Fishing and hunting workers salary
Data unavailable BLS does not publish annual wage estimates for this occupation.
Fishing and hunting workers pay by state and metro area
Data unavailable
Job outlook for fishing and hunting workers
- Average annual openings, 2025 to 2035: 3,300. Openings include new jobs plus replacement needs when workers retire or leave the occupation. Official projection
- Share of workers who are self-employed (2025): 32.2%.
- Read the official BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook profile.
These are official BLS projections. ConnectPrep does not alter them or present its own forecasts as official statistics.
Education and training for fishing and hunting workers
- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- O*NET Job Zone
- Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
Highest education of people working in this occupation
O*NET describes this preparation level as: Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Degrees and programs that lead to this career
Programs officially mapped to this occupation in the NCES and BLS CIP to SOC crosswalk. A mapping means the program commonly prepares students for the occupation, not that every graduate works in it. Official crosswalk
- Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management CIP 03.0301
Skills, knowledge, and daily work
Most important skills
Most important knowledge areas
Typical tasks
- Steer vessels and operate navigational instruments.
- Remove catches from fishing equipment and measure them to ensure compliance with legal size.
- Direct fishing or hunting operations, and supervise crew members.
- Interpret weather and vessel conditions to determine appropriate responses.
- Travel on foot, by vehicle, or by equipment such as boats, snowmobiles, helicopters, snowshoes, or skis to reach hunting areas.
- Select, bait, and set traps, and lay poison along trails, according to species, size, habits, and environs of birds or animals and reasons for trapping them.
- Maintain engines, fishing gear, and other on-board equipment and perform minor repairs.
- Connect accessories such as floats, weights, flags, lights, or markers to nets, lines, or traps.
Technology skills
- Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Catchlog Trading Catchlog
- DeerDays
- Inventory management systems
- MaxSea TIMEZERO
- MaxSea Time Zero Navigator NOAA
- OLRAC Electronic Logbook Software Solution
- P-Sea WindPlot
- Signet Nobeltec Catch
- Strat-Tech Deer Hunting Expert
- Trimble MyTopo Terrain Navigator Pro
- Winchester Ammunition Ballistics Calculator
Transferable skills for career changers: Coordination, Judgment and Decision Making, Time Management, Instructing, Complex Problem Solving, Social Perceptiveness.
Common job titles: Commercial Fisherman, Commercial Fishing Vessel Operator, Deckhand, Fisherman, Fur Trapper, Hunter, Lobster Fisherman, Nuisance Trapper, Trapper, Wildlife Control Operator.
Is it worth it? Model the cost of getting there
Use the ROI calculator to compare the cost of the education this career usually requires against staying on your current path. It starts from the official wage distribution above, and you can change every assumption.
Frequently asked questions
What education do fishing and hunting workers need?
BLS lists no formal educational credential as the typical education needed to enter this occupation, with none of related work experience and moderate-term on-the-job training on-the-job training typically needed to become competent.
Is fishing and hunting workers a growing career?
BLS projects employment of fishing and hunting workers to change -4.2% from 2025 to 2035, compared with +3.5% for all occupations. About 3,300 openings are projected each year on average, including openings from workers who retire or change occupations.