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Conservation Officer

Academic programs / Undergraduate degrees / Career opportunities / Conservation Officer

Conservation Officer

Explore employment trends, required job duties and skills for this career. ASU offers a variety of degrees that can help you prepare for and meet your career goals. Visit ASU's Career and Professional Development Services to learn how to develop your career plan.

Potential job titles in this career
Christmas Tree Farmer, Conservation Officer, Field Laborer, Forest Ranger, Forest Resource Specialist, Forestry Support Specialist, Park Maintainer, Reforestation Worker, Tree Farmer, Tree Planter

* Additional schooling, certification, or degrees maybe be required for some of the potential careers that are listed.
What will I do?
  • Check equipment to ensure that it is operating properly.
  • Fight forest fires or perform prescribed burning tasks under the direction of fire suppression officers or forestry technicians.
  • Perform fire protection or suppression duties, such as constructing fire breaks or disposing of brush.
  • Confer with other workers to discuss issues, such as safety, cutting heights, or work needs.
  • Maintain tallies of trees examined and counted during tree marking or measuring efforts.
  • Explain or enforce regulations regarding camping, vehicle use, fires, use of buildings, or sanitation.
  • Operate skidders, bulldozers, or other prime movers to pull a variety of scarification or site preparation equipment over areas to be regenerated.
  • Spray or inject vegetation with insecticides to kill insects or to protect against disease or with herbicides to reduce competing vegetation.
  • Thin or space trees, using power thinning saws.
  • Identify diseased or undesirable trees and remove them, using power saws or hand saws.
  • In this career, it is important to know
    English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    It's useful to be good at
    Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

    Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

    Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

    Static Strength - The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.

    Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

    Dynamic Strength - The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.

    Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.

    Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.

    Multilimb Coordination - The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.

    Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
    Employment trends
    Location Pay period 2022
    10% 25% Median% 75% 90%
    United States Hourly $12.83 $15.00 $15.51 $19.08 $23.21
    Yearly $26,690 $31,200 $32,270 $39,690 $48,270
    Arizona Hourly $18.00 $18.01 $19.31 $35.07 $37.60
    Yearly $37,440 $37,470 $40,170 $72,950 $78,200
    2022 Median%
    United States $15.51 Hourly $32,270 Yearly
    Arizona $19.31 Hourly $40,170 Yearly

    Employment (2022)
    11,300 employees
    Projected growth (2022 - 2032)
    Decline (-2% or lower)
    Projected job openings (2022 - 2032)
    1,800
    * Data obtained from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).
    What are accelerated programs?
    Accelerated programs allow students the opportunity to expedite the completion of their degree.

    3 year programs

    These programs allow students to fast-track their studies after admission and earn a bachelor's degree in three years or fewer while participating in the same high-quality educational experience of a 4-year option. Students should talk to their academic advisor to get started.

    Accelerated master's

    These programs allow students to accelerate their studies to earn a bachelor's plus a master's degree in as few as five years (for some programs).

    Each program has requirements students must meet to be eligible for consideration. Acceptance to the graduate program requires a separate application. Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master’s during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.
    What are concurrent programs?
    Concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests, earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor.
    What are joint programs?
    Joint programs, or jointly conferred degrees, are offered by more than one college and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of the academic strengths of two academic units. Upon graduation, students are awarded one degree and one diploma conferred by two colleges.

    What constitutes a new program?
    ASU adds new programs to Degree Search frequently. Come back often and look for the “New Programs” option.
    What are online programs?
    ASU Online offers programs in an entirely online format with multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year. See https://asuonline.asu.edu/ for more information.
    What is the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE)?
    The Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) is a program in which residents of western states (other than Arizona) may be eligible for reduced nonresident tuition. See more information and eligibility requirements on the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) program.

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