How To Become A Wildlife Program Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a wildlife program manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Keng-Lou Hung

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a wildlife program manager. For example, did you know that they make an average of $23.24 an hour? That's $48,334 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a wildlife program manager?

Dr. Keng-Lou Hung

Assistant Professor, University of Oklahoma

My answer here will be biased by my limited experience outside of academia. I think the first step in maximizing salary potential is to pick a high-potential career path. Veterinary doctors, professors at major research universities, data scientists, and high-level environmental consultants can have fairly high incomes. Wildlife department professionals, fisheries biologists, zoology teachers, and state and national park rangers seem to have very solid middle-class incomes. It seems that zookeepers and seasonal biologists tend to have more limited salary potential. Once one has settled on a career path that has the potential of high salary with promotions, the best strategy is probably to continue seeking opportunities to learn more advanced skill so as to be able to take on greater responsibilities, including both technical skills (data analysis, taxon expertise, field methodology expertise, policy/bureaucracy expertise) and personnel / logistical management skills.

ScoreWildlife Program ManagerUS Average

Salary

3.8

Avg. Salary $48,334

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.58%

Asian 11.13%

Black or African American 2.31%

Hispanic or Latino 6.35%

Unknown 4.95%

White 74.69%

Gender

female 43.75%

male 56.25%

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

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.5

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a wildlife program manager

Explore wildlife program manager education requirements

Most common wildlife program manager degrees

Bachelor's

54.5 %

Master's

27.3 %

High School Diploma

9.1 %

Start to develop specific wildlife program manager skills

Skills	Percentages
GIS	53.80%
Fauna	46.20%

Complete relevant wildlife program manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New wildlife program managers 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 wildlife program manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real wildlife program manager resumes.

Research wildlife program manager duties and responsibilities

Utilize ArcGIS to create navigational maps, as well as uploading, managing and analyzing data for habitat suitability.
Conduct internal audits to monitor objective efforts relate to EEO/AA by developing measures for recruiting, hiring and retaining underrepresent personnel.
Examine received medical records and notate FBCS clinical tracking with detail information for clinical staff review.

Prepare your wildlife program manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your wildlife program manager 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 wildlife program manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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