Salary

Average Salary: $53,260

Expected Lifetime Earnings: $2,223,498


Now of course, no one is saying you're in this for the money; you're here for the animals (obviously). Who cares about salary? You'd do this for free if you could, your love of wildlife being so deep and overwhelming...what's that? You still want to get paid for it? Fine. That's just...fine.

You'll actually make a pretty decent living.

On average, game wardens make about $50,000 a year (source). This is helpful, because the bachelor's degree required by most states will need to be paid back at some point (source). Your take-home pay depends on a few factors, the primary ones being who you work for and how long you've worked there. 

Starting out, a state wildlife officer that is low on the totem pole will pull in about $35,000, with pay increasing regularly thanks to state pay increasing regulations (this is a public service job, after all). Pay also depends on which state you're in. Texas pays the best, while if you're in Utah you might need to take on a second job (source).

So how do you become a six-figure game warden? Work for America, naturally. You could be a top-level federal "journeyman" special agent, traveling the country enforcing wildlife laws, and making around $100,000 a year. That's enough to pay back your college loans and have enough left over for a nice vacation to, say, Africa. Not bad for the "hippie-dippy Bambi-lover" as your Uncle Craig likes to call you.