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Natural Resources & Conservationat Kansas State University

Graduates earn $39,705/yr in their first year — right at the national average. Base-case 10-year earnings $476K; scenarios range from $450K to $474K depending on AI disruption.

Manhattan, KS Public Bachelor's Degree
DegreeOutlook Score
34 AT RISK
35
Optimistic
30
Pessimistic
Earnings
$39,705
1-year post-graduation
ROI
8.1x
Earnings : in-state tuition
10-yr Base
$476K
Cumulative base-case earnings
AI Risk
High
55% task exposure
Program Analysis

What this degree looks like at Kansas State University

As the sole program of its kind in the nation, your degree from Kansas State is inherently specialized. This isn't just about forestry; it's about the complex systems of the Great Plains. You'll be deeply immersed in issues critical to the region's economy and environment: water rights, soil health, prairie restoration, and agricultural sustainability. Your career path likely leads to government agencies like the USDA or Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, or to private land management consultancies that serve ranchers and farmers. The high AI risk score isn't about robots replacing park rangers; it reflects the field's growing reliance on data science, GIS mapping, and predictive modeling for conservation planning. To stand out, your key action is to gain hands-on research or internship experience, proving you can apply those technical skills to tangible, real-world environmental challenges.

AI Outlook Integration

Three scenarios, ten years out

Each scenario is a different assumption about how AI reshapes the career paths this major feeds into. Earnings projections stack the full 10-year cumulative trajectory; scores use the same 0–100 metric as the hero, recomputed under that scenario's assumptions.

Pessimistic
Mass Automation
$450K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score30/100
Earnings Multiple10.3x
Base Case
Moderate Integration
$476K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score34/100
Earnings Multiple10.9x
Optimistic
AI Augmentation
$474K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score35/100
Earnings Multiple10.8x
Earnings Trajectory

10 year projection

Year-by-year earnings under each scenario. Base case reflects BLS growth patterns applied to Kansas State University's starting earnings; optimistic and pessimistic adjust for AI's effect on each career path this major feeds into.

Career Paths

Where Natural Resources & Conservation graduates typically work

Common career destinations for this program's graduates, weighted by the school's specific occupation mix. Salary is BLS national median; AI risk is per-role task-exposure research.

1
Forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary
+4.0% 10-yr growth · 100 openings/yr
$100,830/yr
Moderate
Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. AI exposure from OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs and Felten AIOE research.
Also at Kansas State University

Other top programs at Kansas State University

Other highest-scoring programs offered at Kansas State University, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score.

FAQ

Frequently asked about Natural Resources & Conservation at Kansas State University

What is the DegreeOutlook Score for Natural Resources & Conservation at Kansas State University?

A score of 34/100 indicates below-average financial outcomes for Natural Resources & Conservation. Earnings, ROI, or AI risk factors are pulling the score down.

Will AI replace Natural Resources & Conservation careers?

With 48% of typical job tasks exposed to AI, this is one of the higher-risk fields. Our pessimistic scenario projects $450,184 in decade earnings vs $474,234 in the optimistic case — a meaningful gap.

What makes Kansas State University's Natural Resources & Conservation program stand out?

Ranked #1 of 1 programs nationally, Kansas State University lands in the top 1%. The ranking reflects a combination of graduate earnings, return on investment, and job market alignment.