Natural Resources & Conservation

Types of Degrees Natural Resources & Conservation Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many natural resources & conservation graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	22,202
Master’s Degree	5,399
Associate Degree	1,758
Basic Certificate	1,270
Graduate Certificate	711
Doctor’s Degree	614
Undergraduate Certificate	152

What Natural Resources & Conservation Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to natural resources & conservation and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Natural Resources & Conservation Majors

Natural Resources & Conservation majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Skills for Natural Resources & Conservation Majors

natural resources & conservation majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Natural Resources & Conservation Majors

As you progress with your natural resources & conservation degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Natural Resources & Conservation Major?

People with a natural resources & conservation degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Climate Change Analysts	11.1%	$71,130
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health	11.1%	$71,130
Fire Investigators	7.3%	$62,510
First-Line Supervisors of Aquacultural Workers	2.1%	$46,960
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	6.6%	$89,030
Forest and Conservation Technicians	3.9%	$37,180
Forest Fire Fighting and Prevention Supervisors	7.1%	$76,330
Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists	29.4%	$39,600
Forestry & Conservation Science Professors	4.5%	$86,900
Industrial Ecologists	11.1%	$71,130
Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers	7.6%	$22,410
Municipal Firefighters	7.2%	$49,620
Park Naturalists	6.3%	$61,310
Range Managers	6.3%	$61,310
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Wind Energy Project Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists	7.7%	$63,420

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Natural Resources & Conservation?

This major is dominated by women with about 59% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of natural resources & conservation majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	1,027
Black or African American	512
Hispanic or Latino	2,644
White	15,662
International Students	441
Other Races/Ethnicities	1,916

Geographic Diversity

Natural Resources & Conservation appeals to people across the globe. About 2.0% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Natural Resources & Conservation

Some careers associated with natural resources & conservation require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to natural resources & conservation have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	4.6%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	15.3%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	6.4%
Some College Courses	7.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	7.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	31.9%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.5%
Master’s Degree	12.8%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.5%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.8%
Doctoral Degree	8.4%
Post-Doctoral Training	3.8%

Online Natural Resources & Conservation Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	158	8
Certificate (2-4 Years)	8	2
Associate’s Degree	820	26
Bachelor’s Degree	286	70
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	852	64
Post-Master’s	12	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	346	2
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Natural Resources & Conservation

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to natural resources & conservation.

Major	Number of Grads
Engineering	198,720
Biological & Biomedical Sciences	180,784
Engineering Technologies	86,188
Agriculture & Agriculture Operations	51,081
Mathematics & Statistics	49,970
Physical Sciences	47,709
Architecture & Related Services	19,716
Science Technologies / Technicians	6,771
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences	4,568

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Lynn Betts under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.