Well for any of those positions a B.S. in Wildlife Management would qualify you to apply. As a wildlife biologist you have more job opportunities to stay in the field other than conservation enforcement if that doesn't work out...(those jobs are super competitive and do not suit every personality - speaking from experience) as opposed to a B.S. in Criminal Justice which would also qualify you for the Law Enforcement jobs.

There are also Rangeland Ecology, Recreation and Parks and Natural Resource Management degrees that do the same thing. It never hurts to have a back up plan.

***I am not trying to toot my own flute with this next statement just merely trying to pass on my personal experience ...I am by no means presenting myself as an expert...***

I myself have a B.S. in Recreation and Park Administration, a Master of Natural Resources Development (Wildlife and Fisheries) and am finishing up a second masters that merges Recreation and Park with Urban Planning (Environmental Planning). In graduate school I worked on two projects - one was centered in a local nature park that was set aside for habitat preservation for an endangered species that allowed recreation and the other was an environmental assessment of the impacts of allowing ATV activity of public land. So as you can see there are vast opportunities to study natural resource management from different perspectives and the jobs are just the same. There are great outdoor jobs out there but sometimes it get cumbersome to try to find them... that's were the previously mentioned internships come into play...

You might also look at Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service they have a lot of outdoor jobs that are titled differently than the state agency jobs...

but it is with outdoors right?

east texas aggie
you think it be better to just go with
one of these

game warden
State Park Police
conservation officer
park ranger

yes. They are each a good place to start and get exposed to the field.

thanks

No problem. Hope it helped.

what bout forestry

Well after thinking on those last post I remember going to college and taking all the crim. justice classes i could and farm and ranch mgmnt. as secondary then 45hrs of college was all that was required for Tx Game Wardens so i got 6O hrs and sent an application to Austin with no response back. I then took a job with a sherriffs dept. kept applying and got nothing past interviews with sorry you were not chosen.3 yrs went by and a batchelors was required so i went to work for the State TDCJ as a correctional officer and back to college.....became an avid welder and carpenter and then was told not to apply for a park job or game warden position because all those jobs are too political required to be a good ol boy friend of someone or a relative. Low and behold I snooped around and saw with my own eyes friends and relatives getting over 8O % of the jobs. They are extremely hard to get even with degrees and experience .

Forestry is a good field too. I neglected to list it because Texas A&M merged the rangeland ecology and forestry departments into one and they now call it Ecosystems Sciences. If forestry is the route you choose I recommend Stephen F. Austin State University... they have an excellent forestry department.

make tons of money out of the field and take time to be in the field..you will have the money to pick and choose where and when and what and how you want to spend time or money....

im really focused on conservation officer..

In Texas, conservation officers are game wardens... Texas is one of the few states that still call them game wardens. In other states, Game Wardens are called conservation officers...

There is no such thing as working in the outdoors and making good money. Do like he says above.

all these terms are confusing lol...
game warden = conservation officer
State Park Police
park ranger

Yes. That's why I was trying to clarify.
That is why I suggested looking at the posted job descriptions on the websites...

my bad, ive been reading so much today and have looked at so many jobs...
alot to process, at once..
i went to tpwd and emailed then for info, and read about it.. just forgot..
and i read about park rangers.. that seems less appealing..
state park police i heard about but didnt read about.

No worries. I completely understand the confusing part of reading job descriptions. Good luck in your search.

thanks.

Just run for president! You can play golf and see the world anytime you want. Just ask our current president. He is having a ball!

nice one.

Become a federal warden working for the fish and wildlife service. Better pay, benefits, and the ability to move across the country whenever you want.

One enforces wildlife laws and chases bad guys, one empties the trash cans.

Devildog28 had some great advice


The is a difference in enjoying the outdoors and working in the outdoors. It can be done but not the norm.

Will hunting/fishing (part of outdoors) be as enjoyable if it is a job, and took away the time that you enjoy persuing your interests?

But you will know all of the best areas to hunt. You will be off during the times when most hunters have to work. You will know every rancher and lease around. Make friends and it wont be hard to find a great place to hunt.

Or you can just make friends with the Game Warden in and around the areas you want to hunt.... Then you dont have do do all that bs.

Wildlife Biologist....look at Larry Weishunn, David Morris, and Gary Schwarz..Maybe youd have your own huntin show one day.