Also called: Director of Science, Conservation Nonprofit
Leads conservation projects for nonprofits or agencies—deciding which land to protect and how.
Negotiates with landowners to protect a forest, manages a team of biologists, and pitches donors on a new project to save a river.
Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 10 years after high school. Master's or PhD plus many years of experience.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school, On-the-job training. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Ecology, Environmental Policy, Natural Resources.
Growing about average (about 4% over 10 years). Estimate.
Low risk for 10 years. AI drafts proposals and maps priorities; land deals, donor trust and leading teams stay human.
Classes: AP Environmental Science, Economics, Speech or debate.
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.