Careers and Internships | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Work With Us

A woman in a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uniform and overalls holding a fish and expelling its eggs into a plastic bowl — A fisheries biologist at work.

If you’re passionate about science, nature, plants and wildlife, water and air quality, and education, a career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service might be just what you’re looking for.

A career with us also might be for you if you’re knowledgeable about public land management, information technology, facilities or heavy equipment maintenance, real estate, engineering, finance, communications, cartography, budgeting, refuge law enforcement or wildlife inspection and wildlife criminal investigation, public policy and more.

Our dedicated employees perform a wide range of jobs at national wildlife refuges and national fish hatcheries and with public, tribal and private partners. The work is rewarding.

We hope you’ll join us in advancing our mission of working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.

A law enforcement officer on a raised boardwalk with two visitors pointing toward a large tree branch — A federal wildlife officer helps visitors.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to recruiting and hiring a highly qualified, diverse and inclusive workforce to support our mission. Below and on associated pages you'll find information and links about U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service programs and opportunities for potential candidates. You'll also find information about our employees, our onboarding process and a diverse array of careers across the agency.

Find a Job BECOME AN INTERN OR FELLOW VOLUNTEER

Discover the Youth Conservation Corps Meet Our People

Explore Career Paths and Job Series

A woman sit at her desk with her hands on the keyboard and two computer monitors in front of her — An IT specialist at the keyboard.

Not sure where to start? Take a quiz to find your path.

There are more than 70 careers to choose from at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We value dedicated individuals with diverse education, experience and training backgrounds. Some professional jobs require a college degree. Several have specific academic credit requirements.

We offer competitive pay and generous leave, job security, a great medical and retirement benefits package, work-life flexibilities and work locations in every state and each U.S. territory.

Learn more about the jobs and occupational series available with us and across the Department of the Interior.

A wearing a bright yellow safety vest and a white safety helmet holds a surveying tool in brush — A maintenance professional surveys a trail.

USAJobs.gov

On USAJobs.gov, you can search job openings by discipline (series), location, salary and other parameters. You can create a personal account where you can build, upload and post your résumé and supporting documents (e.g., college transcripts, optional cover letter) and apply for jobs. Visit USAJobs.gov to search our careers. You can save the search to be notified when new positions are accepting applications.

Explore the variety of careers that we and other Department of the Interior agencies offer, including typical duties and qualification requirements.

A woman in a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uniform smiling as she lies on the ground with a tiny turtle crawling in front of her — A ranger/visitor services specialist playfully encourages folks to beware of baby turtles when driving at and near national wildlife refuges.

Demystify Coursework Requirements

Some U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service careers require minimum education requirements and some of those require a specific number of semester or quarter hours in a particular discipline to qualify.

Figuring out which courses satisfy which discipline can be confusing. We’re here to help!

A man holding a jar full of water and tiny silvery fish hatchlngs — Fish biology work at Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery in South Dakota.

Quick tip:

Sometimes a course name does not provide enough information to tell Human Resources if a course satisfies a semester hours requirement for a particular discipline.

In cases like this, you can include a letter in your application from your professor or college dean explaining that the course contained particular content.

For example, the Fish Biology Series (0482) requires a degree with a major in biological science that includes:

At least 6 semester hours in aquatic subjects such as limnology, ichthyology, fishery biology, aquatic botany, aquatic fauna, oceanography, fish culture, or related courses in the field of fishery biology

and
At least 12 semester hours in the animal sciences in such subjects as general zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, entomology, parasitology, ecology, cellular biology, genetics, or research in these fields. (Excess coursework in aquatic subjects may be used to meet this requirement when appropriate.)

A woman in a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uniform wading thigh deep into a marsh to release a baby turtle — A wildlife biologist releases a baby turtle into the wild.

Suppose you mention in your application that you took a class in wetlands ecology.

A Human Resources specialist who evaluates your application might categorize that class as coursework in aquatic subjects.

But that's not guaranteed, because wetlands ecology is not specifically listed above. (This listing matches the listing that would be in the USAJobs.gov vacancy announcement.)

So, you might want to include a letter indicating this wetlands ecology course would be classified as an aquatic subject for the purposes of this job series.

Onboarding Process

Learn about the onboarding process once you've been selected for a job with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Fast-track Your Way to a Federal Career

A snail icon over the words "A normal hiring timelines can take about 4 months from close date of an announcement on USAJobs to the employee start date." And a fox icon over the words "A special hiring authority can make the process much faster."

Image Details

A large green tractor pulls a piece equipment to aerate a shallow pond with the sun peaking through the morning clouds and a stand of trees in the distance — A heavy equipment operator aerates a pond.

The federal government offers pathways to help hire individuals who represent our diverse society. These hiring paths often can make the hiring process go more quickly. Explore different hiring paths and how they can be used to help secure a career with us.

VETERANS
FORMER FEDERAL LANDS INTERNS
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
OTHER HIRING PATHS

FWS posts noncompetitive vacancies for candidates who are qualified and eligible under the hiring paths linked above. Candidates must apply by the listed deadline for each position of interest. Refer to individual position flyers for duties, required documents, and application process for these vacancies.

VACANCIES OPEN TO NONCOMPETITIVE CANDIDATES

Stay Connected

Find our careers-focused social media pages with staff profiles, highlights of vacancies and more. Follow or search for #WeAreUSFWS on social media to learn more and connect with us.

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Questions?

Questions about our jobs, internships, fellowships or the application process? Email us at connect@fws.gov.