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Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary

Also called: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Forestry Professor, Professor

Teach courses in forestry and conservation science. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

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Median pay BLS, 2025$101,420
Openings a year BLS, 2025–35100
Typical education to start BLSDoctoral or professional degree
AI exposure BLS, Aug 2026 Very high
Projected job growth BLS, 2025–35 +2.8%

What the data says: AI could halve the time on 16 of its 25 tasks, yet jobs are projected to grow 2.8% by 2035. In the most exposed occupations, the squeeze shows up first among early-career workers. How to think about this →

About this projection

BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”

It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”

On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”

Recent conditions

  • In 2024, 2.1% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Postsecondary teachers”
  • From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 7.8 hires for every 10 job openings in private educational services, which employs about 100% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.

How to read these

Pay compared with all occupations BLS median wages Pays more than 84% of 825 occupations
lowest-paidhighest-paid

Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates

$62k$138knot published

Median pay in every state
StateMedianMiddle half earnJobs
Alabama$80,380$60,960 to $99,56080
Arizona$115,730$76,670 to $119,92060
California$61,730$48,630 to $97,430110
Georgia$94,310$84,960 to $102,96040
Indiana$102,330$85,040 to $137,88040
Maine$82,280$78,220 to $104,07050
Michigan$138,130$133,370 to $138,13060
Minnesota$82,670$47,400 to $101,420180
Missouri$79,820$59,320 to $94,21070
Montana$104,220$83,100 to $123,38060
North Carolina$108,430$80,130 to $140,32090
Oregon$126,930$102,730 to $129,960210
Virginia$132,820$105,760 to $158,47060
Washington$104,490$63,680 to $133,22040
West Virginia$84,450$81,000 to $112,03040
Wisconsin$98,410$79,150 to $146,22040

Nationally: $101,420. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this

How AI touches the work

What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.

AI could halve the time on 16 of its 25 tasks

6 · AI alone could halve the time 10 · AI + software built on it could 9 · Not much
AI ratingIts main tasks Share of Claude conversations
May 2026
AI alone Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts. Not published
AI + software Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers. Not published
Not much Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences. Not published
AI + software Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues. Not published
AI + software Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others. Not published
Not much Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions. Not published
See all 25 tasks
AI + software Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records. Not published
AI + software Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction. Not published
AI + software Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues. Not published
Not much Supervise students' laboratory or field work. Not published
Not much Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics, such as forest resource policy, forest pathology, and mapping. Not published
Not much Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work. Not published
AI + software Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students. Not published
AI alone Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in books, professional journals, or electronic media. Not published
Not much Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities. Not published
Not much Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues. Not published
Not much Act as advisers to student organizations. Not published
AI + software Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks and laboratory equipment. Not published
Not much Participate in campus and community events. Not published
AI alone Write grant proposals to procure external research funding. Not published
AI alone Provide information to the public by leading workshops and training programs and by developing educational materials. under 0.01%
AI + software Review papers for colleagues and scientific journals. 0.04%
AI alone Provide professional consulting services to government or industry. Not published
AI alone Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments. Not published
AI + software Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head. Not published

Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 2 of the 25 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.

Where people already use AI

The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 25 tasks fall under 21 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.

