Also called: Park Superintendent, Refuge Manager
Runs an entire national park, state park system, or wildlife refuge, from rangers and roads to wildlife and visitors.
You're like the mayor of a small city that happens to be a wilderness. You might deal with a bear-closure decision, a budget meeting, a wildfire, and a visit from a senator in the same week, all while protecting the park for the next 100 years.
Federal GS-13 to Senior Executive range; state parks pay less.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in natural resources, biology, or park management plus 15+ years of park service experience.
Ways in: 4-year college, On-the-job training, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Park & Recreation Management, Natural Resource Management, Biology.
Growing slowly. Few positions; depends on federal budgets.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps with budgets, visitor data and reports; leading staff and balancing wildlife, visitors and politics stay human.
Classes: Biology, Government, Speech.
Official data: O*NET occupation 11-9121.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.