanyIELTS 6.5 · €0–3k | $4,600 |
| FinlandIELTS 6.0–6.5 · €6–18k | $4,600 |
What does the day look like?
A field researcher spends only 25% to 35% of their annual working hours outdoors. The remaining 65% to 75% is desk and lab work: data cleaning and statistical modeling (30%), technical report writing and permitting (25%), and logistics, calibration, and maintenance (10% to 15%).
During spring and summer field seasons, shifts run 10 to 14 hours in mud, rain, or heat exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. Breeding bird surveys require waking at 03:30, while bat and nocturnal mammal surveys run from 20:00 to 02:00. You carry 15 to 20 kg packs across off-trail terrain, set Sherman traps, pitfall arrays, and mist nets, collect soil cores with Dutch augers, deploy AudioMoth sensors and camera traps, and record spatial attributes on Trimble TDC600 receivers using ESRI Survey123 or QField. Off-season work follows an 8-hour office day, running regressions and occupancy models in RStudio, QGIS 3.x, or Python, and drafting Environmental Impact Assessment reports.
Where does this lead?
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