Tasks AI could speed up16 of 25 tasksEloundou et al. ratings (2023)
Its activities among the 50 people ask AI for help with most8 of 21 activities
  • #4 Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
  • #5 Provide information or assistance to the public
  • #10 Write material for artistic or commercial purposes
  • and 5 more, in the table below
Microsoft Copilot (2024), ranked among all 332 activities. The cut-off of 50 is ours.
Work activity This occupation's tasks under it People asked AI for help
in 10,000 conversations		 AI did it for them
in 10,000 conversations
Advise others on educational or vocational matters 14#74 34#36
Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise 408#4 247#8
Prepare informational or instructional materials 73#23 195#11
Teach academic or vocational subjects 22#54 143#14
Assess student capabilities, needs, or performance 2.31#189 0.62#188
Supervise personnel activities 0.56#266 0.05#283
Provide information or assistance to the public 356#5 1,375#2
Write material for artistic or commercial purposes 149#10 105#18
Show all 21 activities
Perform administrative or clerical activities 58#30 25#44
Compile records, documentation, or other data 52#33 33#37
Purchase goods or services 47#36 0.39#220
Select materials or equipment for operations or projects 45#38 19#49
Evaluate programs, practices, or processes 15#67 5.67#80
Promote products, services, or programs 14#72 85#20
Plan events or programs 5.26#123 1.90#133
Evaluate scholarly work 4.55#134 1.06#165
Maintain operational records 2.92#170 0.49#209
Develop educational programs, plans, or procedures 2.52#181 2.47#121
Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures 1.85#204 0.36#225
Prepare proposals or grant applications 1.47#214 0.60#190
Serve on organizational committees 0.21#294 0.04#288
Task: AI alone Task: AI + software Task: not much #: rank among all 332 activities Microsoft measured (#1 = most common; activities that never came up share last place, shown as “tied”)
Where the two sources differ: “Assess student capabilities, needs, or performance” holds 2 tasks rated AI + software, yet people asked AI for help with it in 2.31 of every 10,000 conversations, #189 of 332.

How people in this work use Claude

What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations

  • An explanation or answer20%
  • A document or report16%
  • Teaching material15%
  • An analysis or summary15%
  • Advice or a recommendation9%

How they worked with Claude

29% handed the task off71% worked on it together

22% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.

How to read this

Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.

The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.

More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude

High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs

BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.

AI exposure and projected job growth, 831 occupationsLow exposure: 134 of 213 occupations projected to grow. Moderate exposure: 151 of 206 occupations projected to grow. High exposure: 165 of 206 occupations projected to grow. Very high exposure: 141 of 206 occupations projected to grow.-20%-15%-10%-5%0%+5%+10%+15%+20%+25%Low134 of 213 growingModerate151 of 206 growingHigh165 of 206 growingVery high141 of 206 growing11 occupations outside −20% to +25% are drawn at the edge. Click a dot to see that occupation.Forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary: +2.8%Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, PostsecondaryAI exposure and projected job growth, 831 occupationsLow exposure: 134 of 213 occupations projected to grow. Moderate exposure: 151 of 206 occupations projected to grow. High exposure: 165 of 206 occupations projected to grow. Very high exposure: 141 of 206 occupations projected to grow.-20%-15%-10%-5%0%+5%+10%+15%+20%+25%Low134 of 213Moderate151 of 206High165 of 206Very high141 of 20611 occupations outside −20% to +25% are drawn at the edge. Tap a dot.Forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary: +2.8%Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary

Career moves into and out of this occupation

From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.

Where people moved in from

of 82 moves in

  1. 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 14%

Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).

Education and training for the occupation

Education people in it hold

O*NET survey of workers in this occupation

  • 22% post-doctoral training
  • 78% not published

O*NET marks 78% of the answers as too uncertain to publish, so the parts shown don't add up to 100%.

O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 25 people answered.

Census survey (American Community Survey)

  • 1% less than high school
  • 3% high school
  • 4% some college
  • 2% associate's
  • 16% bachelor's
  • 28% master's
  • 5% professional degree
  • 42% doctorate

Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Postsecondary teachers” · 15,280 people surveyed.

Why the two can differ

O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide

Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Postsecondary teachers”

Programs that prepare people for it (NCES)
18 programs, such as Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture, Range Science and Management and Natural Resources/Conservation, General.
See all
  • Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture
  • Range Science and Management
  • Natural Resources/Conservation, General
  • Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy, General
  • Water, Wetlands, and Marine Resources Management
  • Land Use Planning and Management/Development
  • Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy, Other
  • Forestry, General
  • Forest Sciences and Biology
  • Forest Management/Forest Resources Management
  • Urban Forestry
  • Wood Science and Wood Products/Pulp and Paper Technology/Technician
  • Forest Resources Production and Management
  • Forestry, Other
  • Wildlife, Fish and Wildlands Science and Management
  • Natural Resources and Conservation, Other
  • Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education
  • Ecology

Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023

BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.

Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor

These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide

See where your own career could go Start by uploading your resume Browse careers

BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS · Brynjolfsson, Chandar and Chen, Stanford (Aug 2026)

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