Why do some ecologists charge $100 an hour while others charge $300 or more an hour? It comes down to their level of training and experience. A recent graduate with a bachelor's degree and no experience will be closer to $100 an hour, whereas someone with a PhD and say 25 years’ experience is likely to cost closer to $300 an hour. For many projects, you'll be engaging an ecology company that uses staff with a range of charge rates. For example, graduates might help with fieldwork and data entry, because it doesn't require too much training and experience. Whereas, when it comes to providing expert evidence or evaluating the results of that fieldwork, you're likely to have people with more experience, so they'll be more costly. While they will have a higher hourly rate, the more experienced staff will be familiar with the work, so it will probably take them a lot less time than a recent graduate.