Wildlife Management

Types of Degrees Wildlife Management Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many wildlife management graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	1,716
Basic Certificate	205
Master’s Degree	200
Associate Degree	200
Graduate Certificate	67
Doctor’s Degree	56
Undergraduate Certificate	5

What Wildlife Management Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to wildlife were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Wildlife Majors

Wildlife majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Skills for Wildlife Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to wildlife:

• 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.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Wildlife Majors

As a wildlife major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• 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.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• 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.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Wildlife Management Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with wildlife:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Fish and Game Wardens	4.3%	$57,710
Forestry & Conservation Science Professors	4.5%	$86,900
Park Naturalists	6.3%	$61,310
Range Managers	6.3%	$61,310
Soil and Water Conservationists	6.3%	$61,310
Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists	7.7%	$63,420

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife Management?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 1,716 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in wildlife management in 2021, making it rank #139 in popularity. According to recent stats this major attracts about equal numbers of men and women. Roughly 54% of the graduates are women, and 46% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of wildlife majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	25
Black or African American	25
Hispanic or Latino	168
White	1,368
International Students	10
Other Races/Ethnicities	120

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Wildlife, too. About 0.6% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• Canada
• India
• Japan
• Colombia

How Much Do Wildlife Management Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that wildlife management students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a bachelor’s degree made a median starting salary of $26,124 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $24,047 (25th percentile) and $27,924 (75th percentile).

It’s important to note that just because the people reporting these salaries have a degree in wildlife, it does not mean that they are working in a job related to their degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $59,260 to $67,760 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to wildlife. 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 Wildlife Management

Some degrees associated with wildlife may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for wildlife careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.7%
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)	0.7%
Some College Courses	2.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	51.2%
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.	1.2%
Master’s Degree	12.5%
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.	1.1%
Doctoral Degree	18.6%
Post-Doctoral Training	7.3%

Online Wildlife Management Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 96 schools offered some type of wildlife management program. 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)	3	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	24	2
Bachelor’s Degree	5	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	23	1
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	17	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Wildlife Management Worth It?

The median salary for a wildlife 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 Wildlife Management

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to wildlife.

Major	Number of Grads
Natural Resources Conservation	22,254
Natural Resource Management	2,933
Forestry	2,233
Fisheries Sciences	483
Natural Resources Conservation (Other)	151

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 Nicholas A. Tonelli under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.