Career Explorer Protective services
Human edge, steady
Fish and game wardens
Patrol assigned area to prevent fish and game law violations. Investigate reports of damage to crops or property by wildlife. Compile biological data.
In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 40% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by -5.7% by 2035, expected to shrink. The work leans on ethical judgement and physical dexterity.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $74,060
- Job growth to 2035
- -5.7%
- Openings a year
- 500
- People doing it (2025)
- 6,200
- Usual route in
- Bachelor's degree, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Maintain safety or security
- Issue documentation
- Explain regulations, policies, or procedures
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Develop systems or practices to mitigate or resolve environmental problems
- Record information about legal matters
- Monitor safety or security of work areas, facilities, or properties
What the work looks like
- Participate in search-and-rescue operations.
- Compile and present evidence for court actions.
- Protect and preserve native wildlife, plants, or ecosystems.
- Patrol assigned areas by car, boat, airplane, horse, or on foot to enforce game, fish, or boating laws or to manage wildlife programs, lakes, or land.
- Investigate hunting accidents or reports of fish or game law violations.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as declining rates of hunting among Americans may continue to constrain future demand for employment of fish and game wardens.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Forensic science techniciansHuman edge, growing, Index 87, +13.3%
- EmbalmersHuman edge, steady, Index 87, +0.7%
- Nuclear medicine technologistsHuman edge, growing, Index 54, +4.4%
- Diagnostic medical sonographersHuman edge, growing, Index 84, +13.9%
Also known as: Game Warden, State Wildlife Officer, Wildlife Conservation Officer, Wildlife Officer, Conservation Enforcement Officer, Conservation Officer, Conservation Warden, Fish and Game Constable.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.