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.
Most important skills
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
Key knowledge
- Public Safety and Security
- Law and Government
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Telecommunications
- Psychology
- Geography
- Biology
What the work involves
- 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.
- Protect and preserve native wildlife, plants, or ecosystems.
- Promote or provide hunter or trapper safety training.
- Provide assistance to other local law enforcement agencies as required.
- Address schools, civic groups, sporting clubs, or the media to disseminate information concerning wildlife conservation and regulations.
- Recommend revisions in hunting and trapping regulations or in animal management programs so that wildlife balances or habitats can be maintained.
- Issue licenses, permits, or other documentation.
- Provide advice or information to park or reserve visitors.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree (38.8% of expert ratings)
- Related experience
- None (48.4%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (36.7%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Fish and Game Wardens is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 72% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with the public | Very high | Higher on dealing with the public than 98% of occupations compared | 94% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Higher on teamwork than 52% of occupations compared | — |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 63% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Moderate | Higher on time pressure than 55% of occupations compared | 51% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very high | Higher on conflict situations than 98% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very high | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 92% of occupations compared | 35% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 75% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: moderate
- Conflict situations: very high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
- Consequence of error: high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 3.41%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Constant contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 5.44%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 0.94%
- Extremely important: 93.61%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 5.57%
- Important: 2.7%
- Very important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Extremely important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Some freedom: 25.46%
- A lot of freedom: 50.3%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 3.34%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 23.86%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 50.68%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 6.04%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 12.71%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 27.52%
- Every day: 53.73%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 3.41%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 34.62%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 31.96%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 3.34%
- Fairly serious: 23.07%
- Serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very serious: 10.46%
- Extremely serious: 38.9%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2026
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O*NET-SOC 33-3031.00 · SOC 33-3031 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8