Well, for me, going back to school after being out for 11 years was MUCH easier.

I had gained some work and life experience that made dealing with working, going to school, being married, etc. easier because I knew how to prioritize. Undergrad was much more difficult, as I had to work 40-50 hours a week, take a full load of classes, and try to fit in a social life between all that.

I applied for grad school right after I got my undergraduate degree, and couldn't get in, due to low g.p.a. (although my GRE scores were off the chain).

Above all, volunteer, get experience, do an internship EVERY summer, and get to know a network of people in the field. Above all, have a backup plan!

My back-up plan is teaching, which fits in with my role as a Volunteer Coordinator / Education-Outreach Coordinator at a Nature Preserve in Western Travis County. I have a BS in Wildlife, an MA in Education, and am a certified teacher in HS Math, Biology, and Chemistry. Yes, I could make more than I'm making as a teacher, but I'm much happier in the job I'm in now. Much less stress, and I get to work with the Biologists all the time. But, if they make cuts, I have a job waiting for me as a Math teacher whenever I want it. That certification will always be in demand.

If you are interested in summer internships, look in to the National Park Service STEP program (I have some connections if you are interested in TN) and SCA (Student Conservation Association - also have connections). These are paid internships (NPS pays more), which will give you experience in realms other than specifically wildlife management. You need to diversify as much as possible. Take some GIS courses at Blinn. You can use GIS in a wide variety of areas - would be a good back-up career for you IMHO. If you want, you can contact me for contacts.

+1 on the game warden. I hunted with our local game warden all over the three county area until he go promoted out of the area. He was constantly invited to hunt and fish on great properties.

Our local biologist (Mike Krueger) works his butt off. I try not to waste his time and usually just ask him questions by email. MLDPs are great but that just about takes up all his time.

I will for sure look into NSP for the summer. And game warden has been something that I originally wanted to do then strayed away from but it is still an option. I don't really HAVE to work in the wildlife field, meaning I could be content with something else

I got a BS in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at A&M and agree with most of what everyone else has already said. When I graduated, good (decent paying) jobs in the field were hard to come by, even with a masters. Thought about getting a masters but decided that I would get more bang for my buck if I went to law school. I've been practicing for 6 years now. There are days I'm jealous of my buddies working in the field, but overall, I'm very happy with the decision I made. I get to hunt and fish almost as much as they do and I have the privilege of representing (and helping) farmers, ranchers and land owners on a regular basis.

Never thought about law school, especially after a wildlife & fisheries degree. It would be worth it though

I've noticed a couple of TPWD openings for Park Superintendents/LEOs. Am I wrong, or would a TCLOSE certification open a lot of doors?

Wouldn't hurt if that is the direction you want to go. Keeping in mind, they are going to send you to their own school anyway.

What is a TCLOSE certification?

And you say they're going to send you to their school anyways, what do you mean?

http://www.tcleose.state.tx.us/

Here's my .02 having graduated in the last few years. I wanted the same thing as you, get my degree in wildlife and fisheries and work with deer and hunt. Then I started looking at earning potential and costs of living with student loans. Needless to say I was a bit dismayed. At that point I was working a job that paid extremely well for a college kid. I began talking with an electrical engineer who loved hunting and fishing as much as I did. He gave me some advice which I took and am very thankful it proved to be good.
"Work, so you can pay for what you love." Now, I don't mean find a job making as much money as you can even though you hate the job. But, find a job that you like and interests you so you can pursue your passion.
If you can work it right you'll make enough to lease/own your own place someday. At that point your degree will benefit you directly. Just because you don't get a job as a wildlife biologist doesn't mean you wasted your education.
Another thing to watch out for is if you truly love the outdoors, having it as a career may ruin your passion. It's like getting a job at your favorite restaurant. After a while the food starts to get old.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[This message has been edited by ToHntortoFsh (edited 11/11/2011 10:22a).]

^^^ I know what you mean and at this point, that's what im looking for. I just don't want to change my major. I don't even have to do anything near my major, as long as I can make a comfortable living. Before I chose it I had been told that it would be alot easier to find a nice paying job and that there were a good amount of them out there. My mistake.
The reason I keep this thread going is because I want to make sure that I can find a comfortable job in any area with my current or eventual WFSC degree

That last point is pretty good. Like I've mentioned before, most of the biologists I work with love it when anything other than deer pops up. It's not that they don't like deer, it's more of the politics that come with it. Happened to me to some extent. I used to be as passionate about deer as I am about bears. My graduate research was on deer in South Texas. After tracking them on a rotating 24 hour cycle (my sleep pattern is still messed up), and dealing with all the data, if I'm not hunting it is tough to get me jazzed about deer.

Yeah I've heard that from alot of people, it just kills your enjoyment of deer. I def do NOT want that to happen. I'll do anything else to avoid that because I can't imagine getting to that point