Online Environmental Sciences Degrees

Park Naturalists - These scientists are probably the most well known of the conservation scientists. Just think of a true forest ranger, not Ranger Smith on Yogi Bear. These are the people who you meet when you go to a national park and answer any questions you might have. They also are responsible for maintenance of our national treasures, write articles and always be on the guard for disasters such as flood or fire, not to mention keeping tourists from feeding the bears. An Online Environmental Sciences Degree will start you in this exciting field.

Range Managers - Where Naturalists work the wild lands, these scientists assist farmers and ranchers. Their job is assist producing the greatest possible crops without depleting the land. They constantly check farms and rangers for soil stability, plan and oversee the construction and maintenance of farm architecture including fencing, corrals, barns, silos and water irrigation systems.

Soil & Water Conservationists - These types of scientists concentrate on conserving the soil. They work with land owners on the best way to deal with environmental issues such as waste disposal, cleaning up toxic land and similar problems. This also includes such things as re-forestation, replenishing food sources and lately even helping urban areas set up city farms.

Actually considered a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) discipline, conservation scientists have at least a science bachelor's degree in a field such as natural resource management, rangeland management, agricultural science, or environmental science. They usually go for their higher education at land-grant universities or their online divisions. Like many science fields, on the average these specialists have a Masters degree or PhD.

The average salary, once you have your college degree, for all three specialties is about $60,000 a year. Primary employers tend to be government agencies, colleges and big agriculture. The Bureau estimated there are about 14,000 currently in the U.S., and there will be a need for 4,000 more by 2019.

Conservation scientists don't spend all their time roughing it either. Many deliver lectures, publish books and are called upon by the government for their opinions. Yet one is left with the impression that if this profession had its druthers, it would prefer to away from the urban world as much as possible. If this sounds appealing to you, this can be an ideal job.