How To Become A Conservation Officer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a conservation officer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a conservation officer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $25.28 an hour? That's $52,580 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 20,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreConservation OfficerUS Average

Salary

4.1

Avg. Salary $52,580

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.90%

Asian 4.02%

Black or African American 10.63%

Hispanic or Latino 14.75%

Unknown 4.35%

White 65.36%

Gender

female 14.89%

male 85.11%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a conservation officer

Explore conservation officer education requirements

Most common conservation officer degrees

Bachelor's

74.7 %

Associate

12.6 %

Master's

4.6 %

Start to develop specific conservation officer skills

Skills	Percentages
Patrol	44.74%
Field Training	16.97%
Law Enforcement Agencies	10.82%
Public Safety	5.20%
ATV	4.20%

Complete relevant conservation officer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New conservation officers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a conservation officer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real conservation officer resumes.

Research conservation officer duties and responsibilities

Operate truck and trailer for transporting boats, equipment, bear traps, horses and supplies.
Operate hand and power tools for repair and maintenance of vehicles, boats, and specialize field equipment.
Instruct the following courses: hunter safety, international archery, firearms instructor, control and restraint, and wildlife identification.
Interview suspects/witnesses, along with drafting/serving warrants and subpoenas.

Prepare your conservation officer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your conservation officer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a conservation officer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable conservation officer resume templates

Build a professional conservation officer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your conservation officer resume.