Agriculture, Horticulture, & the Outdoors
Conservation Scientist / Park Ranger
Career Area: Agriculture, Horticulture, & the Outdoors
Occupation Group: Rangers and Foresters
Salary
Percentile wages tell how much a certain percentage of an overall population in a geographic area or within a given industry or field makes. The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
An example would be the 25th percentile, 25 percent of workers employed in that occupation earn less and 75 percent earn more than the estimated wage value. At the 75th percentile, 75 percent of workers employed in that occupation earn less and 25 percent earn more than the estimated wage value.
A typical Conservation Scientist / Park Ranger earns the following wages (national and state):
State
The average salary in North Carolina for those pursuing this career is $41,231
National
The average salary in the United States for those pursuing this career is $44,985
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
Manages ranges or large tracts of land. Monitors the environmental impact of farming and grazing on the land and tracks plants needed to support grazing livestock. Develops resource management plans to protect wildlife habitats or to support outdoor recreation; works to prevent damage from wildfires and invasive species.Leads informational programs for park visitors about the history and environmental features of public parks, and promote awareness of protecting park land. Welcomes and provides assistance to park visitors, assists with educational programs, oversees park events and activities and patrols park land.
Employment Trends
The job demand and job growth statistics shown here were derived from job posts over the past year. Expected job growth projections are extrapolated from year-over-year job post listing history.
Job demand and job growth is expected at the following rates:
| Growth | ||
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 163 | +10.7% |
| Nationwide | 5732 | +6.3% |
Skills
A professional in this position typically utilizes the following skills in the course of everyday work in this exciting and challenging field:
Baseline Skills
The following are baseline skills every Conservation Scientist / Park Ranger is expected to have in order to experience success in this field:
- Physical Abilities: Physical Abilities, which refers to the ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with the body, arms, and/or legs. These abilities often require strength, endurance, flexibility, balance and coordination.
- Communication Skills: The ability to convey information to another effectively and efficiently.
- Research: Research comprises creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humans, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications. It is used to establish or confirm facts, reaffirm the results of previous work, solve new or existing problems, support theorems, or develop new theories.
- Writing: Writing is a medium of human communication that represents language and emotion with signs and symbols.
- Planning: Planning (also called forethought) is the process of thinking about and organizing the activities required to achieve a desired goal.
Specialized Skills
These skills are specific to working in this career:
- Natural Resource Management: Natural resource management refers to the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants and animals, with a particular focus on how management affects the quality of life for both present and future generations (stewardship).
- Natural Resources: Natural resources are resources that exist without actions of humankind.
- Natural Sciences: Natural science is a branch of science concerned with the description, prediction, and understanding of natural phenomena, based on observational and empirical evidence.
- Scheduling: A schedule or a timetable, as a basic time-management tool, consists of a list of times at which possible tasks, events, or actions are intended to take place, or of a sequence of events in the chronological order in which such things are intended to take place.
- Resource Management: In organizational studies, resource management is the efficient and effective development of an organization's resources when they are needed.
Distinguishing Skills
Any Conservation Scientist / Park Ranger that possesses the following skills will stand out against the competition:
- Soil Science: Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation to the use and management of soils.
- Conservation Planning: The Conservation Plan is an important publication written by James Semple Kerr in 1982, and revised many times.
- Water Conservation: Water conservation includes all the policies, strategies and activities to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, to protect the hydrosphere, and to meet the current and future human..
- Law Enforcement or Criminal Justice Experience: Law enforcement is the department of people whoenforce laws, investigate crimes, and make arrests
- Resource Conservation: Natural resources are resources that exist without actions of humankind.
Education
This career typically requires the following level of education. The numbers presented in the pie charts below were derived from actual job posts over the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
.| Education Level | % |
| Bachelor's Degree | 21% |
| Master's Degree | 9% |
| Doctoral Degree | 1% |
Experience
This position typically requires the following level of experience. The numbers presented in the pie charts below were derived from actual job posts over the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Experience Required | % |
| 0 to 2 years | 55% |
| 3 to 5 years | 26% |
| 6 to 8 years | 2% |
Many of the programs offered through NC State are designed for working professionals who need additional credentials to enhance existing work experience.
Students who do not have the expected level of experience may wish to look into internship and employment opportunities.
Common Job Titles
It is possible to find work in this field in positions commonly listed as the following job titles:
- Park Ranger
- Park Ranger I
- Natural Resources Specialist
- Park Ranger Protection
- Natural Resource Specialist
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring similar occupations, you may want to research the following job titles:
The wage and employment trend information shown here represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is downloaded regularly from Burning Glass Technologies. For more information about how they gather data and what it represents, see Burning Glass Technologies - Frequently Asked Questions.