Careers in Entomology
Major in Insect Biology at Purdue, and you might become the scientist who:
- Rids the world of malaria, West Nile virus, and other arthropod-borne diseases
- Helps NASA design a new planetary lander that walks like an insect
- Breaks the genetic code of a major pest insect
- Develops K-12 science curricula
- Tames killer bees
- Protects the environment
- Invents a revolutionary pest control technology
- Discovers and names a new species of insect
More specifically, insect biologists have careers in:
- Government: EPA, USDA, CDC, NASA, and FDA
- Industry: agrochemical, biotechnology, pest control, seed companies, and landscaping firms
- Education: universities and colleges, K–12 classrooms, museums, zoos, science, environmental, and nature centers.
Some insect biologists also:
- Start pest control companies
- Become directors of museums
- Become CEOs of major corporations
- Become innovative farmers
- Run eco-tourism companies
- Develop special effects for the motion picture industry
- Become veterinarians, dentists, and medical doctors
- Win awards for excellence in teaching
- Win Pulitzer Prizes
- Win World Food Prizes
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Graduates of Purdue's Insect Biology program hold the following positions:
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| Employer | Position | Location |
| A. E. Staley Manufacturing | Quality Control | Lafayette, Indiana |
| Abell Pest Control | Business Owner | Ontario, Canada |
| Agricultural Chemical Group, FMC Corporation | Entomologist | Princeton, New Jersey |
| Agriculture Growth Research, Inc. | Researcher | Hollandale, Minnesota |
| All-Rite Pest Control | President/Entomologist | Lexington, Kentucky |
| AMF Pest Management Services, Inc. | President | Boca Raton, Florida |
| Assured Pest Control, Inc. | Business owner | St. Charles, Illinois |
| Auburn University | Professor (Teaching/Extension) | Auburn, Alabama |
| Baxter Healthcare | Associate Director, Regulatory Affairs | McGaw Park, Illinois |
| Bayer Corporation | Research Biologist/Research Product Manager; Field Research Representative | Oxford, Indiana/Kansas City, Missouri |
| Bayer CropScience | Sales | Omaha, Nebraska |
| Bayer Environmental Science | Senior Field Development; Technical Service Representative | Aex, North Carolina |
| Bell Pest Control, Inc. | CEO | Amarillo, Texas |
| Bishop Museum | Collections Manager-Coleoptera | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Bordeek Vineyard | Owner-Manager | Terre Haute, Indiana |
| Bugmaster | Technical Director, Entomologist | Austin, Texas |
| Burt's Termite & Pest Control, Inc. | Field Representative | Columbus, Indiana |
| Cal-Poly State University-College of Agriculture | Associate Dean | San Luis Obispo, California |
| Cherry Creek Orchards | Owner/Manager | Pontotoc, Mississippi |
| Cincinnati Zoo | Pest Control Manager | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Circle City Pest Control | Owner | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| CNPMS/EMBRAPA | Researcher | Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
| Colonie Animal Hospital | Veterinarian/Owner | Albany, New York |
| Colorado State University | Regional Program Manager | Fort Collins, Colorado |
| Cook Group Patent Office | Registered Patent Agent | Bloomington, Indiana |
| Cooperative Extension Administration, University of Arizona | Entomologist; Professor | Tucson, Arizona |
| Cornell University | Extension Associate-Field Crops Specialist | Newark, New York |
| Crop Science Department, Cal-Poly State University | Entomologist | San Luis Obispo, California |
| Davey Tree Expert Company | Research Entomologist | Kent, Ohio |
| Del Monte Fresh Produce Co. | Senior Director Pesticide Control and Technical Services | Coral Gables, Florida |
| Del Monte Foods | Research Entomologist | DeKalb, Illinois/ Miami, Florida |
| Department of Biochemistry, Kansas State University | Professor of Biochemistry | Manhattan, Kansas |
| Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University | Professor of Urban and Industrial Entomology | Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Department of Entomology, Penn State University | Professor of Entomology, Research Entomologist, Forage Entomologist | University Park, Pennsylvania |
| Department of Entomology, Purdue University | Professor, Assistant Professor, Research and Extension Entomologist, Lab Technician, Teaching Assistant | West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Department of Entomology, Texas A & M | Professor of Entomology | College Station, Texas |
| Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida | Professor | Gainesville, Florida |
| Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska | Professor Emeritus | Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Department of Plant, Soil, and Entomological Sciences, University of Idaho | Department Head | Moscow, Idaho |
| Dow Agro Sciences | Product Development Manager, Field Research and Development Scientist Senior Scientist Level |
Carmel, Indiana/Indianapolis, Indiana/Jacksonville, Florida |
| DuPont Crop Protection Products | Research Associate; Asia Pacific R & D Manager | Wilmington, Delaware/Newark, Delaware |
| Ensystex, Inc. | Technical Director; Urban Entomologist | Fayetteville, North Carolina |
| Evergreen State College | Environmental Studies Professor | Olympia, Washington |
| Florida A&M University Public Health Entomology Research and Education Center | Associate Professor | Panama City, Florida |
| Fort Valley Nursery, Inc. | Co-owner, Retail Manager | Woodstock, Virginia |
| Frontier Co-op | Crops Specialist | Lebanon, Indiana |
| Gluesenkamps Designscape | Landscape Scientist; High School Science Teacher | Nashville, Indiana |
| Griffin LLC | Technical Service Representative | Chico, California |
| GROWMARK, Inc. | Insecticide/Fungicide Technical Specialist | Bloomington, Illinois |
