Is an arborist the same as a botanist?

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The sources read for this answer file them as different jobs. They describe a botanist as someone who studies plants as a science, and an arborist as someone who works on individual trees. O*NET, the US Department of Labor occupation database, has no job titled botanist. This page sets out what each source says.

Botanist and plant scientist

NASA's career pages for students say botanists study plants: how they function, how they evolved, how they resist disease and how they fit into the Earth system. They say some botanists work in labs and offices and others outdoors in agriculture, and that some discover new plant species. For education, the page gives a bachelor's degree in a science such as botany, plant science, plant biology or general biology as the minimum, a master's degree for the environmental, commercial, horticulture and agriculture sectors, and a Ph.D. for research or university posts.

A search of O*NET for botanist returns Soil and Plant Scientists, code 19-1013.00, as the first match. O*NET describes that job as research into breeding, physiology, production, yield and management of crops and agricultural plants or trees, shrubs and nursery stock, their growth in soils, and pest control, or study of soil make-up as it relates to plant growth. Its sample of reported job titles includes agronomist, plant physiologist, horticulture specialist and arboriculture researcher. Asked how much education a new hire needs, 29 percent of respondents said a master's degree, 24 percent a bachelor's degree and 19 percent a doctoral degree. O*NET places the job in Job Zone Five, extensive preparation, and prints a 2025 median wage of US$37.91 an hour or US$78,850 a year.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) groups soil and plant scientists inside agricultural and food scientists. For that group it prints a 2025 median of US$81,970 a year (US$39.41 an hour), 37,400 jobs, a 6 percent outlook for 2025 to 2035 and about 2,700 openings a year. It says most need at least a bachelor's degree, that employers may prefer or require a master's or doctoral degree, and that some agricultural and food scientists may need a license, particularly those who plan to work in plant and soil sciences, with requirements that vary by state. The profile page was last modified August 27, 2026.

Arborist

O*NET lists Tree Trimmers and Pruners under code 37-3013.00 and gives arborist as a reported job title. It describes climbing and rigging to take off dead or surplus branches and pruning or treating trees. It places the job in Job Zone 1 to 2, where a high school diploma or GED is usually the education, and it prints a 2025 median wage of US$24.50 an hour or US$50,960 a year.

The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) describes its Certified Arborist credential as a voluntary, nongovernmental way to document knowledge. It says the holder has reached a generally accepted level of knowledge in areas such as tree biology, diagnosis, maintenance practices and safety, and must keep learning to stay certified. The certification routes are in the guide to ISA credentials.

Where the two meet

The sources do not say whether a person can move from one job to the other. They do show one overlap in wording: O*NET lists arboriculture researcher among the reported titles for soil and plant scientists. Related questions are answered in is an arborist the same as a forester and do you need a degree to be an arborist.

Is an arborist the same as a botanist?

Botanist and plant scientist

Arborist

Where the two meet

Sources