Park Naturalists build social perceptiveness, service orientation and judgment and decision making skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary (75%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary | 75% | $101,420 | — | Graduate degree |
| 2 | Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | 71% | $72,040 | — | None |
| 3 | Recreational Therapists | 71% | $61,960 | — | None |
| 4 | Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education | 71% | $63,970 | — | None |
| 5 | Recreation Workers | 70% | $36,560 | — | None |
| 6 | Special Education Teachers, Middle School | 70% | $66,810 | — | None |
| 7 | Special Education Teachers, Preschool | 70% | $64,830 | — | None |
| 8 | Special Education Teachers, Secondary School | 70% | $74,260 | — | None |
| 9 | Farm and Home Management Educators | 70% | $60,220 | — | Graduate degree |
| 10 | Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education | 69% | $62,680 | — | None |
Compared with Park Naturalists, median —. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as park naturalists (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
75% skill match · $101,420
Instructing · Complex Problem Solving · Negotiation
71% skill match · $72,040
Instructing · Coordination · Judgment and Decision Making
No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.
71% skill match · $61,960
Coordination · Instructing · Service Orientation
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary (75% skill match, median $101,420), Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education (71% skill match, median $72,040) and Recreational Therapists (71% skill match, median $61,960), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
None of the 25 closest matches pays more than park naturalists at the national median (BLS May 2025). Higher-paying moves usually need more training.
20 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones. 5 usually need a graduate degree: Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary, Farm and Home Management Educators and Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.