Crossing Guards and Flaggers vs Fish and Game Wardens: $38K vs $74K Median Pay

Crossing Guards and Flaggers vs Fish and Game Wardens: what changes?

Consider Crossing Guards and Flaggers if you want to guide or control vehicular or pedestrian traffic at such places as streets, schools, railroad crossings, or construction sites. Consider Fish and Game Wardens if you would rather patrol assigned area to prevent fish and game law violations. Entry credentials differ: Crossing Guards and Flaggers, no formal educational credential; Fish and Game Wardens, bachelor's degree.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Crossing Guards and Flaggers and Fish and Game Wardens. 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

Crossing Guards and Flaggers

National median pay (2025): $38,100
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; 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: Direct or escort pedestrians across streets, stopping traffic, as necessary.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 17,300

Know before you choose

The work can involve real occupational hazards. Training, protective equipment, and routine safety discipline matter every day.

See the full Crossing Guards and Flaggers brief

Fish and Game Wardens

National median pay (2025): $74,060
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree; 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: 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.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 500

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 5.7% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Fish and Game Wardens brief

How the national numbers differ

Crossing Guards and Flaggers has the edge on annual openings

Crossing Guards and Flaggers is at 17,300 annual openings, compared with 500 annual openings for Fish and Game Wardens.

Fish and Game Wardens has the edge on median pay

Fish and Game Wardens is at $74,060, compared with $38,100 for Crossing Guards and Flaggers.

Crossing Guards and Flaggers has the edge on projected growth

Crossing Guards and Flaggers is at 3.5% projected growth, compared with -5.7% projected growth for Fish and Game Wardens.

Typical preparation differs.

Crossing Guards and Flaggers: No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Fish and Game Wardens: Bachelor's degree; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

51.5/ 100

Crossing Guards and Flaggers

28.5/ 100

Fish and Game Wardens

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

Crossing Guards and Flaggers vs Fish and Game Wardens

Dimension	Crossing Guards and Flaggers	Fish and Game Wardens
Median pay (2025)	$38,100	$74,060
Pay percentile	8.5 percentile	63.6 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	3.5%	-5.7%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	17,300	500
2025 employment	94,800	6,200
How you qualify	No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	Bachelor's degree; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 2	Job Zone 4
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Crossing Guards and Flaggers brief Read Fish and Game Wardens brief

Crossing Guards and Flaggers vs Fish and Game Wardens: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Crossing Guards and Flaggers

Fish and Game Wardens

How the national numbers differ

Crossing Guards and Flaggers has the edge on annual openings

Fish and Game Wardens has the edge on median pay

Crossing Guards and Flaggers has the edge on projected growth

Typical preparation differs.

Crossing Guards and Flaggers vs Fish and Game Wardens

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