Animal Breeders vs Forest and Conservation Workers: $51K vs $44K Median Pay

Animal Breeders vs Forest and Conservation Workers: what changes?

Consider Animal Breeders if you want to select and breed animals according to their genealogy, characteristics, and offspring. Consider Forest and Conservation Workers if you would rather under supervision, perform manual labor necessary to develop, maintain, or protect areas such as forests, forested areas, woodlands, wetlands, and rangelands through such activities as raising and transporting…. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Animal Breeders and Forest and Conservation Workers. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Animal Breeders

National median pay (2025): $51,130
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Feed and water animals, and clean and disinfect pens, cages, yards, and hutches.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 1,000

Know before you choose

This is a small national occupation (6,900 jobs in 2025), so location and employer concentration can matter more than the national median suggests.

See the full Animal Breeders brief

Forest and Conservation Workers

National median pay (2025): $43,680
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Check equipment to ensure that it is operating properly.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 2,200

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 1.5% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Forest and Conservation Workers brief

How the national numbers differ

Animal Breeders has the edge on projected growth

Animal Breeders is at 3% projected growth, compared with -1.5% projected growth for Forest and Conservation Workers.

Animal Breeders has the edge on median pay

Animal Breeders is at $51,130, compared with $43,680 for Forest and Conservation Workers.

Forest and Conservation Workers has the edge on annual openings

Forest and Conservation Workers is at 2,200 annual openings, compared with 1,000 annual openings for Animal Breeders.

41.1/ 100

Animal Breeders

32.7/ 100

Forest and Conservation Workers

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence