Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management at New Mexico State University-Main Campus

New Mexico State's wildlife management program outperforms most comparable programs nationwide—it beats 80% of similar programs nationally—but that's partly because this field typically starts with modest salaries. The $33,603 first-year earnings exceed the national median by nearly $5,000, which is meaningful in a field where many graduates start in the high $20,000s. More encouraging: graduates see 30% earnings growth by year four, reaching $43,551.

The debt picture offers a real advantage. At $16,449, graduates owe roughly $8,500 less than the national median, ranking in the top 5% for affordability nationally. That translates to a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.49—meaning students can pay off their loans with less than six months of salary. This beats many higher-paying majors that saddle graduates with proportionally heavier debt loads.

The limitation here is sample size: fewer than 30 graduates in this dataset. Small cohorts can produce volatile numbers that may not represent every student's experience. Still, for families worried about debt burden in a passion field like wildlife science, this program delivers both reasonable preparation costs and earnings that track above most alternatives nationally. Just recognize that wildlife management rarely leads to six-figure salaries, no matter where you study.