Odds of Getting In
The job outlook appears pretty favorable for all types of botanists, especially those with doctorate degrees, who tend to hold the more senior level positions.
Major food and seed corporations will continue to need help with manufacturing their product, and the demand for new and innovative pharmaceutical products will continue to grow. Our everyday lives will depend more and more on plant-derived sources for alternative fuels as time goes on and we continue chewing up the nonrenewable fuel sources out there.
That isn't to say that getting in and staying in is a walk in the park. There's a lot of competition in this field, especially since budget cuts are making it more difficult for researchers to get federally-funded grants to continue their research. As always, teaching positions at universities will continue to be quite competitive.