Wyoming·Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations·SOC 19-1031

Best Conservation Scientist programs in Wyoming, ranked by enrollment

Manage, improve, and protect natural resources to maximize their use without damaging the environment. May conduct soil surveys and develop plans to eliminate soil erosion or to protect rangelands.

6 schools in Wyoming run programs that feed this job, graduating 57 people a year. The job pays a median of $81,310 in Wyoming across about 150 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledNaturalistPark GuidePark RangerConservationistPark NaturalistRange TechnicianResource ManagerResearch Soil Scientist
Graduates / yr
57
in Wyoming
Median pay · Wyoming
$81,310
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
150
people employed
Schools
6
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
47%
across those schools
Median net price
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Wyoming that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

6 programs in Wyoming that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Wyoming (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Wyoming page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 01.1106In Wyoming
28
49.1%
6$42,861$20,500
2
CIP 26.1301In Wyoming
12
21.1%
1$29,460$23,480
3
CIP 01.0308In Wyoming
8
14.0%
1$36,083$17,395
4
CIP 03.0601In Wyoming
3
5.3%
1$28,750$24,798
5
CIP 03.0201In Wyoming
3
5.3%
1$37,946$24,125
6
CIP 03.0206In Wyoming
3
5.3%
1$37,946$24,125

Top 6 schools in Wyoming

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 1 of the 6 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Wyoming
Laramie, WY Public · 4 feeder programs
38Range Science and Management$36,06259%97%
2Northwest College
Powell, WY Public · 2 feeder programs
8Range Science and Management49%
3Casper College
Casper, WY Public · 2 feeder programs
4Wildlife, Fish and Wildlands Science and Management43%
4Laramie County Community College
Cheyenne, WY Public · 1 feeder programs
3Range Science and Management38%
5Northern Wyoming Community College District
Sheridan, WY Public · 1 feeder programs
3Range Science and Management42%
6Eastern Wyoming College
Torrington, WY Public · 1 feeder programs
1Range Science and Management52%

All 6 schools in Wyoming

Every school in Wyoming with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Wyoming that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of WyomingLaramiePublic384
Northwest CollegePowellPublic82
Casper CollegeCasperPublic42
Laramie County Community CollegeCheyennePublic31
Northern Wyoming Community College DistrictSheridanPublic31
Eastern Wyoming CollegeTorringtonPublic11

What conservation scientists earn in Wyoming

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Wyoming
$81,310
Mean annual
$78,740
Jobs in state
150
What the range looks like
10th pct$49,940Median$81,31090th pct$100,420
Versus the national median
+11.4%

U.S. median $73,010. Wyoming pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
3.24×

Concentrated here: Wyoming employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+3.4%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
2,500
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
1,000
28,500 → 29,500
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Conservation Scientists page.

How to become a Conservation Scientist

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Active ListeningReading ComprehensionSpeakingCritical ThinkingWritingMonitoring

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Wyoming

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 17 majors mapped to Conservation Scientists17 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 01.0308Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture
  • 01.1106Range Science and Management
  • 03.0101Natural Resources/Conservation, General
  • 03.0201Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy, General
  • 03.0205Water, Wetlands, and Marine Resources Management
  • 03.0206Land Use Planning and Management/Development
  • 03.0501Forestry, General
  • 03.0502Forest Sciences and Biology
  • 03.0506Forest Management/Forest Resources Management
  • 03.0601Wildlife, Fish and Wildlands Science and Management
  • 26.1301Ecology
  • 26.1305Environmental Biology
  • 26.1307Conservation Biology
  • 26.1310Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • 26.1399Ecology, Evolution, Systematics and Population Biology, Other
  • 30.3301Sustainability Studies
  • 30.4401Geography and Environmental Studies

Common questions

Answers for people weighing conservation scientists programs in Wyoming.

What degree do you need to become a Conservation Scientist?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Range Science and Management, which awarded 28 degrees in Wyoming in 2024-25, 49.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Conservation Scientist?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Plant Sciences, Ecology, Agricultural Production Operations, Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 57 people a year in Wyoming.

How much do conservation scientists earn in Wyoming?+

The median is $81,310 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 11.4% above the U.S. median of $73,010. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for conservation scientists growing?+

BLS projects a +3.4% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 2,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Wyoming?+

6 institutions in Wyoming reported graduates from at least one of the 6 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do conservation scientists work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Naturalist, Park Guide, Park Ranger, Conservationist, Park Naturalist, Range Technician among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-1031.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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