| Hatfield Pest Control | Owner/Entomologist | LaPorte, Indiana |
| Hennepin County Attorney's Office | Assistant County Attorney | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Hoffer Crane Service | Owner/Operator | Atwood, Texas |
| House Center-TQ Realty | Owner/Broker | North Andover, Maryland |
| Huntington Nursery Inc. | Landscape Foreman; Lawn Care Manager | Huntington, Indiana |
| Indiana Department of Environmental Management | Chief, OWQ WW Inspection Section | Brownsburg, Indiana |
| Indiana Department of Natural Resources | Wildlife Biologist | Trafalgar, Indiana |
| Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Entomology and Plant Pathology | Entomologist/Nursery Inspector, State Entomologist, Division Director | Tell City, Indiana/Zionsville, Indiana |
| Illinois Natural History Survey | Director, Center for Economic Entomology; Research Entomologist | Champaign, Illinois |
| Indiana State University | Professor of Plant Ecology | Terre Haute, Indiana |
| Insects Limited, Inc. | Owner | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| International Pollination Systems | President | Caldwell, Idaho |
| Idaho State University | Entomologist, Professor of Biological Sciences | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Iowa State University | Professor, Veterinary Parasitology; Professor emeritus | Ames, Iowa |
| J. M. Waller Associates, Inc. | Pest Management Specialist | Goose Creek, South Carolina |
| Knox County Schools | Chemistry Teacher | Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Lund Technical Services | Consultant | Wilmington, Delaware |
| McCammon Trucking, Inc. | Financial Officer | Hartford City, Indiana |
| Mississippi State University Extension Service | County Agent, County Coordinator | Starkville, Mississippi |
| Monsanto | Project Leader, Insect Control Entomology and Automation | Chesterfield, Missouri |
| NCH Corporation | Head of Entomology and Agronomy | Irving, Texas |
| Nettles Tree Farm | Owner | Trafalgar, Indiana |
| New York State Department of Environmental Conservation | Deputy Permit Administrator | Stony Brook, New York |
| North Carolina State University | Professor, Co-Director For Turfgrass Environmental Research and Education; Assistant Professor; Research Technician | Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Pest Control Services, Inc. | Company President | Lansdowne, Pennsylvania |
| Pest Management Associates, Inc. | President/General Manager | Phoenixville, Pennsylvania |
| Pestagon Termite & Pest Management, Inc. | Business Owner | Sarasota, Florida |
| Plunketts Pest Control | Owner, Technical Director | St. Paul, Minnesota |
| Quinault Indian Nation | Communications Manager | Taholah, Washington |
| Reliable Exterminators, Inc. | PCO | Maryville, Illinois |
| Rhone Poulenc Agriculture Company | Research Entomologist | Research Triangle Park, North Carolina |
| S. C. Johnson & Johnson | Research Associate | Racine, Wisconsin |
| Self-employed | Farmer | Palouse, Washington |
| Syngenta Crop Protection | Sales Representative, Field Research Scientist | Zionsville, Indiana/Attica, Indiana |
| Systematic Entomology Laboratory | Research Entomologist | Washington, DC |
| Terminix International | Senior Vice President | Cordova, Tennessee |
| Texas A & M University | Extension Entomologist; Distinguished Professor; Associate Vice President for Research; Urban Entomologist | Corpus Christi; College Station; Dallas Texas |
| Texas Cooperative Extension | Extension Entomologist | Uvalde, Texas |
| The Birchard System, Pest Control Service | President, General Manager | West Simsbury, Connecticut |
| Thiel College | Professor Emerita | Greenville, Pennsylvania |
| Tokheim Corporation | Senior Programmer | Fort Wayne, Indiana |
| Troy Biosciences Incorporated | Director of Scientific Affairs | Phoenix, Arizona |
| United States Environmental Protection Agency | Entomologist | Alexandria, Virginia |
| University of Arizona | Entomology Professor, Chemical Ecologist | Tucson, Arizona |
| University of California, U.S. Cooperative Extension | County Director, Vegetable and Pest Management Advisor | Santa Maria, California |
| University of Florida | Professor, PhD Candidate | Gainsville, Florida |
| University of Georgia | Assistant Professor, Extension Entomologist | Griffin, Georgia |
| University of Illinois | Research Programmer, Assistant Professor, Extension Specialist | Urbana, Illinois |
| University of Nebraska | Research Technologist | Lincoln, Nebraska |
| USDA-APHIS-PPD-ES | Toxicologist | Riverdale, Maryland |
| USDA-APHIS-PPQ | Identifier (Taxonomist of Entomology) | Los Indios, Texas |
| USDA-ARS | Research Entomologist, Senior Research Scientist, Adjunct Professor of Entomology | Gainesville, Florida/Tifton, Georgia/ Stillwater, Oklahoma/ Knoxville, Tennessee |
| USDA Forest Service | Project Leader; Assistant Director | Hamden, Connecticut; Newton Square, Pennsylvania |
| USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service | District Conservationist | Williamsport, Indiana |
| U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | Senior Environmental Scientist | Fort Meade, Maryland |
| U.S. Food and Drug Administration | Supervisory Entomologist; Laboratory Director | Bothell, Washington |
| Virginia Tech | Professor, Director of Cooperative Extension, Associate Dean of College of Agriculture and Life Sciences | Blacksburg, Virginia |
| Washington and Jefferson College | Professor of Biology | Washington, Pennsylvania |
| Washington State University-Cooperative Extension | Tree Fruit Extension Agent | Yakima, Washington |
| Western Fumigation | Entomologist/Inspector | Lester, Pennsylvania |
| Western Pest Services | Regional Entomologist | Leesburg, Virginia |
| WIL Research Labs, Inc., Toxicology Testing Lab | Research Entomologist | Ashland, Ohio |
| Youngstown State University | Professor of Biology | Youngstown, Ohio |