Enforce hunting, fishing, and wildlife laws, patrol natural areas, and investigate violations.
Outdoors across forests, waters, and rural land.
Irregular, including nights, weekends, and seasons
May 2024–25 BLS wage data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.
Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.
“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.
Bachelor's degree
Training path: Bachelor's degree + academy training.
Wardens are sworn officers who complete a law enforcement academy after hire.
You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.
Outdoor law enforcement with a small, competitive field and few yearly openings.
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Standard Occupational Classification 33-3031. Pay, employment, and outlook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wage survey and 2024–34 employment projections). See something off? Tell us.