Career/college major question?

Question

I'm thinking of pursuing a career that deals with things along the lines of preservation of national parks, wildlife, woodlands, recreational sites, etc. Perhaps something like the NPS. I love nature, and I want to do something to help conserve and protect the natural world and life around us from destruction. I would really like to look into working at a national park, though. I think it would be a great way to emphasize the importance of protecting the environment, and open up new experiences/ways of thinking for others.

My question is, what field of study would be best suitable for this kind of career opportunity? Any suggestions?

Answer 1

My university has an entire faculty devoted to the subject, Environmental Studies.  There's all kinds of majors and minors and options in there to go from.  It really depends on the school you choose.  You could go with something basic like biology, tourism, zoology, wildlife...it all depends on what your school of choice offers.

Answer 2

Conservation biology

Environmental sciences

Wildlife Conservation

Fish and Wildlife

Geology

Biology

Ecology

Political Science

Zoology

Wildlife studies

You should also try looking for career opportunities through the WWF and NWF.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Answer 3

At my alma mater UC Davis, they had a major in Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology. A lot of similar schools (with a more rural emphasis in their academics) have similar majors.

If you go to a school that doesn't have such a major, you could do botany, zoology, or ecology, as long as you are focusing more on ecosystems than on molecular details.

If you want to be a ranger, they are actually law enforcement, so a criminal justice degree may work (along with ecology classes).

There's also Environmental Studies, but at least at UCD it seemed more focused on policy than on purely studying the environment.