Soil Conservationist
Soil Conservationist
Career Overview
Soil Conservationists help protect and improve soil, water, and natural resources by working with farmers, landowners, and communities. They develop land management plans, reduce soil erosion, improve water quality, and promote sustainable farming and conservation practices that protect the environment.
Education
Most Soil Conservationists earn a bachelor's degree in soil science, environmental science, agriculture, agronomy, natural resource management, or a related field. Some positions in research, consulting, or government may require a master's deg
Future Outlook
Demand for Soil Conservationists is expected to remain steady as sustainable agriculture, environmental protection, soil health, and water conservation become increasingly important. Career opportunities exist with government agencies, environmental consulting firms, conservation authorities, agricultural organizations, and research institutions.
Work Environment
Soil Conservationists divide their time between offices and outdoor field locations. They inspect land, collect soil samples, meet with landowners and farmers, prepare conservation plans, and work with government agencies, conservation organizations, and agricultural businesses.
Recommended High School Courses
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Environmental Science
- Computer Applications
- Agricultural Science
- Mathematics
- Geography
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Operations Analysis - Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.
- Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Number Facility - The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Time Sharing - The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Develop plans to manage natural or renewable resources.
- Advise others about land management or conservation.
- Inspect condition of natural environments.
- Monitor operational procedures in technical environments to ensure conformance to standards.
- Direct natural resources management or conservation programs.
- Develop collaborative relationships between departments or with external organizations.
- Plan natural resources conservation or restoration programs.
- Apply knowledge or research findings to address environmental problems.
- Collect geographical or geological field data.
- Mediate disputes.
- Communicate with the public on environmental issues.
- Advise others about environmental management or conservation.
- Train personnel in technical or scientific procedures.
- Research sustainable agricultural processes or practices.
- Assess compliance with environmental laws.
- Survey land or properties.
- Review plans or proposals for environmental conservation.
- Plan environmental research.
- Record research or operational data.
- Analyze environmental data.
- Compile environmental or climatological data.
- Advise others on the development or use of new technologies.
- Evaluate new technologies or methods.
- Research impacts of environmental conservation initiatives.
- Review environmental permits, plans, or reports.
Schools
Schools
Allegheny College
Alvernia University
American University
Amherst College
Antioch College
Appalachian State Univers...
Arkansas Tech University
Assumption College
Auburn University
Austin College
Ave Maria University
Ball State University
Barnard College
Bates College
Baylor University
Belmont University
Beloit College
Bemidji State University
Bethel University
Bowdoin College
Bowling Green State Unive...
Bradley University
Brandeis University
Gettysburg College
Goucher College
Gustavus Adolphus College
Hamilton College
Hampshire College
Haverford College
Hollins University
Ithaca College
Lafayette College
Lawrence University
New College Of Florida
New York University
Norwich University
Oberlin College
Occidental College
Pennsylvania State Univer...
Pennsylvania State Univer...
Pfeiffer University
Point Park University
Prescott College
Queens University- Charlo...
Randolph College
Randolph-macon College
Rensselaer Polytechnic In...
Rhodes College
Rollins College
Saint Joseph's College -...
Saint Mary-of-the-woods C...
Saint Michael's College
Skidmore College
Soka University Of Americ...
Spelman College
St. Bonaventure Universit...
Suny At Purchase
Suny College Of Environme...
Susquehanna University
Sweet Briar College
Texas A & M University- C...
Trinity College- Hartford...
Union College- New York
University Of Arkansas- F...
University Of Connecticut
University Of Idaho
University Of Kentucky
University Of Maryland -...
University Of Minnesota-...
University Of Redlands
University Of The Science...
Wake Forest University
Washington And Lee Univer...
Wells College
Whittier College
Williams College
Wofford College
Bishop's University
Brandon University
King's University
Lakeland College- Verm...
Nipissing University
Redeemer University Co...
Royal Roads University
University Of Northern...
University Of Prince E...
University Of Toronto-...
University Of Toronto-...
Approx Salary Expectation
Currency:
Low End:
$45,000.00 /yr
Avg/Med:
$68,000.00 /yr
High End:
$108,000.00 /yr
Related Careers
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.