Natural Resources & Conservation

Types of Degrees Natural Resources & Conservation Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many natural resources and conservation graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	21,743
Master’s Degree	4,521
Associate Degree	1,625
Basic Certificate	1,207
Graduate Certificate	613
Doctor’s Degree	610
Undergraduate Certificate	184

What Natural Resources & Conservation Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to natural resources and 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 and 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

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to natural resources and conservation:

• 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

A major in natural resources and conservation will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• 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?

Below is a list of occupations associated with natural resources and conservation:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Climate Change Analysts	11.1%	$71,130
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Environmental Restoration Planners	11.1%	$71,130
Environmental Science Professors	10.1%	$79,910
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 Logging Workers	2.1%	$46,960
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	6.6%	$89,030
Fish and Game Wardens	4.3%	$57,710
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
Foresters	4.9%	$61,410
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
Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers	7.0%	$61,380
Range Managers	6.3%	$61,310
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Soil and Water Conservationists	6.3%	$61,310
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?

The major attracts more women than men. About 57% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	954
Black or African American	579
Hispanic or Latino	2,528
White	15,257
International Students	512
Other Races/Ethnicities	1,913

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Natural Resources & Conservation, too. About 2.4% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Natural Resources & Conservation Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that natural resources and conservation students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a bachelor’s degree made a median starting salary of $31,005 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $26,884 (25th percentile) and $36,089 (75th percentile).

One thing to note here is that not all of these people may be working in careers related to natural resources and conservation.

Salaries According to BLS

Natural Resources and Conservation majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $53,240 to $80,310 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

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

Some degrees associated with natural resources and conservation may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. 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.

Find out what the typical degree level is for natural resources and conservation careers below.

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

In 2020-2021, 1,160 schools offered a natural resources and conservation program of some type. 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)	75	3
Certificate (2-4 Years)	2	0
Associate’s Degree	387	16
Bachelor’s Degree	118	31
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	423	30
Post-Master’s	10	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	179	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Natural Resources & Conservation Worth It?

The median salary for a natural resources and conservation grad is $65,320 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 64% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $508,400 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Natural Resources & Conservation

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

Major	Number of Grads
Computer & Information Sciences	254,454
Engineering	198,468
Biological & Biomedical Sciences	177,778
Engineering Technologies	85,188
Mathematics & Statistics	52,396
Physical Sciences	50,306
Agriculture & Agriculture Operations	49,899
Architecture & Related Services	17,325
Communications Technologies & Support	14,826
Science Technologies / Technicians	6,451

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.